Gents,

We had drifts to two feet but most of it has melted now however it keeps snowing every other day here in the foot hills.

Reed,
I have checked the flapper and all is well. No holes in the stat, it's 2 months old and runs dead on at 195 degrees, did the boiling pan water test. A 50/50 mix did make a little difference. It was more like 65/35. The cap is a new 16 pound unit. However, after cruising and I jumped out and take temp readings with a laser temp gun, the block and head is at 180 to 190 from front to back and the cap is 185 to 190. If I let it sit for 5 minutes it will warm up to 200 degrees. With the heater fan on high inside it puts out fair heat but not the blistering heat my 440 cars put out. Once under way, 35 to 40 mph the car cools back down again to a luke warm heat coming out. Once I am on the freeway and the engine starts working a little, it puts out allot more heat, more like my other cars. It just takes a long time to get heat at 25 to 45 mph. The engine is just not working that hard and generating much heat and the airflow seems to counter any heat build up keeping everything around 180 degrees. On our drive yesterday my wife complained allot. Next time we take her 72 Imperial out. It will burn your pant legs.....
One of the mods I made last year was to get rid of the thermostatic fan clutch and switched to an electric fan, which helps allot. At least when there is no air flowing through the radiator it will start to warm up at a red light. The air coming through the vents is never cold, just luke warm to medium warm, never hot. And that is with the outside air inlet blocked off.
I am only recirculating cabin air to get it to warm up quicker and keep the diesel fumes out.
On the engine cleaning he did plug it and filled it up with muratic acid. After the hot tanking he wasn't satisfied that it was clean enough. It still looked scaly. So 3 more days soaking. The insides were a nice clean gray casting color for as far as I could inspect with a light. Same with the head. Very nice job!

Anothersix,
No vacuum hoses on heater valves on the Swinger. It is all manual cables.

Thanks guys for all the tips. I may need better insulation in the car and better door seals, or a slower heater fan speed. It is a two speed. Just not sure what to do next. The engine is super clean, all the hoses feel good, clamps tight, no leaks or coolant loss. Radiator shines like new, the heater core is new and will burn you fingers. Not sure what to do next. Above 45 degrees there is no issue with heat. It warms up quicker and puts out much hotter heat. I have even had it burn my pant leg! When it's freezing out.......it just doesn't keep up. :shrug:

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Aggressive Ted

http://cid-32f1e50ddb40a03c.photos.live ... %20Swinger


74 Swinger, 9.5 comp 254/.435 lift cam, 904, ram air, electric fans, 2.5" HP2 & FM70 ex, 1920 Holley#56jet, 2.76 8 3/4 Sure-Grip, 26" tires, 25+MPG

Ted maybe you need to look at it the other way round,re;perhaps your other rigs are running too hot

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83 B-150 slant 6,4 speed. 79 B-300 360 pathfinder 4x4. 74 W-300 318 4x4 git-r-done 80 B-100 sl6,4speed

you must have cold air entering the cabin or heater case from somewhere. we were at 0*F the other day when i drove 3 hrs to be with my parents for new years, i was not lacking in heat at any speed.

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I've been calling it as i see it for my entire life and that's not about to change. Take it or leave it.

I've driven A-body cars for 17 years,and the S/6 engines took about 50% longer to heat up vs a 360.Also it seems the new heater cores have smaller tubes in them and plug up sooner.I put a 4-seasons heater core in my 68 'cuda 5 years ago the same time I replaced the engine.Block was cooked,new radiator,new antifreeze,distilled water,and it,s plugged up 30,000 miles later

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V8?? We don't need no stink'n V8!!

did you replace the antifreeze every year?

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I've been calling it as i see it for my entire life and that's not about to change. Take it or leave it.

Yes, since the cores are new I use the Prestone radiator cleaner each year and let it run for 30 minutes so the radiator is nice and shinny inside. Still looks nice and new with new antifreeze both years.

Step,

On a 1 1/2 hour or more drive to work or back home it is nice and toasty when I get about half way. But on short drives at slower speeds it barely keeps up. Mine is setup to recirculate cabin heat only, no outside air at all unless I open the driver's side vent.

6shot,

I got 180 stats in the 440 cars and new antifreeze. The big blocks just retain allot of heat even with triple core monster radiators.

bigslant6fan,

Thanks for sharing our experience. I thought it takes along time for the SL6 to warm up. That is why I went with a electric radiator fan to reduce warm up time. However, Dan says no.....I hate wasting fuel in the morning waiting for the car to warm up. I tend to jump in and go since it runs so well cold.

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Aggressive Ted

http://cid-32f1e50ddb40a03c.photos.live ... %20Swinger


74 Swinger, 9.5 comp 254/.435 lift cam, 904, ram air, electric fans, 2.5" HP2 & FM70 ex, 1920 Holley#56jet, 2.76 8 3/4 Sure-Grip, 26" tires, 25+MPG

i was asking the above poster. but i do not agree that your car is cold because it is a slant. mine heats just fine and my winters are way colder than yours. i idle mine just long enough to idle without stalling, no more than twenty seconds so far this year, and am up to room temperature inside the car before i get out of town, my car takes less than five minutes to reach operating temperature and the cabin takes less than ten to warm-up.

keep looking.

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I've been calling it as i see it for my entire life and that's not about to change. Take it or leave it.

I will keep looking......

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Aggressive Ted

http://cid-32f1e50ddb40a03c.photos.live ... %20Swinger


74 Swinger, 9.5 comp 254/.435 lift cam, 904, ram air, electric fans, 2.5" HP2 & FM70 ex, 1920 Holley#56jet, 2.76 8 3/4 Sure-Grip, 26" tires, 25+MPG

Have you checked for rust holes in the floor letting cold air in? I am running out of other ideas...

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

No, I haven't.......that's a good one. We just got another 4" of new snow this morning.
I will have to wait till we got some better weather to jack it up and take a look. I am going to put a new carpet in this spring. I have my back seat out now and have been working on it. Everything looks good and solid so far.

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Aggressive Ted

http://cid-32f1e50ddb40a03c.photos.live ... %20Swinger


74 Swinger, 9.5 comp 254/.435 lift cam, 904, ram air, electric fans, 2.5" HP2 & FM70 ex, 1920 Holley#56jet, 2.76 8 3/4 Sure-Grip, 26" tires, 25+MPG

Ok, I have not read the whole thread, but have you/can you measure the temp of the air coming out of the heater? Like in the dash vent or something?
If it is hot...it is hot...

I think the "leaky car" might be something to look into.
We have a few trucks at work that tend to be kinda cold, but they do get normal after replacing the door seals.

Just an idea

Rust,

Yes, I can put a thermometer in the vent on the dash and floor to check. That is a good idea and maybe some of the other members could tell me what temps they get out of their vents for comparison.

I plan on painting the car this year so new door seals would be in order. Mine do not have any rips or tears and do not look bad, but you never know.

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Aggressive Ted

http://cid-32f1e50ddb40a03c.photos.live ... %20Swinger


74 Swinger, 9.5 comp 254/.435 lift cam, 904, ram air, electric fans, 2.5" HP2 & FM70 ex, 1920 Holley#56jet, 2.76 8 3/4 Sure-Grip, 26" tires, 25+MPG

http://www.nationalcomfortinstitute.com ... ic%20Tools



use this for diagnosing air leakage. hit defrost when looking for leaks down below, and floor when checking door seals and up high so the airflow doesnt get disturbed, heater fan OFF when having a friend poke around for leaks at speed.

you can also use an incense stick but the smoke wont be nearly as visible.

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I've been calling it as i see it for my entire life and that's not about to change. Take it or leave it.

My 68 Dart had this issue... would never get warm enough, even on long trips at 65 MPH, when the outside air fell below 25 degrees.

Air leaks here and there were the cause of my problems.

Is the plastic sheet behind the interior door trim still in place? That was one of the problems I had.

The other involved leaking ductwork joints.

Once I fixed these leaks, the heater could finally keep up with the car. Before then, I couldn't raise the cabin temp above 50 or so when it was really cold outside.

-Mac

Step,

Good idea...

The plastic over the doors etc. is still stock and in place. The heater vent tubes are still stock and very thin.

I usually keep the selector on about 3/4 so the defrosters are getting most of the air to keep the windows clear and only about 1/4 of the heat down on the floor.

If they make them in aluminum, that would be a good upgrade.

I am sure having the back seat out doesn't help. Jute and backing board is in place though.

_________________
Aggressive Ted

http://cid-32f1e50ddb40a03c.photos.live ... %20Swinger


74 Swinger, 9.5 comp 254/.435 lift cam, 904, ram air, electric fans, 2.5" HP2 & FM70 ex, 1920 Holley#56jet, 2.76 8 3/4 Sure-Grip, 26" tires, 25+MPG