winter is coming aux heater in a MK1

[madrogers]

Just a feeler , my 83 caddy winter beater has ok heat for most of the winter but when we gets to -30 degree day it just does not cut it, I like to be nice and toasty, the heated seats help but I was thinking of :
A- removeing the a/c core and installing a second haeter core in its place I thought i could plumb it either in series with the org. core or run seperate line to it  thoughts???
B- leave the org heater alone and install a second core/fan under the dash behind the glove box.
C- I have got an diesel fired aux webastsco heater from a hyw truck I could install behind the seat or in the box.
any thoughts / what have other people done for extra heat? 
 Thanks Mark

[maxfax]

Make sure the heater core is flowing properly, then try covering the grill/radiator with something..  Chances are the engine itself just isn;t making enough heat...

I block 3/4+ of the radiator with a piece of card board in the chillier months..  I have to watch the temp on warmer days, esecially when sitting and idiling.. Still working on some sort of louvers that could be opened and shut (automatically woudl be nice, but manually will suffuce) darn Pennsylvania weather is rather erratic, can start the day freezing and end it in a t-shirt..

[madrogers]

the engine does stay up to temp and i do cover the rad . I have also made up a wind deflector to keep the  direct cold air off the oil pan that hangs down, when i scan the coolant lines they are 180ish going in and 120ish comeing out , so its heating the air but it seems the be lacking in size (the core). but like I say it just on the coldest of days (we get our fair share here).

[spencebm]

higher temp thermostat?

[catlin_cava]

You must do what we saw in our town last winter...Dodge Minivan...with a piece of sheet metal over the back passenger side window....And the best part.....A STOVE PIPE STICKING OUT WITH SMOKE COMING OUT OF IT!!!!!!!!!!!!

[maxfax]

You must do we saw in our town last winter...Dodge Minivan...with a piece of sheet metal over the back passenger side window....And the best part.....A STOVE PIPE STICKING OUT WITH SMOKE COMING OUT OF IT!!!!!!!!!!!!

HAHAHAHHAAH   Reminds me of that epidose of Top Gear where Jeremey did the "Quaint My Car"  Of course I drove a Cj5 with a propane buddy heater screwed down to the floor..   

Anywho, Hmm  definitely sounds like things are warm enough..  A hotter t-stat wouldn;t hurt till warmer weather.. Then if you're like me you be nervously wathing the temp gauge all the time...

I'm not real familier with the MK1 A/C cars, but does the A/C recirculate the cabin air? A heater core in place of the A/C evaporator may be the way to go if it does..  Even if it doesn;t recirc you could get a pretty big **sed heater core in there..  Otherwise if there would be some way to recirc the cabin air versus warming outside air you would probably see alot better heat.  I been rolling such an idea around for my non A/C MK1..

[madrogers]

a hotter t-stat would help but the engines are touchy enought when they get to hot , my old nissan truck had a recirculate air option that would help but then the windows start to fog up from the humidity.
I think I am going to go the way of adding a core behind the glove box with a fan that would move the cabin air though it , there is a fair amount of room behind there once the a/c lines are removed.

[the caveman]

I don't think many of you realize where he is .It's Winnipeg !!!

[catlin_cava]

I just notice that....poor you

[rallydiesel]

Yes, it can get extremely cold (read: arctic-like) on the prairies. I remember one highway commute where my mk5 never really heated up inside. I put a cover over the grill and this helped a lot. Interesting thing about the mk5's is that they have a 1500W electric auxiliary heater next to the heater core.

Maybe you could replace the a/c evaporator with a 1500W electric heater. Make sure to stick a big fuse on it. The mk5 has a 100A fuse for the electric heater.

[the caveman]

Get a coolant flange from a manual trans TDI . It has 3 glow plugs in it to help heater output . 1,2, or all 3 work depending on what the ECU decides on temp. Use 1 or 2 relays and big fuses to get some heat. I'm gonna do it as soon as i have a second reason to open the cooling system.

[madrogers]

I like the heater flange ideal, will have to look out for that , I think that if i put the 1500 watt heater in, there would be no power left to drive the truck. 
P.S. I live just outside of Wpg. no cpmplalants, the air is clean, we have the most sunshine hour wise here than anythere else in Canada,(no clouds) (well maybe not this summer) and well its a dry cold in the winter.

[the caveman]

"and well its a dry cold in the winter."

i'm sure you are telling yourself that when it's -1000

[Rabbit TD]

A friend of mine who is an old farmer {They can make anything work} had a Toyta Tercel wagon that didn't make enough heat to suit him and he couldn't get the heater core out so he atualy used the A/C evaporator as a heater core and it worked pretty good.  I didn't think it would flow enough but it really worked.  Why not try splicing yours in somehow before you try something else.  My 81 Rabbit has some kind of aftermarket A/C system on it with the evaporator in a box like thing below the glove box which then blows through the stock vents.  Naturaly the A/C compressor is long gone but I think just for the hell of it I might just try this trick myself this winter since we're talking about this.  All I use it for now is to turn it on to activate the engine cooling fan when I want to bring the temps down a little sitting in traffic and it will really bring it down fast too!  I might as well use that evaporator too, what the Hell, the hoses are already there sticking out of the firewall waiting to be hooked up to something.  I bet in those litte Caddy cabs you could be just about be able to melt the dash if you wanted too

[burn_your_money]

My 84 rabbit had killer heat. You could never leave it on full heat, even in -40. I always run the hottest thermostat available.

I'd recommend back-flushing the core (and the rad while you are at it) and if that's not enough then install an auxiliary electric water pump found on the passats. That should help keep the coolant flowing through the rad. You might also need to fiddle around in the cooling duct box thing. Only the defrost and floor? gets heat, the dash vents are always fresh air. If you have air leaking out before it can get through the heater core that will cool the interior down a lot. It also wouldn't hurt to make sure that the air has a clear easy path through the heater core. And if you are feeling really ambitious put some relays on the blower motor so that all those amps don't have to run through the switch.