|
|
Post by mariothemagician on Apr 23, 2015 7:36:00 GMT -5
I finally installed doors on my Bradley. They seal nice and looking great. Summer is coming up and I can feel the heat in it already. I have these twisty metal discs at my feet and vents on the sides. The sided vents are connected to pipes that go to the heater boxes. I don't want heat! lol Im wondering what are safe ventilation options with a Bradley aside from driving without doors? I read online horror stories of carbon monoxide entering old heater boxes and flowing into the car! I know the Bradley interior is tiny, and I want to make sure I am doing this all in a very safe way.
I am looking for fresh air options. I have these metal disk vents at my feet and passengers. They have fans on the opposite side that are not connected to anything. Can those be used in a way to create fresh air??
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
|
|
|
|
Post by kitcarguy on Apr 23, 2015 8:16:10 GMT -5
With the doors on and without A/C you will cook. BUT with that being said if all you want is fresh hot air coming in you could ads some vents under the dash on the left and right side.
|
|
|
|
Post by leonardabell on Apr 23, 2015 8:20:43 GMT -5
The twisty things at you feet are a small way to get a little fresh air. It is a pain to get to them to open and close them. When I was running with doors, I would open the front clip on the drivers side of the wind/door, and put a spacer in it. Sometimes my foot! This will let in some air at speed.
|
|
|
|
Post by Jeff Troy on Apr 28, 2015 19:37:18 GMT -5
Back in the 1970's and '80s, before getting my car's AC working correctly, there were times when my AC needed to be charged. On those occasions, Leonard's suggestion is similar to what I did. I would fasten the rear latch of the driver window, and prop the front edge open with a cigarette pack wedged between the Plexiglas and the door sill. The passenger side was opposite: Latch the front and prop open the rear. It helped a little when moving, but proved nearly useless in traffic.
The vents are a joke, and were removed and the holes glassed over during my 1992-94 rebuild. The only thing those "twisty things" will put into your car are dust, rain splash and road debris -- and why in the world would anyone think that the air coming though those ridiculous vents would be cool when the outside temperature is in the 80s or 90s?
A simple rule of thumb for good airflow is that the air exits should allow the passage of at least twice the volume of incoming air. The kick panel vents in the GT allow very little volume in, and with the lids and rear window latched, there is no provision for outbound airflow at all. The incoming air is simply trapped, and as its volume increases, so does the heat level.
If you intend to drive your car in the rain in warm weather, you'd best get an aftermarket AC unit or drive with the lids off. There really aren't many acceptable choices.
Good luck and warmest regards,
|
|
|
|
Post by mariothemagician on Apr 30, 2015 6:50:33 GMT -5
Thank you guys for the responses. I am loving this story with the cigarette pack.lol Jeff your CD has helped SO much with my restoration, even up to the doors!
I am attaching the hoses to the heater boxes. I realized with them hanging loose by the engine, I was getting unwanted fumes into the car. I am definitely looking into AC options.
Next for me is why my generator isn't generating! I see a loose wire inside. Possibly from one of the studs??? There is always something! lol
|
|
Minax
Junior Member
Posts: 61
|
Post by Minax on Apr 30, 2015 10:44:05 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by Gary Hammond on Apr 30, 2015 12:03:49 GMT -5
Hi Mario,  I solved the ventilation issues in mine by adding two things. First, I installed two pull cables through the dash for both front vents. And second, I added shower drain outlets under the rear shelf area ducted to the inlet of the engine cooling fan. This gives me pull through ventilation (or heat) whenever the engine is running. (The engine draws part of it's cooling air from the passenger compartment this way.) The only drawback is a little extra noise when the doors are on.  Of course you could do the same thing with an electric blower fan to exhaust the air as well. The thing I like about my method is it's cheap; doesn't require any extra wiring, switches, or fuses; and it recirculates the air when the heat is on. (And since I'm not a smoker, I don't have a pack of cigarettes to wedge in the doors!)  Gary Hammond,   P.S. I also added rain deflectors in front of the fresh air inlets to keep rain and road splash out! |
|
|
|
Post by smyrnaguy on Apr 30, 2015 22:06:05 GMT -5
Just wait until the outside temp hits the century mark. Without AC you'll know how the cookies feel when the oven door closes. Even with the doors off every traffic light is insufferable because no air is moving and your head is at SUV/PUT exhaust pipe level. AC should be mandatory. It can be added for about $500 if you shop around and piece it together yourself. The hoses are the expensive part because of the length required.
|
|
|
|
Post by Gary Hammond on May 1, 2015 10:19:46 GMT -5
Hi Smyrnaguy, Just wait until the outside temp hits the century mark. Without AC you'll know how the cookies feel when the oven door closes. Even with the doors off every traffic light is insufferable because no air is moving and your head is at SUV/PUT exhaust pipe level. AC should be mandatory. It can be added for about $500 if you shop around and piece it together yourself. The hoses are the expensive part because of the length required. I get your point, but I live in rural Illinois and usually only drive the Bradley on nice days with the doors off. The doors are on only when it's cold, I'm driving in the rain, or when it's parked. It seldom ever sees heavy or in town traffic with lots of traffic signals. ........... When the weather gets too bad I just take the Lincoln! Gary Hammond, |
|
|
|
Post by mariothemagician on May 2, 2015 8:18:50 GMT -5
Minax I am digging that scoop idea. I drove the Bradley yesterday for the first time with doors. I deflated my tires to 19 pounds. It made a huge difference with keeping those latches down. I learned a lot of lessons. I installed a new Voltage regulator only to find the bottom of it was heating up! Some faint smoke was rising and I knew something was wrong. I researched to find out that it is completely NORMAL for the bottom coil under the Voltage regulator to get really hot and smoke a little. I was blown away. After driving for a while the coil cooled down. This goes against everything I learned about electronics. I searched for hours trying to find a short somewhere. Crazy.....
Gary your idea is spot on. I need to figure out something like you did. Air continually flowing. The cable controller. so awesome.
smyrnaguy I want AC so bad, but It looks so d**n complicated. I agree about the exhaust thing too. Thats why I have to do something.
Thank you guys !
|
|
|
|
Post by leonardabell on May 4, 2015 7:12:09 GMT -5
I bought a pair of scoops from Bradley in Minn. and they seemed too narrow for my 1/4 inch plexi. I also was chicken to cut holes in my only expensive doors!!!!
|
|
|
|
Post by horen2tas on May 4, 2015 7:23:56 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by skip20 on May 4, 2015 18:45:00 GMT -5
Be a litter hard on mount it to a plexglass window!
On no, showing my age again
|
|
|
|
Post by cocacoladodge on May 13, 2015 11:17:01 GMT -5
Here is an idea that does help with allowing the air inside to exit with the air coming in from the twisties... Still not great, but its better than not having it.   Hmm not working. Let's try this |
|
|
|
Post by cocacoladodge on May 13, 2015 11:30:27 GMT -5
|
|
