Can I CAP OFF the heater hose ports of a 200 inline 6?

[JMB]

I am planning on eliminating the heater core on my 66 Mustang.

Can I CAP OFF the inlet & outlet heater hose ports (from the water pump & the cylinder head) on my 66 Mustang 200 inline 6 with out affecting the ability to keep the engine cool?

Also , the carb spacer of the Autolite 1100 is connected to the heater hose aswell? Thanks in advance.

 

[ludwig]

AFIK, you can cap/plug these without changing the cooling of your engine.

OTOH, the heater core actually ADDS to the cooling capacity since it is a little, additional radiator.

The heated plate under the carb serves a couple purposes. One is to eliminate carb icing. I do not have mine hooked up and it works fine in SoCal. Some others here who drive in hotter and more humid climates have had carburetor overheating problems (fuel boiling, vapor lock) and the heated plate stabilizes the carb temp by keeping it at a high but constant, sub-critical temperature.

 

[kukm66]

I have both ports plugged. Use brass plugs.

Some will loop the hose but that is real tacky!!!

 

[Junk-Falcon]

brass plugs ,, the 4dr i have is pluged , only runs in the summer

 

[powerband]

I am planning on eliminating the heater core on my 66 Mustang.

Can I CAP OFF the inlet & outlet heater hose ports (from the water pump & the cylinder head) on my 66 Mustang 200 inline 6 with out affecting the ability to keep the engine cool?

Also , the carb spacer of the Autolite 1100 is connected to the heater hose aswell? Thanks in advance.

> keep the engine cool? - Shouldn't affect cooling capacity

> carb spacer - unless extreme cold weather driving is important, the only other reason for the liquid filled spacer is to cool the intake under extreme heat conditons. Most have not had negative affect by eliminating.


You could just loop a piece of heater hose existing ports or use pipe nipples and caps like the Dyno 200:

 

[The Plankster Prankster]

why are you trying to remove the heater core? is it leaking or is there some other reason?
IIRC, one advantage of the carb spacer is that your carb produces a better fuel/air mix when the fuel is hot, thus producing slightly better economy/power. not sure if it's enough to notice, but thats one part of its purpose, and it definately can't hurt to leave it hooked up.

 

[JMB]

Thanks for the info guys,

The Plankster Prankster,

I want to disable the heater core because :

1) It is very dirty inside & it is bringing back a lot of dirt into the New Radiator.

2) The heater doesn't seem to work anyway & don't really need it here in SoCal (need AC instead).

3) I think the engine bay would look neater with the heater hoses removed and the heater ports capped off with a brass end cap.

Just worried if it will cause the engine to heat up a little more because of the fact that there will be less amount of anti-freez in the system. But from the replys , it doesn't seem to be a problem.

 

[ludwig]

Where do you live that you don't need a heater? Anyway, you can route the hoses to the left of the engine bay and skip the heated plate. I did. I tied them together with black zip ties and it looks neat and uncluttered. The heater core is not hard to replace.

Personally, I use the 2x2 flow thru climate system. You know, 2 windows on each side rolled down with the air blowing in.

 

[Harte3]

That is also called the two-sixty system...both windows down and 60 mph.

 

[JMB]

ludwig,

I am in the Loma Linda area near San Bernardino. It gets cold but tolerable with out a heater.

If you are still using your heater core then why skip the heated plate at all?

 

[PaulS]

Run a by-pass hose from the cylinder head heater hose port to the Water pump heater hose port. If you cap them you can trap dirt and sludge in the ports and with the by-pass hose coolant will circulate before the thermostat opens - just like the other by-pass hose.

 

[ludwig]

If you are still using your heater core then why skip the heated plate at all?

I skipped it because I have never had any of those carb/heat/vaporization issues and the hoses look so much cleaner tied together and routed off to the side by the wheel well, away from the block. I hate it when the hose blocks the "Powered by FORD" stamp on the the rocker cover -- especially when I made an extra trip to the junkyard and paid $80 for it to replace the blank one that came with the car.

 

[67MercM100]

I figured this out in my old 58 Ford retractable when the heater core suddenly "blew" while on the road:

Just take the outlet heater hose and route it back to the inlet - or vice/versa.

 

[RetroSpeed]

When I installed the Edelbrock tri-power adapter on my 200, I removed the heater hoses for a cleaner look. I capped the exhaust side port with a brass plug but used an open end fitting with a female coupling to accept a Mooneyes liquid filled temperature gauge on the distributor side port.