water valve- heater control

[ranchbird]

What is the purpose of the small hose connected to the (water valve - heater control) on the front of the intake , can I replace the water valve with a 90 degree elbow and just connect the heater hose, I will probably never use the heater anyway .

[55Greg&Amy]

That provides vacuum from the heater controls to open the valve and allow coolant to circulate through the heater core. Just putting an elbow there would make the heater always on. You could just plug the hole and then plug the heater and vacuum hose and that would give you no heat or defrost.

[jereklein]

Hi
I removed the valve and put in an elbow. I understand that I no longer control the “amount” of heat, but when I move the controls to the off position, it doesn’t feel like any heat is coming through.

[CSavaglio]

I know on every vintage car I've owned, my t-brid included, there was measurable heat radiating from the vents of there was hot water running thru the core. It's most noticeable on warm days.

Casco makes a fairly inexpensive and relatively easy to install kit that converts the vacuum valve to a mechanical one that operates with the dash controls. I've had it in my car for a while and I wish I'd done it sooner. It works perfectly. For a while, I used a hand operated mechanical valve that I had to go under the hood for..worked fine, but you couldn't change the temp while driving.

[goatie]

I installed the manual valve when I put in electric wipers on my 1955
I drive in cold weather and it works great.

[jereklein]

That’s interesting. I didn’t detect any heat but perhaps i didn’t notice

[CSavaglio]

It's possible your vent doors seal a lot better than mine. It's fine when it's cool out, but it can get warmer than it should when it's hot out

[jereklein]

I was wondering about that too. Heat doesn’t bother me as much as cold so i might not even notice.

[ranchbird]

So am I correct in thinking that the vacuum comes from the fuel pump and goes to the control valve on the heater core, then when you slide the heat lever towards hot it sends vacuum out to the valve on the intake and opens to let water flow to the heater core and out the other hose to the water pump. So when the heater is off there is no water in the hose coming from the intake ?. I also looked at the instructions for the manual valve it says to put it on the hose coming from the heater core going to the water pump, so when the heater is off wouldn't hot water be sitting in the hose from the intake through the heater core to the valve that is shut off. And my last thought if I didn't want to use the heater at all since it will be driven in the summer only couldn't I just install a elbow on the intake and disconnect the hoses from the heater core and hook them together so it would make a continuous loop.

[paul2748]

Actually there are two vacuum valves. The one on the intake and another (part # 18502) in the heater near the heater radiator operated by vacuum which I think is nicknamed "spider". I replaced the vacuum unit on the manifold with CASCO's mechanical unit and it works great.

The source for the vacuum is from the engine/fuel pump, goes to the first valve in the heater and then to the valve on the intake if I remember correctly. The vacuum hose from the engine/fuel pump is used for the wipers in addition to the heater. There is a "T" under the dash that splits the vacuum to the wipers and heater.

[ranchbird]

I might just go with the manual set up, concours parts has a kit for $79.50 there valve is metal, Casco's kit has a plastic valve but its only $52.

[ranchbird]

I was surfing the net and googled four seasons heater valve , several versions of same valve that the t-bird vendors sell came up for $11 to $16.

[Daddio]

I realize there's 'Different strokes for different folks', but this is a Thunderbird ... a classic ... maybe even a $50,000+ car ... and it deserves to be kept as operationally original as possible.
Why not get a proper valve and retain that originality?

[paul2748]

I agree to a point. But some of the parts that are reproduced are of poor quality - the replacement heater valve on the intake has been prone to failure in the past. The mechanical valve is a very good upgrade. Another very good upgrade is the mechanical stop light switch.

I realize there's 'Different strokes for different folks', but this is a Thunderbird ... a classic ... maybe even a $50,000+ car ... and it deserves to be kept as operationally original as possible.
Why not get a proper valve and retain that originality?

[tnswt12]

Using the functions of the MagicAire System greatly increases its reliability. The practice of selecting and forgetting the settings for months at the time is determental to your purse.

Periodic use of all the features of the MagicAire System prevents seizing and sticking of the operating parts, particularly valves, and reduces the need for repair and replacement of expensive parts.

While driving briefly use a feature that has not been used in some time. For example in July select the heater function for 5 or so minutes; likewise, in January use the ventilating setting. This is particularly necessary when our TBirds are not subjected to daily driving.

Discussing the MagicAire System would not be complete without a mention of cooling system care. The owners manual of the 1957 Thunderbird recommends twice annual flushing of the cooling system. Considering how the MagicAire System is integrated into this automobile a cooling system contaminated with rust, scale and oil is determinental not only to the MagicAire System, but the power plant as well.