It's gonna get cold...

[Tuckerjr]

Hi guys,

With winter fast approaching I would like to get some heat going in my 74 dart sport. It was originally an a/c car, but one of the previous owners removed everything heating and air related under the hood.
I would like to know if I get a blower motor with fan, hook it up along with the heater hoses, if I can run the heat only part of the system without hurting anything.
Also, can I verify that the heater core isn't leaking by hooking a water hose up to it and letting it run a while?
Are there any other parts to the heating side in the engine compartment other than the hoses and blower? And are the heater controls cable operated or is some of it vacuum operated? It looks like there are some vacuum switches under the dash that may need to be hooked up.

-Russell

 

[TrailBeast]

If you don't care about OEM then you might consider an aftermarket unit.

 

[Tuckerjr]

Not worried about going back original and have looked at the aftermarket units. Was hoping there was an intermediate solution until I have the funds to purchase an aftermarket setup. Just need some heat for the winter.

 

[Woods74]

See if there are any a bodies in the junkyard. Or put up a post in the wanted forums on here.

 

[71_340]

My 73 Swinger is a factory A/C car with all the A/C components missing. The heat works just fine.

To answer your other question, the system is controlled by means of vacuum servos. if there are any vacuum leaks in your system or any other problems the system will be stuck in the Defrost mode by default.

 

[72bluNblu]

I run my Challenger with just the heater hooked up, no issues. Originally an AC car, just with all the AC stuff removed. Heater core doesn't care if the AC is hooked up, neither does the blower. But you will need to hook up all the controls and vacuum lines if you want to pick where the heat actually goes.

 

[BillGrissom]

Yes. A blower motor w/ fan and connecting the heater hoses will work fine. I imagine the AC evaporator is still inside the cabin box. As far as checking the heater core, the only real way is to use the defroster on a cold day and see if it fogs the window. If you smell coolant, it is an even worse leak, and if you see a green puddle under the carpet - emergency fix.

I tested the (bypassed by prior owner) heater core in my 84 Mercedes before hooking it up because my son said the electric defroster I gave him wasn't sufficient for San Diego. Interestingly, Car Talk had a call from Santa Cruz that week and they said "well if you lived in San Diego, you wouldn't need a heater". Indeed, I don't think they put heaters in cars sold in Mexico 30 miles from my son. Anyway, I tried testing it w/ air pressure and it held pressure fine (bicycle pump w/ gage). However, once connected, it fogged the window. Rust dust must have been sealing it and washed away with coolant. Little option to fix it since heater cores are $400 new, $60 used (be glad you have a Dart) and it takes several days to change one. I did a whole hog fix, hooking up an isolated loop of hot water w/ silicate sealant heated to boiling on a camp stove, recirculated w/ an electric pump (Mercedes has), not going thru the engine. After 4 hours, I disconnected and dried w/ a blow drier. It still fogged a bit, but much improved. Since he had to go, I gave him some Aluma-Seal powder to add to the coolant whenever a problem. He doesn't really talk to me except to complain so it must have worked.

 

[Tuckerjr]

Thanks for the replies guys.
Can anyone tell me where the blower motor wires attach on a 74 dart sport? I don't have a factory service manual yet.
The new blower motor has a black wire which I assume is a ground and a green wire which I believe is for power, does the green wire connect in the engine compartment or go though the firewall and hook up to the blower motor resistor? (If it has one, I'm going out to look now)
I've been searching online but am still not clear on how it hooks up on a dart sport.

 

[Bad Sport]

I believe there is a wire from the fan switch that plugs onto the heater box to power the blower.

On a lighter note, if all else fails you could try this, LOL.

http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/0...ld-a-swiss-guy-put-a-wood-stove-in-his-volvo/