Heater options

[msggunny]

All righty, here is the deal.

I am moving to Maine, around Portland, in August. For the past couple of years i have been able to brave the mild winters in costal North Carolina in my SIII with out the use of a heater. Now that i am moving somewhere that has a real "Winter" i am in a bit of a perdiciment. My heater core went out a few months ago, thats no big deal i can get a new one. The fan works fine. My main problem is the interior distrubution of the warm air. My dash was removed a few years ago as it was rotting out from the inside. I had orginally wanted to attempt to fix the rot with some fiberglass and bondo. It got as far as sanding and POR15ing it but i havent goten much farther, and to be honest it doesnt look like it will end up being very prety.

I am trying to figure out my options. As my SIII is a RHD i have been haveing a really hard time finding a RHD dash for it. I had one a while ago but didnt go through with the purchase, and now i am kicking myself for it. The way i see it i have the following options:

1. work with the orginal POS, least prefered.
2. find another heater unit that has a distrubution box in it to include the defroster vents.
3. not drive the SIII in the winter, not an option really.

Any ideas? I suck at fabing but i am sure i could make something up.

If anyone knows of a decent RHD SIII lower dash i would really appreciate their contact info so we can talk.

Thanks!

[SafeAirOne]

I can't really remember what the inside of my lower dash looked like when I had it off for bulkhead restoration, but I THINK it was mostly just a long, flat piece of steel that was flanged around the edges and had foam on the outside.

If you're looking to get by and NOT do some sort of restoration, you might consider bonding in some galvanized sheet steel over the entire flat area on the inside. Use some thin cardboard to make a template, cut that shape out in the galv sheet, then use the appropriate adhesive (not affected by heat) to bond it it.

[LaneRover]

Having driven a Rover in Maine in the winter with no heat I'll let you know that there is one advantage to it. If the windshield is really cold then the snow hitting it doesn't stick - just bring a scrapper to use on the inside occasionally.

Wish that I had a good recommendation for you, there are guys who have put in lots of different aftermarket heaters. There is a previous post where people talked about aftermarket heaters, airconditioners and where they put them. It might solve your problem with not having your entire dash.

Portland is a great little city and August is a good time to move there. If you are renting check out some of the beach communities for a place that you could move into over the winter and have cheaper rent. Though you might not be able to move in until September.

Brent

[Leslie]

Warmest Rover I've ever been in, the fella was using a Coleman cat-head heater on a propane bottle... it was in a soft-top that was so warm you'd want to open the windows.... had it mounted to the backside of the rear-tub's front bulkhead, clamped by the wire foot/stand that is on it. Really simple, really toasty.

[crankin]

I had mine reupholstered...so, there was no padding on the lower dash when I did mine.

I replaced my rusted cover one with some aluminum sheet metal, cut all the right holes and used dynomat hood insulation (because I had some laying around).

For the rusted out holes: I used some thin aluminum sheet metal, cut it to size, pop riveted it in place, and then sealed the seams. When it was all said and done I coated the whole thing with a rust inhibitor.

You could fool around with fiberglass, bondo, etc... But it is going to all be out of sight, hidden behind upholstery.

[greenmeanie]

If you're dash is leaking badly could you bodge up a set of hoses in the same fashion as a IIA and just run them inside your current dash?

For heaters I think Sven on here had a nice install using one from Summit. He has a thread over on dweb about it.

An alternate would be to go with the ExMOD actic heater and just run the hose where you need it. On up a trouser leg and one to the windcreeen should do it.

[gudjeon]

Putting in an aftermarket heater is another option as mentioned^^^. I bought this unit from an industrial/agricultural supplier for around 200. CAN it has the fan w/three speeds and puts out over 24,000 BTU. I fabbed some tin to make a crude manifold and bought the tubing from a vacuum cleaner store.
Plumb it in through the firewall with copper tubing and a ballvalve. Hook up to copper with short pieces of hose so any vibration won't ruin anything. Open vents for heat-start closing them for defrost.

[Rineheitzgabot]

Gunny,

Sven, who is on this board somewhere, did this on another board, and I think it looks quite do-able:

http://forum.roversclub.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1106&highlight=heater+summit

He told me that he thought it might be better to mount the core inside the cab, instead of where it is in the photos. Very little fab work, inexpensive as hell, etc.

I have not tried it yet, but plan to some time.

[Eric W S]

Why mess around with all that?

Call Ike and have him source you a Kodiak. Done.

EwS

[yorker]

there are tons of options for you, remember to make sure all the door seals etc are in good shape before you try to heat the cab. Otherwise you are pissing in the wind.


You can always use an auxillary heater too-either in the back or wherever you can fit it and plumb it in.

http://www.flex-a-lite.com/auto/html/mojave-heater.html

http://www.jcwhitney.com/Heaters/GP_2002895_N_111+10201+600002307_10101.jcw

http://www.jcwhitney.com/DANHARD-UNDER-DASH-MOUNT-HEATER-WITH-DEFROSTER-DUCT-HOSE/GP_2002897_N_111+10201+600002307_10101.jcw

There really are no end to the possible solutions.

[mechman]

Water cooled VW Vanagons came with a nice little auxiliary heater mounted to the floor under the rear seat, too. They can be mounted in just about anything, just plumb up to it and wire in a switch (you can gank that from the same Vanagon). It's a fairly small unit, completely self-contained and really pumps out the heat.

Mech

[Jeff Aronson]

You need not suffer in Mane for a lack of a heater. There are reasonable solutions.

Since your Series III is RHD, you could source a Smith's or Kodiak heater unit from RN or from Rover owners in Maine. There are a lot of enthusiasts here who will help you since you've posted your needs.

A bulkhead [dash] cannot be cobbled together from bondo or fiberglass; I know because I've tried it and it really doesn't work. Pieces can be welded in and there are shops/enthuiasts who can do it for you in the Portland area. Let us know if you want assistance and we'll help you out.

Jeff

[msggunny]

You need not suffer in Mane for a lack of a heater. There are reasonable solutions.

Since your Series III is RHD, you could source a Smith's or Kodiak heater unit from RN or from Rover owners in Maine. There are a lot of enthusiasts here who will help you since you've posted your needs.

A bulkhead [dash] cannot be cobbled together from bondo or fiberglass; I know because I've tried it and it really doesn't work. Pieces can be welded in and there are shops/enthuiasts who can do it for you in the Portland area. Let us know if you want assistance and we'll help you out.

Jeff

Thanks,

Right now i am going to look an aftermarket unit, the Mojave heater, first. I had another aftermarket heater but i didnt like the options that i had for mounting it.

I will get the dimensions and make a cardboard replica to check for where abouts i can mount it in the cab.

If that doesnt work i will be in the Portland area by mid August and i will see about getting some info/help from the guys in the area.

And since i will only be a few hours from the RN store i will be stoping by!

Thanks again!

[adkrover]

How about buying my 109? It is fully restored from the frame up and has full heat for both the front and rear seats as well as windshield defrosters. It has spent most of it's life in Maine aside from a few years in the Adirondack Mountains.

Otherwise, I'd look at the Mt Mansfield from RN or oner of the other aftermarket units from these guys. The Mansfield is a bit more involved because it requires modifying the right wing but the others are an easy one day project.

Most of the basic aftermarket air conditioners come in a heat only unit.

www.hotrodair.com
www.nostalgicairparts.com
www.classicautoair.com

[msggunny]

How about buying my 109? It is fully restored from the frame up and has full heat for both the front and rear seats as well as windshield defrosters. It has spent most of it's life in Maine aside from a few years in the Adirondack Mountains.

Otherwise, I'd look at the Mt Mansfield from RN or oner of the other aftermarket units from these guys. The Mansfield is a bit more involved because it requires modifying the right wing but the others are an easy one day project.

Most of the basic aftermarket air conditioners come in a heat only unit.

www.hotrodair.com
www.nostalgicairparts.com
www.classicautoair.com

Your selling yours?


Id love to, but my wife would ****** me.....



Got pics/info?