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Tue Nov 30, 2004 8:23 am

i have a 57 oval with a 1776 and i run no heater bovxes what so ever.well the weather has gotten a little chilly in vancouver as of late.
i have never run heater boxes because i was under the impression in order to do so i would have to cut the body in order to make it fit.
can anybody confirm or deny this?if the larger heater boxes do fit and i don't have to cut anything then i am all for it. :D

thanks for any help
russ

Tue Nov 30, 2004 8:35 am

Hi Russ,
Guessing your 1776 was built out of a 1500/1600 engine case. ;-) You can install stock 1500/1600 fresh air heater boxes if you install the freash air shroud. Then you need to either cut and adapt the front nose if each heater box to the same size of the heater tubes to the body, or get adapter tubes.
DO NOT use 40 HP fresh air heater boxes as these do not have the proper finning inside to cool down the exhaust causing back pressure and much hotter engine temps.
Eric&Barb

Tue Nov 30, 2004 10:54 am

Are the cooling fins in the 40Hp heater boxes sufficient for the 40 itself? I often see heater boxes advertised for 40Hp - 1600 but assumed it was a misprint. Are they really the same size, just different design on the fins?

Tue Nov 30, 2004 12:20 pm

Are we talking stale air vs fresh air (36/40 hp) or the difference in size between 40 hp fresh air original heater boxes and say a '71 bus heat exchanger- which I don't know- Eric and Barb ? Lloyd

Tue Nov 30, 2004 3:03 pm

Not to rob the post but I was wondering what the differences were between the 40 horse fresh air boxes and the 1300 - 1600 boxes.

Tue Nov 30, 2004 6:39 pm

hey russ, I've got a 57' with a 1776 with 1600 heater boxes on it and it fits fine

Tue Nov 30, 2004 6:52 pm

I'm sure youre talking about the1 1/2 inch boxes! and YES they fit fine as well!

Tue Nov 30, 2004 6:58 pm

Hi Lloyd.
We are talking about the differance between the DEC62 to very early 1964 fresh air boxes, to the later boxes made after the early part of the 1964 model year.
As for using the early fresh air heater boxes on a 40 HP, it would depend on a few factors, like. You want maximum cooling of the engine and maximum heating to the interior or you are doing a absolute restoration. We do know is the bigger the engine the more problem with higher engine temps and the cheapie Dansk heat exchangers sold today are built just like these early heat exchangers!!!
Eric&Barb

Wed Dec 01, 2004 8:20 am

thanks guys,
looks like i might get some heat this winter :)

russ

Wed Dec 01, 2004 8:38 am

Hi Russ,
Glad we could help. We are able to JUST see the rear most interior finning by flashlight and peering up the rear of the heat exchangers. Best done after dark or in a dark room/area.
Also if you want to increase interior heating and summer time cooling you should:
measure your cooling fan and use a 35mm (inside measurement) wide one.
Use the largest stock lower pulley that usually has a large "D" stamped on one of the pie stampings facing the rear.
Use a dog house shroud and cooler, and for better oil cooling modify the shroud to take a type 4 cooler that is 40% bigger than stock DH cooler.
Use a 356 Porsche pulley if you do not RPM your engine over 3,500 RPM. If you do the stock fan will grenade. You can have the stock fan welded to help prevent grenading, but you should have it balanced afterward.
Install type 3 insulation blankets on the HEs.
Also clean out all casting flash in the cylinder fins and head fins. Plus check out the 1963-67 bus workshop manual for how VW advised drilling the head fins for a cooler head. Smaller holes in the 1300-1600 heads can do the same.
Run at most 3,000 RPM for cruising speed and have both oil pressure and oil temp gauges. Keep away from going above 220F oil temp, and we prefer the limit of 210F!!
The CB oil filter pump works wonders keeping the bearings from getting scraped to death from small metal particles. Will bolt in with aftermarket muffler, need to be cut and angled to work with stock muffler, but worth the effort!!!
Eric&Barb

Mon Jan 17, 2005 8:57 pm

You can use the later heater boxes on the early car
You just have to take them off befor you put the engine in and take them off befor pulling them out!
and have to buy the tubes to connect the boxes to the body
50mm and 60mm id

Mon Jan 17, 2005 9:27 pm

Hi Radrob,
Have helped to mount a 1600 DP with 60mm HEs in a 1953 BD bus. The trick is to tilt down the forward end of the engine to get the front of the of the later HEs under the forward engine comparment sheet metal. Once past that point you can level the engine out and slide it the reast of the way in.
Eric&Barb

Mon Jan 17, 2005 10:13 pm

I have a 2053 with an 1 5/8 header with heater boxes and it works great. I do suggest that you install the heater boxes after installing the engine in the car. The rightside, (# 1 cly) sometimes I found to tight, but it works. If you purchase the adapter heater tubes from the heater box to be sure to check the material inside them before using them. Some after market ones have come with fiberglass insulation to retain the heat.
good luck