Let me run this by you guys and tell me if you think this is feasible, or not. I live in NorCal. Mild temperatures. I wouldn't be driving my '27 in the dead of winter anyways. Not a lot of room for an older heater box. So how about running some Pex tubing back and forth under the floorboard, just like in newer homes with radiant floor heating. I would tie it into my turbo coolant lines using a solenoid to turn it on and off. I'd have to make sure the Pex is compatible with automotive coolant and if so, I think it would work well for morning or early evening cruises. Anyone see any issues with this setup?
Heated seats are the best however I've managed without those for 50 years and all you really need are Really Good Gloves and a Hoodie... plus I get a little heat from the shifter hole where the Boot is supposed to be as well as a couple holes in the firewall! On days below 20 degrees Fahrenheit I wear Carhart bib overalls along with the Carhart Hoodie and Wool cap and I've been comfortable on a few 150 mile trips! But carry a Blanket for the Woman! The coldest day I had my Roadster out on was -18F your face Freezes off and nothing will keep you warm!!! Again just "Dress Appropriately".... Like on this balmy 12F degree day...! This was a long trip so I really bundled up and if I'd fallen down... I wouldn't have been able to get back up! <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Qz_hSy-55dM&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Qz_hSy-55dM&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
might work better if you put it above the floorboard, instead of under...and even then I think you're gonna need hot air blowing on your feet to actually feel it
Closable "hole" in the firewall. GM used a baseball size chrome ball like thingy for an AC vent outlet air director in most of their cars through most of the '60's. It worked like any ball valve but with vanes in it to better direct air flow. If you turned the ball completely sideways in it's socket it blocked all the air completely. mount a couple of these with their housings in the firewall and you'll get under hood/engine compartment heat coming through right at shin level. Just make sure you don't have any exhaust manifold leaks or the CO will kill you. A car blanket is a must for top down driving in the winter. It traps any heat from the heater of firewall and keeps it around your body instead of blowing out of the car. I drove a bunch of different British and Italian Sports cars in the past decades, and always had a blanket to throw over my legs and tuck up under my arm pits to keep warm. works even without an actual "heater". another trick in wet weather is a poncho or raincoat that you fasten, clothes pin, whatever works, to the under side of the dash board to keep you drier and warm.
A friend of mine has an automotive ceramic heater under his dash ,simple on/off switch .It does fantastic job. The car is a 40 ford convert. The heater is about 4x6 in 3in deep
The reason radiant heating works in the home is that it heats all the building materials enough that they begin to heat the air, ahich is fairly captive and has litte circulation. Even if circulated through the home, it remains contained. In an open car, you have a never ending supply of cold, turbulent air. Not only will you lose the product of any heating you do achieve, you will also have tremendous cooling of the structure you must heat first before it will radiate heat to the air. So, not a chance. Use a compact engine coolant heater, maybe with a toneau cover buttoned up around you, or heated seats. With the seats, you at least are in contact with the heat source and don't give so much away to the atmosphere.
Oh, and the other thing we use, you probably haven't heard of considering where you live, is a heavy coat.
you said that you have a '27.... I would also guess that you did not know that the original 1927 (along with others) used a duct to heat the floorboard/firewall area directly off the rear of the exhaust manifold.... no fan or nuthin'..... same as a VW bug....
Wool socks worked for me when i was shoveling snow back home in Maryland in 15 degress, they'll work even better in Sunny California.
it's hard to have sympathy for a nor cal guy when you live in the frozen tundra of NH. heated seats. all that tubing could actually keep your engine from reaching a good operating temp. would be more like an aux cooler than a heater
the ceramic heater sounds like the way to go for your purposes. i live in south dakota, there is not even a snowballs chance in hell anyone around here goes without a heater.
Hay you guys, It gets cold out here in Ca. It got down to 32 a couple of days in Monterey. We need heat in our roadsters.
I do radiant installs for a side job. I don't see why this wouldn't work. I think it would work better then a fan trying to blow warm air on you. When the cold air is just blowing it away. Make sure you insulated below the tubing to drive the heat into the passenger compartment. Also you can you ethyl glycol though pex so I don't see car antifreeze hurting pex. Which I believe is methyl glycol.
I don't see where this would be any different then an icemelt appliction. Where you are basiclly trying to heat the outside. As long as you have enough BTU's and enough flow it works.
I'm having a really hard time feeling sorry for you. Bob's got it!! Try living in the northern part of the US, or almost anywhere in Canada. +32 is cold...Bwaaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!
Think of your house going down the road at 55 miles per hour with all the windows and doors open! Your feet MIGHT feel a little warm but the rest of you will be freezing. Forget it.
I've also experienced 110+ in northern California... Maybe I should put airconditioning in my Roadster...! They're Hot Rods for cripes sake... not the Family Truckster! Hahaha...! Dress appropriately... Rain Suits for Rain... Jackets and Hats for cold, and shorts, shady hat and sunscreen for hot weather! Here's a warm fox hat... I wear mine in Achtermachtee... <EMBED height=344 type=application/x-shockwave-flash width=425 src=http://www.youtube.com/v/uTjC-atS0iE&hl=en_US&fs=1& allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always"></EMBED>
Yep. Dress appropriately... Never even/ever wished for a Roadster. But if I did, I'd already have one, and the last thing I'd imagine it having would be a heater. A more practical approach, as it was with my grandpa's horse and buggy would be an additional blanket....................
you west coast guys are soft....32 is hoodie weather here...haha Its november 29th...i may take the bike out today....
That radiant heat idea isn't going to work so good, for all the reasons that scottybaccus said. It might melt the snow off of the floor boards but that is a far cry from 180' + forced hot air warming you. late 40's to mid 50's GMs had heated seats. (Well sort of) Should be under alot of front seats. They warm the cabin not just your but. Do you think that would fit into your " BURR it's a cold 32degF this morning in sunny so-cal" traditional hot rod 12 volt heated motorcycle clothing is also an option ---just the first google hit. http://www.thisnext.com/tag/heated-motorcycle-clothing/
Come on guys 32 is cold if all you are used to is sunny cali weather. I live in north AL and we get down to the teens in winter. I know its not up north cold, but thats cold to me. I went on a trip to MN in january last year -15 weather, never again will i do that, like to froze to death. I could'nt even breath it was so cold to me, and people walking around with just a long sleeve shirt and some in flip flops, saying its not that cold. Back to your problem, I dont think that your heat idea is gonna work. Maybe in a coupe with the windows up and no moving cold air. In a open roadster you will have to much cold air moving. Your best bet will be a small heater blowing 180 air at you.
Can it work? sure. Will it work well enough to be worth the effort? That I question. The best roadster heater idea that I ever saw was to put jacket snaps on the top of a universal heater under the dash. In the winter (the guy lives in Denver and drives year round) he uses an old wool army blanket with the matching snaps to hold the blanket onto it. He lays it over his lap so the the heated air comes up around his body. The blanket keeps the warm air in and the cold air out of the foot well. I always wanted a split tonneau cover for the same reason. This came in my Sport coupe. Flip the lever with your foot and an internal butterfly valve opens and lets the heat from the manifold in. It doesn't have all the duct work that the later factory manifold heaters have but it is effective. (of course the windows are rolled up.) The bonnet swivels around to direct the air flow.
Man, you guys are brutal! But, I got what I was looking for, opinions! Looks like I'll nix the radiant heat option. Sounded good anyway! I may just go with the heated seats. Thanks for all the replies! Go ahead, make fun of the Californians. Knock yourself out! We'll be thinking fondly of you guys in March when we're laying on the beach soaking up the rays while you 'he-men' are bundled up head to toe, shoveling snow! Surf's up, dude!
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