heating with headers? Options

[ottox914]

Planning to go with headers on the 914. I live up in northern WI, and the teener is an auto cross tool, not a daily driver, but for the long drives to the events, SOME heat is needed. Here are a couple ideas I had, anyone have other ideas or refinements?

1) use a sandwich plate oil cooler adapter to get oil flow from the engine, and run an oil line, ( ? what kind of hose or tube) up and back down each side in the rocker area, and use the existing air flow off the fan shroud to provide some flow into the car. With this method, nearly all of the factory system, less the heat exchagers, is intact and working as normal. If Porsche used a "trombone" system to cool the 911's, why can't it work to heat a 914?

2) run oil lines up the right side along the inside of the rocker panel, up under the dash, add a small radiator, wire in a fan on a switch, add a valve in the oil line to turn flow off in july when I don't need it, and have heat this way.

3) find electric blankets at garage sales, and spend 30 bucks for a cigarette lighter converter to 12v and wrap up for the drive over, be a little cool for the event, and wrap up for the drive home.

4) move to a warmer area.

thanks for any ideas or thoughts.

David Parsons
ottox914

[iamchappy]

Check out this link, It has worked well for me as a simple solution.

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?act...electric+heater

[ottox914]

IAMCHAPPY, thanks for the link. I figured someone else had BTDT already. Looks like electric is the way to go for my needs. A couple ?'s about your set up. Where did you get the fan, how many amps does it draw, how much heat is it rated to put out, and is this enough or would you look for a bigger unit if doing it over? How about the wireing, did you run direct to the battery, what size wire did you use, and speaking of the battery, can the alternator keep up? It would suck to have a 2 hr drive to an auto cross, run the heater on the way there, and end up with a flat battery... Anything else about your install come to mind, let me know.

Did you spend some time growing up on the east side of St Paul, and is your first name Mark? I went to church with a guy whose knick name was chappy..

Thank you-

David Parsons

[iamchappy]

David, I am a David also or better known in these parts as Iamchappy, I grew up in St. Louis Park, here is a link to the heater:
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/sto...tegoryId=155625

The heater worked great for me last fall, I used it many times when the temps were in the 20's and the last time I used it there was light snow falling. It extended my fun runs, without it the car would of been stored away.
I only have it on when the car is running and the alternator appears to keep up, you can always turn it off for a few minutes at a time to help recharge the battery. It does throw decent heat.
I have always been comfortable but your not going to cook, I was able to wear a tee shirt in the car when it was cold outside.
It is connected to the battery I have a fuse block that I mounted in the engine bay that I connect it to. It comes with about 10ft of heavy fused wire wired into it, I cut the wires and added electrical lamp plugs to the and marked the ends +- for quick connect and disconnect.
I am using an extra ashtray that I had, and am mounting it to that for easy pop in or out. You can swivel to throw heat to the windscreen or to yourself. It is definitely worth 50 bucks.
I tried fabricating something around the headers but was unsuccessful in my attempt but still think it can be done.

[ottox914]

chappy- thanks for the info- I found the same unit at the same site, along with a much smaller dash mounted, cig. plug in unit for about 10 bucks. I think I'll order both, and mount the bigger one under the dash in the middle, to blow out into the cabin, and keep the little one handy should I need some on the wshield. I found a box in the garage just a little bigger than the unit, test fit it under the dash, and it is almost out of line of site mounted there. My ashtray is now oil temp/pressure VDO's, so your multi use mount is out. I may have to find a spot for a VDO amp gauge just to satisfy myself on those long trips to MN for the early spring/late fall auto cross events.

Check out our auto x club web site, and come to an event! I'd be cool to see more '14's there. The site is: www.mnautox.com. You'll see me as 914dave around there.

thanks again- david

[lapuwali]

If you're concerned about heating the windscreen, then I've always thought the "oil cooler as heater matrix" idea had some merit. The chief downsides are the oil takes longer to heat up than water, and the additional cooling capacity may actually be too much in colder temperatures (oil never gets hot enough). Mounting the cooler in a box located in the engine bay, and plumbed into the stock heat tubes in the longs, would require very little hackery to make work. If you were clever with your plumbing, you might even be able to make one or both of the stock flapper boxes work, so you'd not even have to disconnect anything in the summer. The stock heater lever would work. Plumb air in from the cooling fan exactly as the HEs do, or wire up an electric fan.

For personal warmth, go to a motorcycle shop and ask about electric vests. +12V powered lightly quilted vests that can be easily wired into the car's system, and provide enough toasty warmth to allow you to ride a bike at freeway speeds in 40-50 degree weather w/o feeling all that cold. In a car, they'd do an admirable job, probably well into sub-freezing temps.

Of course, I solved the problem by exploiting that last option: I moved from the Midwest to CA years ago...

[iamchappy]

You cant miss me I drive the 914 Turbo Carrera.

[ottox914]

chappy- gotta land line to share? we gotta talk. turbo has been on my to do list for awhile, I'd like to see how my ideas match up with your experience.

david

[iamchappy]

David I sent you a PM

[ottox914]

got it, thanks