Hey all, I'm looking at getting my 68 Mini Matic (now 1330 manual) back on the road and have matured a lot since I did it up last....I am living down south for the next few years so was checking out options for heating/demisting. Has anyone here used the aftermarket heaters in the cab and did you plumb it into the dash vents? Or are there other options, or just don't worry about it. Cheers.

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I just want it to be nice....and fast....and loud...

I've used the T7 designs small heater now sold in mini parts places, for engineering I needed demister vents so these were plumbed the other two outlets just go to the footwells via vents on the heater body although you could duct these where you want.
The fan it came with is fairly loud and but the demister seems to take a while to clear likely due to the deluxe ducting in front of the driver being pretty inefficient, a larger version or better fan might help.
https://www.t7design.co.uk/3-5kw-lightw ... e-05a.html

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Roads need more corners
A Deluxe(CG13DE), 2 Clubbies(998 and 1275) and 2 Morris 1100Ss

That is awesome Fuzzy. That is the one I was looking at as well. If you get some time or don't mind, can you send me some pics of how you mounted and plumbed it in please. I am living in canberra for work and my mini is on the sunshine coast so I can't look in the car to see how I would do it.

Trying to get all my ducks in a row before holidays at the end of the year and then its a rebuild blitz.....

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I just want it to be nice....and fast....and loud...

I flipped around between the T7 and an original heater for a while and in the end went with a Mk1 Cooper S heater with the fresh air ducting to the grille - essential for effective demisting.
It was a bit of a palaver fitting it to my K as I did not have heater brackets on the firewall and there is welded in ducting on the drivers side to suit an engine bay mounted heater unit. I can detail it out if you change your mind and go away from the T7.

Cheers, Paul.

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1970 Morris Mini K

I helped install a T7 into my friend James' mini. From memory we rotated the top plate around 90 degrees so that the mounting ears were front/back on the heater. We just used 2 lengths of steel bar and bolted them to the underside of the dash shelf.

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Sorry no pics I'm afraid, I mounted mine in a similar way to what Tim is describing, the front 2 screw holes mount it to the bottom of the switch panel surround, the other 2 are bolted to a simple bracket that goes up to the bottom of the parcel shelf.
I used the bulkhead fittings on an aluminium plate I made to bolt over the holes where LHD mini's would have thier master cylinders.
A variable resistor from a clubby instrument lights dimmer does switching and speed and a PC fan guard means that no one can kick the heater element. Only real downside of this fitting is it can make it difficult to get at the switch gear.

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Roads need more corners
A Deluxe(CG13DE), 2 Clubbies(998 and 1275) and 2 Morris 1100Ss

Thanks for the help everyone. So it isn't that important to get the fresh air in? We can just use the recirculation inside the cab.

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I just want it to be nice....and fast....and loud...

This is what I fitted to Minnie (1963 850).

http://www.minispares.com/product/Class ... A3000.aspx

The demister tube was from Minisplus in Bayswater HD32mm but I can't see it now on their website. This is similar:
https://minisport.com.au/search/?q=hd+32mm

I mounted it under the parcel shelf and fitted the hoses before I bolted it in. Limited as to where it goes as there's not much flexibility with the hoses. Power to the fan comes out the front as you can see but when sitting in the car, you can't see it anyway.

I'm not sure what model the demister bits came off but I think they were off a later model and not a round nose (maybe a leyland). They were laying around with a heap of other stuff I bought. Had to alter them a bit and make some brackets to hold them in place.

Heater works great although the fan is a tad noisy. Get a bit of air for demist when the floor flaps are open but if you want heaps, you need to close the floor vents. I find that just the passenger side demister works for me and the driver's side is not connected so it gives a bit more warm air on feet. No drama with just recirc air. Bullwinkle feels the cold and she's happy with it.

Hope this info helps,

Cheers, Rocky

I'm still running the original Matic fresh air heater in mine but I've fitted a 12V Attwood 3" bilge blower into the air duct. It's noisy but works well.
Only really needed in traffic..

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

Just to give a couple of different options, there are micro air conditiiners, and electric heater units available.

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Cheers Dave.

I fitted a 12 volt computer fan to the air intake of my Mk 1 heater as there is no ducted fresh air intake.
It is so much quieter than the original fan and gives just enough warm airflow for the front seats or windscreen. It will get a workout on the Rylstone weekend.

Thanks everyone for their replies, I had even forgotten about the little hinge flaps things under the dash....I am doing a trip back home this weekend so will have a good look at how those options might work in my car (custom dash). I will be doing a build/rebuild thread as well so there will be plenty more questions to come and you will see what I come up with. Cheers.

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I just want it to be nice....and fast....and loud...

I've tried used one of those tiny electric heaters as a defroster.
It didn't cut it driving to Albany in the wet, so there is no way it would handle Canberra's icy winters!

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Too many cars, and too little time.