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has anyone kept the heat and air from their donor?

If so

How much weight was involved?
How did the install go?
Where do you put everything?


Also, what are some light weight alternatives? For example i know in some older cars there was a vent you could open by your feet that would let in fresh air. Is there mayube a way you could vent the engine bay for heat or the exterior for a vent?

Heat doesn't weigh very much, the little radiators are very light and the small hoses shouldn't be too hard to plumb.

You can get little pop open vent doors that they use on small trucks like step vans. Check out a UPS or Fedex truck for example. Just to get cool air to your feet you could make something though, because it needn't be visible.

I weighed all the components of the entire miata system a few years ago. I think it was about 35 lbs.

An aftermarket evaporator system with heat is much more compact, comes in several sizes and has standard fittings. The price should be between $150-$300.

A multi-path, plate type "supercooler" condenser (around $150) is much more efficient than oem tube type so it can be smaller with the same head pressure. It is very similar to the plate versus tube transmission coolers. FYI, condenser size and compressor displacement go hand in hand, the same as radiator size and engine size.

Google "Vintage Air".

I strongly recommend installing a heater in a street-legal seven. Makes those early-spring dawn launches entirely pleasant. Little money (full kit for $150, build yer own for much less), big return.

I can't see A/C being very useful...but I have zero experience.

-dave

I will 2nd Dave's comment on installing a heater for a road Seven. Sure comes in handy. I built my heater system from aluminum but used the Toyota donor blower and including the defrost ducts but not the hoses and water flow valve, it came in just over 14lbs. Out of pocket cost was $11 for a small heater core. I would check on you state requirements, to see if a defroster is necessary. My defroster really does not work in an open car at speeds above 40MPH. The low pressure area behind the glass prevents the hot air from clearing much more then half way up the windshield. With the doors on, the defroster works a lot better.
Dave W

It will be almost strictly a road car and here in Minnesota i figured heat would almost be a must if i want to get much use out of it.

For air conditioning i figured it would help to run a hose behind the seat and have it blow on the back of your neck mainly when at stop lights etc... So if it doesnt cost too much to fit it in, and it doesnt weigh TOO much it could make sunny summer driving a bit more comfortable.

this brings up another question that might be better off in the electrical forum


How difficult would it be to hook up HVAC controls from a different car then the donor? Just to make it worse what if the donor is american and the HVAC controls are from a german maker or something?

Not knowing your definition of "HVAC controls" and which car supplies what parts, the answer to your question of how difficult it is, is YES.

i should have been more specific

donor is a 4th gen V8 fbody. Id like to use the temp and fan control knobs from an audi

http://0.tqn.com/d/cars/1/0/_/5/1/ag_08r8_hvac.jpg

basically use that entire assembly

You might be able to use the controls if both cars use the same type of fan motors (i.e., pwm or dc), servos for air flow control, and have similar outputs to the pcm which probably controls the ac versus stand-alone safety switches in series.

The gm compressor paired to a small condenser may be an issue unless the compressor is variable displacement.

I've seen guys with dedicated track-day cars who reinstalled a heater and defroster ducts. I thought they were crazy until I showed up for a track day when it was a brisk 32F at 7AM tech and saw people wiping madly at their windshields. Some of them missed the first session because they couldn't see the track. Fortunately I still had the heater in my RX7...

I'm having heat, no doubt. Most Yanquis (defined as anybody that lives north of Orlando) don't mind not having AC in their roadsters. I use the AC in my TBird with the top down allatime. Traffic jam, July, interstate, noontime, central Florida can you say "hotern the hubs of hell"? I'll have to plan my locost excursions around that problem. Like sippin' pina coladas between 10:00 and 2:00 at a Cocoa Beach establishment.

I'm in the process of building a heater as we speak. I bought a heater for a Chevy S-10 pickup and am using the core as well as the fan and controls. This unit uses cables to operate the airbox doors, so it's pretty simple. I'm installing the core and heater box just above the transmission(between the footwells). The stock airbox was way too big, so i'm making one. It took a little figuring to make things fit, but I think it will work ok. I'll try to post some photos before long. When I started, I wasn't planing to have a heater, but after thinking about it, I decided that there will be plenty of mornings as well as evening drives when a heater will be needed.. It will extend the driving season considerably, I think.

I used a heater from a MG Midget or same as any SMITHS heater from any old English car. I made a few mods and laid it on its side on the passenger side in the skuttle. Trimed it down on the output side and added a cover plate with three 2 inch tubes x 1 1/2 inch long. Long enough to put on a hose clamp and 2 inch duct hose. Two for heater, one on each side , and the third split in two for defrost. Where I live at least, if you have a windshield you must have defrost and wipers. Mind you you could have a 12 volt hair dryer and a loose wiper blade.................

I agree, in my case I have defrosters, two directional dash vents as well as a foot well outlet.
One can never be to comfortable.

Al