PorKen

The stock heater box is pretty lame at making heat and especially defrosting the windows here in the PacNW. I don't have working A/C, but I've considered restoring it, just for the defrost.

Would it be difficult to fabricate a heater box and controls to replace the plastic 'afterthought' system? I'm going to take out the stock system to remove the evaporator anyway, so I'm thinking...

Doesn't need:
Evaporator
Recirculation door
External housing

Needs:
Fan(s)
Heater core
Defrost door
Close/off door
Cold blend door
Controls
Drain

Would be nice to have:
Duct to spread heat over both feet
Central dash duct that could make a defrost jet to the (plastic) hatch window

heinrich

Doesn't need:
Vacuum
Cold blend door (blending is silly, just activate/deactivate ac only if it's on.)

Needs:
Manual climate control. No ac/heat mixing
Push cables
Recirculation door and direct recirc cutoff for dusty roads/truck fumes
Sturdier grilles

Would be nice to have:
Electric option for cold mornings

PorKen

Heinrich,

If you're talking a replacement system, retaining A/C, those are some good points.

I should have said fresh (cold) air blend. You can't regulate the heat from the coolant very well. Now that I think about it, however, for my needs, the heat could be on/off for simplicity.

I noticed yesterday that my neighbors diesel VW, that it has (3) 'coolant glow plugs' and an additional, belt driven, coolant pump for cabin heat. Because the engine is so efficient, under some conditions it needs an external heat source for climate control.
...

Last night I thought I'd have to get into this now. The blower fan quit and changing the fuse didn't make it go. This morning I found that the fuse holder was overheated and did not give a good connection. So the fan is working now...shucks.