Factory FIve Vintage Air Heater Install

[CaptB]

So....couple of questions.

I have my heater controls wired to switches rather than the standard plastic looking knob. Do I need to keep the knob for manual close/open of the valve?

What if I don't put a valve in will there be heat coming into the car all the time?

Anyone use an electric valve? If so what part number did you get and did you wire it with it's own switch or into the on/off switch?

It looks like the valve goes on the hose that is on the right (driver's side), is that correct? I believe that one is the inlet (the instructions from FFR do not describe it).

Thanks,
Capt. B

[egchewy79]

I think the valve could probably go on either the inlet or outlet hose. With the valve closed, no hot coolant will be circulating through the core. You could put the pull knob under the dash somewhere out of sight.

[Al_C]

The key, at least in my mind, is whether or not your specific engine requires constant flow through that hose. In a coyote, it does, so a bypass valve or continuous "heat" is the norm. In a 427 - don't know. Assuming you don't need constant flow, there would be no reason why you couldn't have an electric valve to shut that off if you don't want the cable operated one. I'd check my flow requirements and then decide what I like best.

[Mike.Bray]

You might look at this one. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/vta-50507-vua

[CaptB]

I'm using a Forte 427 and I can use a valve. If someone disagrees let me know.

[phileas_fogg]

Hi Capt,

No, you don't necessarily have to keep the knob (which is attached to just a plain cable pull) to open & close the valve. If you eliminate the cable pull, you can just open & close the hood to turn the heat on or off manually. This is a lot less hassle than you think; after a couple of runs you'll know what temperature you want to turn on the heat. And since the heater isn't a precision instrument, most of us either run with the valve wide open or closed tight.

If you don't install the valve, then hot coolant will always be running through the heater core, and yes, you will always have heat.

Lots of folks have used an electric valve. I don't have any part numbers, but if you search "heater electric bypass valve site:thefactoryfiveforum.com" or "heater electric bypass valve site:ffcars.com" that will get you lots of results. This is the first hit I got: https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?30402-Heater-bypass; even though it's for a Coyote the heater bypass will work for any engine.

Install the valve so that it shuts off coolant BEFORE it gets to the core; in other words, manifold -> hose -> valve -> hose -> core. That'll keep the coolant that's in the heater as cool as it will be (there will always be some heat that transfers into the core, just not as much if the coolant isn't flowing freely).


EDIT: I screwed up the routing description in the last paragraph; it's now correct. Once I read Rich's post above, I realized my mistake. Thanks Rich!

[Walt]

Also the valve that comes with heater I got wouldn't shut completely off so there was hot air coming through the vents all the time, changed to one from orilleys and fixed the problem.

[egchewy79]

Also the valve that comes with heater I got wouldn't shut completely off so there was hot air coming through the vents all the time, changed to one from orilleys and fixed the problem.

Huh, I’ve noticed that there’s hot air coming from my vents even with the valve closed and motor off and just assumed it was hot air coming from under the hood. Maybe it’s my valve?

[rich grsc]

Be sure the valve is installed on the inlet of the heater core. That would be the hose running from the manifold to the heater, the hose going to the water pump is the return.

[Norm B]

Rich is correct, it has to go in the supply line. The rest of the configuration depends a lot on your intake manifold and available sensor ports. Your signature line says you have fuel injection so two ports are required for sensors (computer and gauge) plus one for the heater. My manifold only has two in total so I had to create a sensor port in the heater supply line. I found the sensor in this location was not accurate (it read a lot cooler than the actual coolant temp) unless the heater was on. The two options to fix this were a bypass heater control or create a bypass unit myself. Bypass heater controls are a little bulky and my heater hose routing didn't work well with this option so I made a bypass unit out of a piece of 3/4 aluminum plate. It is the block just below the Sniper in the attached picture. It allows a small amount of coolant to circulate between the supply and return lines at all times.
We use the heater quite often and would recommend you have some sort of control for the valve. Our area has nice drives through mountain passes and it is not uncommon to have 30 degree temp changes from the bottom to top.

HTH

Norm

[JeffP]

I have a coyote and I'm using the manual version of this. Looking at the electronic one, I'm not sure why I didn't go this route as its only $20 more.

https://www.oldairproducts.com/product/25-1555m-electronic-bypass-heater-valve

I dont' see why this wouldn't work for your 427.

Or a more complete version:
https://www.amazon.com/Electronic-Bypass-Heater-Valve-50-1555/dp/B00LEUV98M