Heat and Winter driving

[ss912]

Hi.

I am currently restoring a 1968 912 Coupe. I would like to drive it in the winter, so I am treating the car with POR-15. I will need to replace the rocker panels, so it seems like a good time to insulate the heater tubes.

Is it possible to be warm in the winter?

What could I do, while the car is apart, that would help?

Is there anything that I should add? eg. auxiliary fans or heaters, etc.

Thanks.

Shawn
Ontario, Canada

[Duke]

There is an article in "Up-Fixin der Porsche" volume 3 page 134 that deals with insulating your Porsche for heat. I have never tried this but you might check it out.

[barlowdo]

On my 68 912 which I have since sold, I also drove it for a few winters. I had replaced the factory oil cooler with an aftermarket external oil cooler routed to the front of the car. For the winter I mounted the cooler in the front trunk, I attached it to the blower section of one of those Gas Heaters. The gas heater was mounted in such away that the duct blew into the drivers compartment and could be opened or closed. I mounted a toggle switch to turn the blower on and off on the dash.

I was concerned that I may be pushing too much oil for the oil pump since the oil lines added a lot of extra capacity. So before attempting this I consulted with an expert who said the additonal capacity should not hurt anything.

I was also concerned that the oil might not transfer heat as well as water in a water cooled car.

Well anyway the heater worked great ! I was in NYS at the time so you may need a few more BTU's in Canada. This was back in the 80's . Since than I have seen same idea sold for VW's in catologs.

-Don

[adot]

Hey Shawn

I think you will be just fine with the stock setup. It doesnt get that cold here in the DC area, but I ran around the last two winters with plenty of heat. She s a litle harder to start inthe winter.... pump,pump,pump. Then again, just found out I need a new fuel pump.

Also, I would start and let the car run till i reached the white temp block. 5 to 10 minutes. Make sure you keep your coffee outside the car during this time or you will be scraping the inside of ice.

Brett

[jac912]

I try to drive as much as possible on clear days, winter included, my only fear is rust "as it never sleeps". My stock 67 gets fairly warm even at about 20 degrees(f) but only after several miles of moderate to hard driving. As a daily driver in winter conditions I would experiment with an extra battery and an electric heater remembering that the charging system only allows 25 amps to the battery (small generator on '67).
Jim in Ma.

[Green 912]

When I had exchangers it seemed that it would ether be lots or almost nothing with the heat. (I miss those heaters sometimes) If you can retrofit your 68 with a blower, (I seem to remember that the blowers started in 69) that will help. Also, get under the car in back and look at the flapper boxes and air valves while a friend moves the heat lever back and forth. Checking that all work together and in unison. If the flappers don’t shut and/or the air valves don’t shut then you will have little pressure to push the heat into the driver’s compartment. The plastic coated cables are often in bad shape. Funny thing, I found that when driving at speed, opening the window or even better the sunroof a little would create some suction and the compartment would heat up nicely with or without the blower on.

All in all trick is not so much to keep heat in the driver’s compartment but to get heat in. Air cooled motors make plenty of heat, its getting it from the motor to you that is sometimes the problem.

[ss912]

Thanks for the great suggestions!

Yes, my flappers are shot so I will need to replace those. It is encouraging to hear that winter driving can be comfortable, even if with minor modifications.

The oil heater idea is interesting. Also, it sounds safer than heating with gas.

Thanks again.

Shawn