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MG TD TF 1500 - Will a heater make any difference

Will a heater, like the Mojave heater, make any considerable difference when driving with top off, or will all the heat just blow away?
YS Strom

If you use a full tonneau and cover the passenger side, yes it will keep your lower torso fairly comfortable at moderate speeds.
L E D LaVerne

x2 what he said.
In Maine even on summer nights it is a good thing to have. With the hood up in winter - a must have. If you have the round smith type heater with the vent out the bottom that goes directly to your leg (RHD) You can rig up an old oxygen tube and put it up to the windscreen to keep the ice and condensation away. :)
Rod
Rod Jones

Thanks for your comments. I have in mind installing an old Bosch heater I already have in order to extend the short season we have here in Sweden.
Usually the heaters are connected to the rear end of the head, but wouldn´t it give warmer water if it is connected to the front as with the XPAWs?
YS Strom

My TF has an original aftermarket KL heater and puts out prodigious amounts of heat. Just enough to warm the left hand side of my left leg in winter. However with the side screens up, it’s a different matter and the cockpit is actually quite cosy!

David
David Wardell

For YS - taking the heater water from the front of the cylinder head, as per the XPAW, would actually give hot water, so is much better. The housing shown in the photo is for the Wolseley 4/44 and, apparently, the TF, and it is available from NTG mg spares in the UK. As you possibly have a TD, you might have to fabricate an angled 'manifold' for the top hose to clamp on to (if there is enough room).


R A WILSON

The heater in my TD allows me to drive the car in the winter as long as there is no salt or brine on the road. It's an all year driving car.
David Honness

My TF has an old General Motors "under seat" heater from the 50's, mounted years ago. Yes, a heater makes a difference.

Tom
'54 TF
T Norby

In late November of 1959, I drove my TF to Sebring for the US Formula 1 Grand prix. It was cold going, and even colder returning, But my top was down for the entire trip, arriving back in Montreal on December 6th with a temperature of -6°.

I was warm and toasty the whole trip. My sidescreens were on and the tonneau was covering the passenger’s seat.

The heater installation is my own concoction. I didn’t want to have ugly black hoses running through the engine compartment.

The appended picture shows only the front and rear halves of my engine. You can see that 1) I blanked off the water pump at the casting and 2) welded on a new pipe to the lower rad tube (standard later on the TF 1500). I then 3) attached a long copper tube packed with asbestos lamp wick at each end, and ran it UNDER the exhaust manifold (dotted lines) where it picks up some additional heat, and 4) goes through the bulkhead into the heater. The water return then goes into into 5) the plate at the rear of the cylinder head.

I’ve heard all kinds of arguments that this doesn’t work, but it has worked well since I made the installation in 1957. Several of my T-owning friends have made similar installations with equal success.

Gord Clark
Rockburn, Qué.



Gord Clark

Very interesting installation Gord.
Think I will try that configuration using a Mojave heater.
Y Strom

I purchased my TD in the fall of 1966. I had no side curtains or heater. I was living in Newton MA and working at a Company called Adams Russel located just off 128 in Waltham Ma.
We went to a, now defunct, place called "Deerskin Trading Post, and purchased the heaviest sheepskin coat they had.
I drove it, every day, all winter with no side windows, and a nice heavy pair of gloves.

In the spring we moved to FL.

While the coat did come with me/us it was never used again until about 1988 when my daughter, a journeyman (Tobe-PC Journeyperson :(- ) steam fitter, used it in Milwaukee WI.

Jim B.

JA Benjamin

Gord

"I’ve heard all kinds of arguments that this doesn’t work, but it has worked well since I made the installation in 1957. Several of my T-owning friends have made similar installations with equal success. "

It'll work fine but the only thing is your description of the coolant flow

The hot water actually comes 'out' of the rear of the head, passes through the heater matrix and then returns back to the bottom hose where the water pump picks it up and repumps back through the engine
Some increase in heat can be gained by taking the pickup point from the thermostat instead of the rear plate, but really all the water in the top of the engine is that close to being the same temp. that it wouldn't really be humanly noticeable really so either or
Cheers
willy
William Revit

Interesting configuration Gord.
Will try that I think.
Y Strom

I have just received an old original Smiths round heater which I hope to fit to the TD so I can use it in the winter rather than having it sitting in the garage.
What do you guys do to cope with the extra electrical load?
Is the dynamo up to it?

Regards
Declan
Declan Burns

Declan,
A scrap desktop computer cooling fan is better than the original They take next to no current and give a good airflow. I have one in a KL heater and it does not register on the ammeter.
As long as there is no salt down my car is in use.
Ray TF 2884
Ray Lee

Ray,
That is a good suggestion and I certainly will look into it.
I have just unpacked it and it looks quite nice considering I only paid £36.00 for it. The seller says he has tested it.
I wonder what car it came off.
I will have to make up some brackets to fit it once I have it powder coated or I might just do a wrinkle paint finish.

Regards
Declan


Declan Burns

Hi Declan,
I only have the original dynamo, headlights, wipers and heater easily overwhelmed it. Computer fan meant I did not get stranded in winter.
I reversed the air flow to keep heat off the fan motor.
Ray
Ray Lee

I tried to connect the inner hose of the heater on the pump outlet instead of the rear plate of the cylinder head.
The result was no heating at all !
In my opinion, this is because the hot water exiting the head finds the "easiest way" to the radiator. Hence no flux to the heater. For this configuration to work, it probably needs a special pickup inside the main outlet.

I returned to the classical configuration. Input of the heater from the rear plate and output to the down pipe of the radiator.


Laurent.
LC Laurent31

With out side curtains, You will need fresh air to move heat back and around you.
In winter I have a 1 inch PVC pipe in front of engine and comes in at heater core. This pushes heat all over very well. Pipe is removable and a plug in hole.
If side curtains are installed, you will have to open the back flap of your top. This will let heat all over the cab and not just at feet to cook you.



M Grogan

Declan. Both the TD's I have owned had Smith heaters and there was no problems with the load.
Like normal, with head lights on and wipers going - ammeter it is in the discharge when idling same thing with the heater. Once your revs get above a 1000 it will show a slight charge - depending on Bat condition. I run a Battery Tender when the car is not in use. Simple plug in job and it maintains the battery in top condition. In the interest of making the dynamo last longer - Possibly. I fitted this year LED's to front and rear side lights and flashers and also a relay kit for the sealed beam halogen head lights. Cant honestly say I saw any change on the ammeter. But I am sure the switch will last longer.
Heater is mounted on a plate of mild steel, bolted to the back of the tool box to suspend it in the right position. When I was driving in Germany in 1968-9 I used and old oxygen tube from a Hunter to direct the large vent that pumps heat onto your leg, to feed up to the windscreen and it would remove condensation and Ice in the winter.



Rod Jones

I have a Mohave heater and it provides great heat with or without the top up and/or side curtains.


Mort Resnicoff

When I bought my car it had the modified rear plate as a heater hose connection. I did not like the water flow pattern and removed it. I remove the hose from the thermostat housing and the "Y" bypass and made those my heater connection points. The car runs great and provides all lot of heat.
Mort


Mort Resnicoff

FYI


Mort Resnicoff

It looks as if the thermostat bypass hose is being used as the feed and return for the heater. I thought this hose got blocked off when the engine was hot and the thermostat fully open, so that all the water went through the radiator. Thus I am curious to know how this was overcome.
R A WILSON

Use a conventional thermostat that doesn't block it off. Bud
Bud Krueger

I have a Smith heater in my TF, mounted horizontally, it does get very hot, but the Smith has a poor motor which doesn't push a lot of air. Because the motor is part of the mounting setup, finding a more powerful motor is kinda tough. PJ
PJ Jennings

I cannot say enough good things about the Mohave heater. It mounts neatly below the toolbox.
The motor is wired for three fan positions.
I mounted mine on the dashboard but it could be elsewhere.
We use the high position initially then switch to the low position once the cab is warmed up.

I had an intricate valve system in the engine compartment for controlling the summer and winter flow. I removed all of that about a year ago and now use just the thermostat to control the flow of coolant.
We found the heat generated by the hot water flowing through the heater, with the fan turned off, to be insignificant even in the summer.

For the last two years I have removed the louvered sections of the hood during the warmer months. This is a relatively easy procedure. I know many purists object to the look of the TD without the sides however, the benefits far outweigh any objection as far as we are concerned.

The increased airflow throughout the engine compartment keeps the radiator and engine running much cooler. Even on the hottest days under extreme conditions we have not felt any discomfort in the foot well. The difference in the comfort level in the foot well it is truly amazing.

Mort



Mort Resnicoff

Thank you all for your engagement and interesting information. I didn´t know there was so much to learn about it.

My conclusion is now, drop the Bosch heater and install a Mojave heater; connected between the thermostat housing and the Y pipe.

The original thermostat has given up and is already replaced with a standard, which will be ok I understand. If I have got it wrong, please let me know.
Y Strom

This thread was discussed between 27/10/2017 and 10/11/2017

MG TD TF 1500 index

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