Betty now has Heat in the Trunk

I spent most of yesterday and today working on Betty. I attempted to weld a piece of sheet metal to hold and protect the short section of hoses on the underside of the chassis. I’m not sure it is wise to show these pictures.

Each one of those holes represents a cuss word uttered through my cheap welding helmet.

I installed the HIH (hose in hose) adapters, the 2 solenoid valves (not completely hooked up though) and temporarily plumbed the hose ends in the trunk, making a loop for the engine coolant to flow through. I also temporarily plumbed the IP (injection pump) supply, and the fuel return. More parts are on order to get all that done correctly.

I learned an important lesson. Actually, I think I’ve learned this lesson already, but I forgot it so I had to relearn it. Engine coolant systems don’t work with air in the hoses. You have to completely fill up all the hoses before liquid will flow. I’ll try to remember this time.

After the engine heated up

I measured about 174F at the heater hose coming out of the engine.

And it was 160F in the trunk.

It seemed to make a big improvement in the amount of heat in the trunk with the heater turned on. The auxiliary coolant pump is turned on with the heater, so I am definitely going to have to wire in a “force on” switch for that.

It is still a mess under the hood. I have to come up with some brackets to mount the solenoid valves to. So I have lots more work to do, but getting this far and not having any leaks is a major milestone.

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One Response to Betty now has Heat in the Trunk

  1. David Callaway says:

    I need to do some arc gouging, but I don’t have a machine to do it. Maybe I can borrow yours?

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