Not one for the purist

Funky constant hot air outlet?

Joe R

why on earth would you fit the heater outlet that way and then block it off - on a Blitz racer too

Ian.

tjmra said:

Funky constant hot air outlet?

Joe R

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Well spotted there Joe. The engine is one I put together a few years ago from separate parts I had in my garage. All standard used parts but with new rings , bearings etc. Finally got to start it up last week and it runs very well. As it is mounted in an "off roader" with no need for a heater I decided not to waste a good thermostat housing and instead modified a knackered old one. So plate welded where the original flap would be so no blast of hot air onto the distributor. Then heater tube outlet removed and the hole blanked off. Then heater tube outlet welded where the thermostat would have been so it can just vent to the atmosphere. Like I said , not one for the purist but seems to work well

Bleeding Knuckles said:

why on earth would you fit the heater outlet that way and then block it off - on a Blitz racer too

Ian.

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Well spotted there also Ian . Yes the engine is mounted in a classic Fiat 500/126 based Blitz single seater off road buggy which I believe may well have been raced at some stage. Just to put your mind at rest the outlet for the hot cooling air is not blocked off but has a fine mesh cover. However when I bought the buggy the racing engine and transmission had been removed so I saw this as an opportunity to bring it back to life as a useable classic that would be user friendly with standard running gear rather than a screamer. I do not think that they race these anymore and the early Fiat based models were superseded by the Mini powered ones. I still have the original Blitz Buggy brochure that I sent for many years ago when my first Fiat 500 was written off and I was looking for a way of using all the parts. The other option at the time was the Impala Burro