Do any of you know of a way to increase the heating power of an A-12 besides cardboard in the grill? Im selling my T-bird and Im getting ready to drive my Datsun again.......but Im in ND and the temp this past week had averaged beteewn 0 and 20 degrees with windchills of up to 50 below so Id like to know.I survived last winter just fine but last winter was very mild compared to this year. Thanks

What thermostat are you currently running?

Apparently you can buy heaters that install on your motor, when finished with your car you plug it into the mains and it keeps your engine warm, already for your next outing. otherwise the only thing that controls the heat in your engine is the thermostat

Man! I don't know how you can put up with weather like that..that's for penguins only!

The cardboard in the grille is a good idea, as would be an inline restrictor in the coolant lines, both are easily reversible. The other thing would be to convert the car to electric waterpump, and use a switch in the car.
You could also put external connectors on the coolant lines to pump the water to an external water heater while you are parked for the night.

Putting a lower ratio (4.8:1) diff will keep the revs up and make the little beast run hotter too.

This is about all I can think of.

Blocking off the lower half of the radiator is a good thing but place the cardboard across the radiator core directly, don't bother with the grille. I did this during the winter here. The hot air coming from the upper part of the radiator is usefull for warming the carb, & thats a good thing too. By using only half of the total core area, the coolant will end up circulating fully through the radiator instead of partly circulating in the engine, without enough coolant circulating in the radiator to heat up the whole radiator.
If the whole radiator is not warmed up, there is the risk of the core freezing over & blocking the airflow completely. I had this happen to a new Toyotaargh once, destroying the overheated engine. [Couldn't have happened to a better car]

Check your Auto parts house for thermostats & get the highest temp one that fits the engine. You can also make sure that the core in the heater is in good servicable condition. I don't care if the engine is boiling, if the heater core is blocked, the heater won't work well, so make sure it is clean.

When the coolant temp is right, & the heater core is flowing properly, the heater output in a 1200 will almost cook toast.

If things get so desperate that you need to boost rpm, try using 3rd gear instead of replacing the diff. It is much easier & cheaper, & definately a situation more easily reversed.

1. USA models have a heated-air air cleaner. Make sure that this is in good condition, vacuum motor working correctly and that the aluminumized hose to the exhaust manifold is tightly connected

2. Ensure that the heat-riser valve in the exhaust manifold is working correctly. This doesn't warm the intake air, it heats the bottom of the intake manifold. It should move freely by hand. If it is stuck, use penetrating oil to free it. It should close fully when engine is closed on cool days (below 70 degrees, at least), and (normal weather) fully open within a minute or two of running the engine.

3. Block the radiator core with cardboard as recommended by everyone else

4. Don't block the coolant lines. The thermostat will block the flow as long as the engine temp is low. When the engine heats up to the correct operating temperature it will open partially (and it will close enough to keep the temp constant, no matter how cold outside is).

5. Using a high-temp thermostat will only make the engine run hotter; it won't cause it to heat up faster. However, if you want the car interior heater to be more effective, running a 195-degree thermostat will make the engine run hottest and still be safe, thus increasing the effectiveness of the heater. You must also use a 14-lb radiator cap with this 195-degree thermostat, so don't do this if you radiator is old and weak.

5. Make sure you mix the water & antifireeze coolant in the ratio recommended on the coolant container. Ignore wind-chill; mix for the "real" temperature. This will prevent the radiator from freezing over even if there is no flow.

6. The block-heater (from any auto parts store) will make it easier to start the car in very cold weather, but may not be needed for only 0 degrees farenheit actual temp.

Quote:
ddgonzal
As usual, you are right on the money, but i have a diferent slant on this one [above]
The correct antifreeze will prevent the coolant from freezing "inside" the radiator, but it has no effect in ice forming outside of it.

One of my fleet vehicles set off one bitterly cold day from a snowfield region.
They drove at modest speed & low throttle setting through a heavy mist, or fog. The wind chill factor built up a great deal of "RIME ICE" [ask a pilot what that is] This ice formed a sheet across the front of the radiator, & elsewhere. When the air stopped flowing, the whole radiator got hot, melting the ice that was touching it & out to a short distance. By this time the ice sheet was thick enough to remain intact, despite the radiator's heat.

The car started to perform badly [surprise surprise] so they stoped at a service station [Williamsdale for our ACT members] This is the only place for miles, so they got a pie & took a twinkle. When they went to start it again, it spun over as if there were no plugs in it.

When we pulled it down, the block was bent about 5 thou. This was measured at the deck, the pan rail, & the main tunnel. It had about 6,000k on it.
The driver & passengers declared it was the thickest mist that they had seen at this time of year & that the Rime ice on the aerial was about 2" thick. I got to it after the ice melted.

No amount of antifreeze would have prevented this, but blocking half of the radiator, & warming the engine [& radiator] BEFORE setting off may well have saved the day. This took place in about '84 or '85.

What a godsend those heated air type aircleaners are. Cold air is good for racing, but it's a bloody pain if you are driving at low speed in a very cold area. Nothing like fuel condensing on manifold walls & ice forming in carb internal passages to spoil driveability in traffic.

Dodgeman, great story, and something to remember. I didn't think Australia had any areas that cold, but since there are ski areas, it follows.

Yes, the heated air cleaner is an absolute necessity when temperatures approach freezing -- several degrees above freezing is where the carburetor throttle will "ice up" due to the venturi effect lowering the air temp inside the carb. The problem isn't so much that the engine starts running poorly, but -- as I found out one day to my surprise and momentary horror -- that the throttle sticks, making the engine fail to slow down even when I took my foot off the pedal.

ddgonzal
Most of our carb ice problems occured in misty, foggy, or high humidity situations in the days before "hot air" air filters. The most common problem revolved around ice forming in the internal air bleeds of the carb, causing the mixture to go "full rich" This made driving difficult & the fix was to simply pull over & let the carb "heat soak" When the engine heat warmed up the carb, the ice melted, & everything was fine again,.... for a while.
The more efficient an engine is, the more vacuum it pulls, & the faster the carb icing problem appeared. Worn out old dogs with almost no vacuum just drove on by.

Carburettor ice has brought down many an airplane, & prematurely ended the life of far too many aviators. The culprit then just melts away.

I had the throttles freeze on me only once when i was driving to work early one winters morn. Cruising at about 55 to 60mph for about 3 or 4 miles, i reduced throttle slightly to pass over a dip in the road. No change in power. Hmmm, veeeery interesting, but puzzling.

There was no traffic & no drama, & after a few seconds, the throttles of those twin Hitachi's slowly moved back to idle. I pulled to the side of the road, idling, to allow a little warm air in there. That night i fitted the cardboard over the lower half of the radiator core & never had the problem again. The heater was warmer too.