Mike Farmer Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 1988 Xflow 1700 Supersport. I wanted to change a perished heater hose but in the process the brazed connector into the heater matrix just snapped off. Clearly, the grip of the hose on the connector was greater than the connector into the matrix. After quite a struggle I have now removed the heater and stripped it down. I don’t think it’s worth getting the connector brazed on again since the other one looks a bit dodgy as well. Now my question – where can I get a new matrix? The heater sits across the middle on the shelf in front of the scuttle. The heater box has no markings on it at all. It is a flat pressed steel box measuring 39 x 21 x 8 cms with the fan motor protruding upwards in the centre top. At each end is a sloped vent that directs the air down into the top of the two footwells. In the middle at the bottom is a 6 inch diameter hole for incoming air. The in and out pipes face forwards towards the engine. Within the box there is a matrix on each side of the fan connected by two copper pipes across the rear of the box. Any help in identifying the heater and/or matrix would be much appreciated. Many thanks. Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stationary M25 Traveller Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 See here for previous thread on original supplier of heater matrix for recent CC models. Maybe they can help you in your quest ? 7 related photos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Farmer Posted December 31, 2007 Author Share Posted December 31, 2007 Thank you. I did see that in my search before posting and was going to give them a try. However, I assumed that my heater would be a propriety model from some other car since it has no Caterham markings on it and the age of my car on a Q plate. Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stationary M25 Traveller Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 hopefully they make them all shapes and sizes ? You never know ! 7 related photos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6speedmanual Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 .......worth considering leaving it and stripping out all the heater components to run without heater? It's never all that cold in Britain ! 6SpeedManual *tongue*There's no such thing as too much BHP per Ton 😬 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Farmer Posted January 1, 2008 Author Share Posted January 1, 2008 I'm seriously thinking about doing just that. If I get rid of the heater, what is the best way of blanking off the 2 water outlets from the block? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Git Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 check that if you blank off the outlets from the block, the water will still circulate round the engine! Tim N Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6speedmanual Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 Mike, I'm not too familiar with the plumbing layout on a cross-flow, but usually there is pipe from the block to the heater and a pipe from the heater back to the block. If you plumb these outlet and inlets to the block together, the water which would have flowed through the heater just flows through the pipe. The water flow around the engine is equivalent to heater with valve fully open. I'm sure someone with a heater-less cross-flow can give more info on the pipe run. I don't think you'll regret ditching the heater. With suitable layers of light but windproof clothing, aeroscreen blatting at 0degC is quite tolerable. 😬 Saves a few lbs too. 6SpeedManual *tongue*There's no such thing as too much BHP per Ton 😬 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbutnotslow Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 I would just connect the hoses together for the time being and get the pipes re soldered on. Any radiator specialist will do this for you. Having recently fitted a new fresh air heater into YBNS car there is a deal of work involved. They cost £260. This assumes that you have a 7 louvre bonnet otherwise they wont work. Also the mounting plate on the scuttle will have to be replaced. Much cheaper to get yours fixed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave B Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 I had this happen to my heater a couple of years ago and took it to a local Serck dealer who brazed the pipe back on for about £10. He said the heater was from a Reliant Simitar, not that that's much help. It has been OK since. Dave B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alextangent Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 I ran for a month or so with the heater disconnected while I refurbed it; just run the hose from the front of the block to the connector on the inlet manifold. The temp on my xflow stayed quite steady. For a permanent solution I'd probably invest in a couple of elbows. Like most xflows I've seen, I run with an old bit of hose cable tied around the front turn as it passses over a sharp section on the block; an elbow would probably be better here. Added; don't run without some form of blanking plate, the average xflow will gas you dead in minutes... I rivetted a plastic sheet from the guts of an old fridge. Alex McDonald A loud 1700 SS in bits Edited by - alextangent on 2 Jan 2008 15:52:21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stationary M25 Traveller Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 I just tried doing a Google search for Reliant Scimitar Spares. Lots of alleged potential sources (if of course yours is the same as the above suggestion !) 7 related photos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Farmer Posted January 2, 2008 Author Share Posted January 2, 2008 Thank you one and all for your comments. I shall give it a whirl without the heater pro-tem to see if I really am a man! Thanks again. Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbutnotslow Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 One of the things that Matt has found after fitting his heater is that the cabin is no longer damp with the result that the hood windows dont steam up all the time. At 22 he said that he was not looking for warmth as the prime reason for fitting it. However he reckons he would not go back now and finds that as his daily drive he is enjoying the car more. Grant Taylor - OBNS Motorsport 😬 183 BHP of Black and 'Stone Chip'. YBNS VX Classic. 😬 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alextangent Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 Somewhere in my garage there's a U shaped ali bracket with a leg on it. U part hooks over the sill, and the leg keeps the door open at the bottom by a couple of inches. That and opening the zip on the rear by a few inches ensures a half-decent flow of air through the cockpit, and it rarely gets steamy inside. Alex McDonald A loud 1700 SS in bits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stationary M25 Traveller Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 But .... wouldn't that let a huge tidal surge in every time you hit a puddle, or drove on wet roads ?? 7 related photos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alextangent Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 Never! CLAMS 😬 😬 😬 Alex McDonald A loud 1700 SS in bits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickenhawk Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 Mike I had trouble with my same heater and ditched it a couple of years ago. Have not really missed it. You normally get small trickle of engine heat come through. The passenger is always warm as they've got the bunch of bananas on their side. I simply riveted a small aluminium sheet over the holes, (I think i got it from redline). I also fitted a small aluminium pressurised expansion tank where the heater used to go making my water system 'sealed' and giving a couple of extra pints to the system. When my car had the 'standard open' system with the 'overflow' that's supposed to suck liquid back as it cools, i had loads of overheating problems. It gets tapped off just on the waterpump on a 1/2" or so hose and goes back in on the thermostat cover via a samller hose - (i had to buy another one of these with an inlet/outlet - again redline i think). Made a big difference to cooling and would recommond. No more problems since then and to be honest dont miss the heater. America had often been discovered before Columbus, but it had always been hushed up. Oscar Wilde Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leadership Team Mcalvert Posted January 4, 2008 Leadership Team Share Posted January 4, 2008 Mike - I have one sitting in the garage doing nothing - yours for a donation to NTL if you want it. Not sure how best to get it to Bristol though - I am Jn 7 of the M4. Regards, Michael. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Farmer Posted January 4, 2008 Author Share Posted January 4, 2008 Michael (Mcalvert) - many thanks for the offer but I have decided to go without. However, if I find that I really am a wimp, I may well come back to you Chickenhawk - I have already got an aluminium blanking plate to cover the holes. I did have overheating problems until I flushed the system out. Now OK. It does leave a lot of space in front of the scuttle and I was thinking about using it for additional storage space for some extra tools - suitably secured. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACK FLASH Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 Mike, Wise decision. I had the same large heater in my Twin Cam and because the interior was always warm enough and I needed the extra space for mounting the battery, an expansion tank and some extra electrical items, I took out the heater. I didn' t mount an aluminium blanking plate but a stainless steel one and I used the original 4 mounting holes and screws from the heater. For the connection of the expansion tank, I used the original outlet of the heater to the radiator for the bottom connection of the tank (large hose). The upper connection of an expansion tank (small hose) should go to a point somewhere on top of the thermostat housing. I changed the housing of my Twin Cam but for a X Flow you can use a Ford thermostat housing. You must blank of the opening for the former hose between the engine and the inlet of the heater. Do not use this one for connecting to the top inlet of an expansion tank. BTW, I sold my heater, which was in good condition, for a fair price to Redline. Jack Flash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Farmer Posted January 6, 2008 Author Share Posted January 6, 2008 Jack and/or Chicken hawk, Thanks for that. When fitted, my heater had a 1/2 inch hose from the water pump to the heater and then another 1/2 inch hose from the heater to the cylinder head in the middle of the inlet manifold. I presume I can connect the hose from the water pump to the expansion tank and then from the expansion tank back into the "overflow" on the thermostat housing. I would then blank off the connection on the inlet manifold. Would this work? Also, any recommendations as to what size and make of expansion tank? Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACK FLASH Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 Mike, I don' t know the exact lay out of your X Flow but your description seems allright. The hose between the top of the expansion tank and the thermostat housing should be quite small (1/4 inch ? !). In normal working condition this part of the system should be filled with air. Are you going to use an expansion tank with a plastic cap or with a metal cap (controlled release pressure valve with an overflow hose going into a second small tank). The second choice is the better one because you can change the cap to in- or decrease the working pressure of the cooling system. Currently I use a 1.1 bar (about 15 lbs) Ford Motorcraft metal cap. If you send me your e-mail adress I can deliver you a couple of pictures and drawings concerning the installation of expansion tanks on Twin Cam and X Flow engines. Jack Flash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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