Heater fit

After driving the Jeep to work again today, I'm really thinking now that I should go ahead and invest in the Mohave heater with defrost thingy. How exactly does it fit under the dash panel? Do you have to fabricate brackets that hold it? How far under the dash does it extend? Basically, I'd like to know how much foot room the passenger is going to have. Would also like to see how the plastic windshield plenum thing attachs to the base of windshield. How much of the wiring for the gauge cluster will be in the way. I'm putting it in a '53 M38-a1.

Anyone have any pictures of the heaters and how they install?

Dondo

 

You would need a flexible duct tube to run from the plenum to the defrost port on the w/s. I don't have the heater purchased yet, but it looks to be a smaller unit than the stock heater I have now.

 

Here's a picture of one installed in a '74 CJ5. It will not come with any mounting hardware. I used large (~8") 'L' brackets from Tractor Supply.

The problem I had with the W/S defroster plentum is that it attaches to the front of the heater, and sticks out about another 4 or 5 inches. There was no way to fit all that under the dash and completely out of the way. In the end, the owners decided to do without the defroster.

 

Hmmm, I was under the impression that there was a place on top of the unit that you could connect to the defrost vents. Hmmmm...wonder where I got that idea....

<searchingweb.mpg>

Dondo

 

Check this out. It will explain it better.

http://www.flex-a-lite.com/auto/html/mojave-heater.html

 

The unit itself only blows air from the front. If you want to run a hose to the defroster, you have to add that plentum. In this case, the entire plentum would have been positioned out from under the dash (since the front of the main housing was flush with the dash). The hose would have looked bad (IMO) running from the side of that big protrusion, back underneath the dash. Just not the clean interior look we were going for...

 

I think they only make one model. The one I used could be mounted in whatever orientation you wanted as well.

 

Looks like one could install the whole unit deep under the dash, facing the "front" downward and then attach the WS defrost plentum from there.. It looks to me like there would be ample room... Just an off the cuff guess though-

M

Boyink, the one you linked is actualy smaller in dimention.. would even work better!

 

Huh - I haven't seen that one before...

It would solve the size problem, b/c it doesn't need the plentum. But, you'd still have a hose from the front of the heater, dipping back under the dash. I guess most people might not mind that, but it bothers me. Doesn't look "clean".

Seems that they would have put a duct on the top of the unit to run up to the w/s. I'm sure 99% of them are bought to be placed under the dash...

 

That might be possible, if you could get it up high enough. It doesn't look that "thick".

 

That was the idea I had in mind as well. Where are the controls on these things? Are they part of the unit or can you "switch" them?

Dondo

nevermind, I think I just figured it out. Hook the motor to a switch, then place the switch anywhere you want.

Duh.

 

Now we're cookin' R)
M

Is there any way to bypass the core, say for warm weather?

 

That's the one I saw for $149. I forgot about it being a solid unit (no plenum) Thanks Mike. For a minute, I thought I was losing my mind

 

You could do a search for heater valve on ebay and these valves would work for you to control the amount of heat just splice in line of one of the heater lines and hook a cable or sourts to them and your ready to go that is what I am doing.
There has got to be auniversal one in there some where if not I am sure you could make one universal.

 

Try a heater valve from a 69-72 Ford truck. They had a cable operated valve on the inner fender.