What to do With Heater Hoses?

[1969VADart]

So I removed all of the factory AC system from my car and I don't plan to put it back on once my restoration project is done. However, I am going to keep the heater box and refurbish it and just seal off the AC vent on the inside of the car. My question is, can I bypass the valve that the heater hose ties into seen on the left of this picture since I am no longer running an AC? This apparently is the normal hose set up for an AC car. I guess I am wondering if I can just route hoses directly from the heater coil on the firewall to the connections at the front of the motor and eliminate the valve all together? Similarly, can the module that can be seen on the left edge mounted on the fender be removed as well?

 

[DartVadar]

My dart had ac, and the previous owner just routed the two hoses that go from the water pump to the firewall. He kept the ac in place but it just wasn't connected.

Without ac your car essentially becomes the same as a non ac one. So you can bypass that valve i'm pretty sure. On my car I'm just eliminating the two hoses altogether to clean everything up under the hood.

 

[67Dart273]

What keeps heat out of the car when you don't want it?

 

[BillGrissom]

I think correct that non-AC cars did not have the heater valve, at least my 65 Dart & Newport did not have one. They have after-market AC (knee knockers). The heater core doesn't add much when the heat is off since that blower isn't running. Still, I am thinking of adding a hot-water valve.

Unless I'm mistaken, if you remove that module barely in the left of the photo, you won't have any spark. Try unplugging it. If it has a big pentagonal connector, it is the Mopar ECU. If the subject car is 1969 (making us guess?), the ECU is not original.

 

[1969VADart]

What keeps heat out of the car when you don't want it?

So are you saying that without that valve on the fender, there will be no way to shut off the heat? Are there no valves within the heater box under the dash that can also serve that function? I really hate to leave that thing there, but I guess I can if I have to.

I think correct that non-AC cars did not have the heater valve, at least my 65 Dart & Newport did not have one. They have after-market AC (knee knockers). The heater core doesn't add much when the heat is off since that blower isn't running. Still, I am thinking of adding a hot-water valve.

Unless I'm mistaken, if you remove that module barely in the left of the photo, you won't have any spark. Try unplugging it. If it has a big pentagonal connector, it is the Mopar ECU. If the subject car is 1969 (making us guess?), the ECU is not original.

I guess I had not considered that this was an ECU. I never took the time to see what it is connected to. But my car does not have points anymore, so I guess it would make sense that that might be the ECU.

 

[1969VADart]

I think correct that non-AC cars did not have the heater valve, at least my 65 Dart & Newport did not have one. They have after-market AC (knee knockers). The heater core doesn't add much when the heat is off since that blower isn't running. Still, I am thinking of adding a hot-water valve.

Unless I'm mistaken, if you remove that module barely in the left of the photo, you won't have any spark. Try unplugging it. If it has a big pentagonal connector, it is the Mopar ECU. If the subject car is 1969 (making us guess?), the ECU is not original.

Here is a little bit better picture of that module on the fender. If that needed to be replaced, where would be the place to start?

 

[qkcuda]

On the A/C cars everything is controlled by vacuum. I left mine on because I wanted to be able to shut off the heat in the summer. I rerouted the hoses to clean things up a bit.

 

[1969VADart]

qkcuda, thanks for that picture. That definitely gives me a good idea of how to deal with the situation. Any thoughts on whether or not the valve can be refurbished if it does not work? I have not been able to find replacement valves anywhere.

On the A/C cars everything is controlled by vacuum. I left mine on because I wanted to be able to shut off the heat in the summer. I rerouted the hoses to clean things up a bit.