Heater Core Alternative - Escort Core into 260/280

[siteunseen]

1 hour ago, Captain Obvious said:

Yes. Plugging the elbow nipple on the back corner of the head is the same thing as closing the water temperature control cocck.

And if you are putting in a manually (hand) controlled ball valve, it doesn't matter which side of the core it goes on.

Thank You!

I will most likely put it off the head hose as that is what feeds the core according to this flow diagram.

[siteunseen]

I'm going to cut the hose into then put 2"? vale in. May look a little cawk eyed but who cares. Then if I don't like I it can couple that hose back together. 

[Captain Obvious]

I put my second (rarely adjusted) valve in the return line back to the water pump inlet. It lives above my oil filter, and I adjusted it once or twice when I first put it in, and then took the handle off to save space. I put mine there because it was out of the way and the support clamps along the block keep that hose (and the valve) tucked up tight against the block.

Now, the only caveat about putting the valve that far up the return leg is if you still have water flowing through the intake manifolds (as shown on that diagram you posted), then that flow will be cut off as well if you close the valve. Now, on my 280, I did not have that return leg around the back of the head, so the only thing that valve restricts is the heater core. If your 240 has flow around the back of the head, you should probably put it directly in one of the legs going only to the heater core. Doesn't matter which one though.

I don't have any pics of my second valve, but when I get a chance, I'll snap a pic or two and post them.

I used a brass bodied ball valve for PEX plumbing. I found the ends on it were a good fit into the 5/8 heater hose. Couple clamps and done. Like you said, whole thing is a couple inches long. Handle lives in the console now that I have it adjusted where I want it and I use the cable controlled valve for temp control of the heater.

[mikev88]

 

 

Heres  what i've done. Sorry for the  quick mock up pics...

 

Since my car had the airbox still installed, I used the factory end caps for holding the escort core. Simply made a small cut and bent metal like a tab to keep it tight and a little bit of glue so it doesn't slide out.

Drilled the holes using the distance from the little tab on the cover (which is what the stock end covers rest on) as a reference to keep everything centered. Worked nicely. The core rests nicely one the stock holder tab and slides in tightly into the airbox. Will need a few strips of self adhesive foam and will be perfect.

Then I removed the pass through  half of the stock valve bracket to keep only the part which holds the heater control valve which I wanted to keep. I had to drill two new mounting holes for it, as the bracket would hit the pipe on the core. If you do not use the stock end cap as holders and made a shelf like captain obvious, you could probably bolt it into the stock position as you could mount the escort core higher.  But if your airbox is still in the car, the core end cap solution is much easier.

So in this scenario, a straight piece of pipe would come from the engine compartment, connect to the 74604 valve, then the dayco 87653 u bend would connect to the heater control valve inlet. Connecting the outlet of the heater control valve to the inlet of the core would necessitate a search for the correct pipe. Perhaps a dayco 87675 with a 90 deg bend and a union would work. The outlet of the core would be a simple L pipe like captain showed us.

So in a quick mock up, I think with quite a lot of fiddling and searching for pipes, perhaps shortening one of the core outlet you could make it fit using the 74604 valve and no stock passthrough. However, it is a very tight situation, not very pleasant to work on while the dash is still in the car. So i'm giving up on that. 

Since captain pointed out that the stock setup has too much heat (if you close the heater valve and blow through it, there is just a bit of restriction, but it doesn't even come close to shutting off) I'm going to setup the 74604 inline with a four seasons 74827 cable operated heater valve. Right now i'm thinking of mounting it in the cabin as I don't feel like bothering to find a new longer cable, unless you guys can point me towards one. I might put the vacuum valve under the hood and the heater valve in the cabin to make some space if necessary also. Amazon delivers the valve today, if that works, it would be a simple solution, especially for those without factory AC. I'll post results over the weekend.

Finally, the stock heater valve is 250$, mine is rebuilt. Any chance I can take this out without removing the whole dash+airbox? It breaks my heart to cut the copper thingy but  i'm scared at the amount of work necessary to take it out!

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 6, 2018 by mikev88

[mikev88]

So thanks to prime I got the valve. Turns out the picture on amazon is wrong and shows a 74827. So the 74828 I got has the bracket on the wrong side. I could still check fitment. Using a trimme dayco 87675 and a 90 deg bend you can package everything quite nicely if you don't install the stock brackets at all. The cable would need a little trimming as it is a few inches too long and the valve needs the stem drilled for the stock wire hookup style..

It is also probably possible to retain the stock valve and using  a trimmed Dayco  87675 , a 90 deg elbow, a straight union where the valve goes and a Dayco 87653 u bend. Which I might just try. However  this is all without brackets, not sure if it can be made to fit, i'll try, otherwiwe I will think of a way to secure all of this to avoid rattles.

Edited July 6, 2018 by mikev88

[Captain Obvious]

4 hours ago, mikev88 said:

perhaps shortening one of the core outlet you could make it fit

Been there. Done that. Not an absolute requirement, but you're right... It does help make things a little easier to work on.

I figured I had the bead roller built anyway:

[Captain Obvious]

And about getting the stock heat control valve out without pulling the dash or cutting the capillary tube? Sorry, but no way.

Here's a relatively recent thread where we were talking about such things:
https://www.classiczcars.com/forums/topic/58410-heater-valve-copper-thermostat-wire-do-i-have-to-remove-the-dash/

[mikev88]

It took a while but I think i've finished my conversion. It looks redneck compared to Captain's beautiful Stainless Steel work. It's more of a bush fix. I’ll try to detail it so the next guy can use it as a starting point to make a better job than me.

So modifying the the airbox door is easy. Used a little piece of steel and some epoxy glue and screws. Must trim the screws flat on the other side.

Trimmed the pipes about ¾’’ and made some sort of a bead using a DIY bead roller made with old vise grips, a washer and a welder. Room for improvement here… but it will do. Also added a piece of foam to the top since it is a bit shorter than the stock one. The foam keeps it nice and snug in place when the airbox door is bolted in place.

I looked for an alternative to drilling the firewall. I realized that 11/16 grommets enter perfectly in the stock hole. I then found these ‘’slip on’’ adapter for plumbing. They are just the perfect size to enter the grommet tightly. A 5/8 coolant hose slides on them nice and tight. You just have to cut the small end.

I kept all the valves inside the cabin for now. I used a dayco 87675 hose which I trimmed only the wye part. I went to the auto part store which had a Gates 18937 hose. It has two nice tight 90deg bend in it so by cutting it in half you can finish the rest of the job.

 

 

One part that took me a lot of time is adjusting the cable. It needs to be trimmed shorter, and bent correctly but also, the stock valve has a linear front to back movement, the 74827 has an arc to it’s movement. The stock stiff cable did not like that and would bind up. So I made a little adapter using some Delrin. Works like a charm. Take your cable out of the sleeve, polish it a bit with some steel wool and lube it at the same time. There is a good amount to be trimmed off, so trim a little bit at a time until you get the hang of it.

Connected inside the engine bay. If you are quick you don’t need to drop the coolant. Mine was looped , lifted it up above the rad, uncoupled and quickly coupled it again.  No major leakage,

 

Everything looks as tightly packaged as stock, so i'm not too worried about space. I'll confirm once everything is operational.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 18, 2018 by mikev88

[Captain Obvious]

Nice work Mike! Still a rats nest under there, but at least it's now a completely new rats nest. Should last quite some time!

I had mentioned before that I was positive there was a way to do the Escort core and still keep the valve inside, and thanks for the confirmation.

And I like your metal patches on the heater core cover. I just used hockey stick tape.    If I go in there again, I may do something a little more elegant in the future.

[mikev88]

5 hours ago, Captain Obvious said:

Nice work Mike! Still a rats nest under there, but at least it's now a completely new rats nest. Should last quite some time!

I had mentioned before that I was positive there was a way to do the Escort core and still keep the valve inside, and thanks for the confirmation.

And I like your metal patches on the heater core cover. I just used hockey stick tape.    If I go in there again, I may do something a little more elegant in the future.

I almost went the tape way too, i've got some good 3M stuff but after lying under the dash for a few hours, I decided I didn't want to do it again soon!

Definately still a rats nest. For those who don't have factory air, I would recommend to source a longer cable and move the valve to the engine bay.  The four seasons valve is very nice and closes the flow completely and opens progressively, which should help the stock system.

With factory air, I prefered the rats nest somewhere I won't see it!

Edited July 18, 2018 by mikev88

[grannyknot]

I might be borrowing heavily from your design, looks great.  The Four Seasons 74604 I guess is a vacuum unit for the A/C?

[Captain Obvious]

The Four Seasons 74604 is vacuum controlled. Normally closed. Here's a snippet from the Four Seasons catalog: