[Sid]

Didn’t get to do any testing tonight, maybe tomorrow. Got my last 2-pin plug wired up, then I got sidetracked with my MudBuster block offs. At $70-$80 for the set, I couldn’t see chopping them up to notch out for the heater hose. I had an 8-pack of 1/8” ABS sheets in the shop, so I made new pieces for the 2 that would need trimming and kept the name brand ones as is. You can see the pattern is a little different between the old and new, but it’ll all be dirt stained soon enough.

 

[Sid]

Well, so far so good. My wife and I took the RMAX on a 22 mile test run. The temperature is 25°F “Feels like 18°” tonight. Our drive included about 10 miles at 40 mph and the rest was 20 to 35 with some stop and go and idle time at stop signs and waiting for the Union Pacific train. Hopefully this all makes sense because I had to make quick notes on my phone at each stop and that chicken scratch is what I’m going off of, so if I get too boring, confusing, or long winded, just ignore me lol.
Once warmed up, the air from the vents maintained around 84-90° with the bilge blowers only, without the radiator fan, at idle, and averaged 60-65° temps around the cab away from the vents. Rad fan and blowers combined at idle was 125-132° at the vents and would bring the cab temp up to the high 70’s before the radiator fan kicked off again. At crawling speeds, we’d be able to comfortably ride without jackets, but at higher speeds, too much cold air creeps in from the doors. While moving, the air at the vents varied between 112-128° with blowers only dependent on engine temp and speed. It cycled up to around 140-144° when the radiator fan kicked on with the blowers. Speed increased the “blower only” heat at the vents but with diminishing returns in the cab due to cold air leaks. I checked the blower housing temps several times during our drive. With vent air reading around 140, the hottest blower housing read 82°, and the plastic never felt like it was getting overly warm, so I think the heat sinks and aluminum sleeve combined with the cold outside air are keeping the blower housing temps well into an acceptable range.
With just the bilge blowers, the vents seem to put out about the same heat and double the airflow of my old Honda Civic heater. I’ll need to come up with something to stop the damned cold air that’s coming through the door gaps and hitting our door-side legs because that’s the only downside at the moment. We were warm overall, wearing just jeans and light coats, but both of our door-side legs were freezing after that long stretch at 40 mph.

 

[Sid]

Anyone have any ideas for blocking the wind at the door gaps? Let me know what you guys think or any ideas you have. I’m considering making some abs plates to overlap the front edge of the door and fit in the recess of the footwell. Then push pin them to the outside of the dash and recessed edge of the footwell, similar to this but with a tab to lock it on the jamb…

 

[Devil jake]

I like that . Are you going to make and sell ?

 

[Old man]

👍😎 Very nice Sid

 

[Sid]

I like that . Are you going to make and sell ?

Thanks. I didn’t have time yesterday to play in the shop so I haven’t really decided on a design. There’s a lot of creative minds on this forum, so I’m still hoping to hear some other ideas. I’ll tinker with it tonight and this weekend and see what works and what doesn’t. I’m going to try cutting a few variations and playing with the heat gun to form a retainer tab for the edge. I don’t have plans to manufacture any other sets at the moment but I guess that could change. The problem I could see with a one-size-fits-all approach is in the way the factory plastics align with each other. The design of the interior plastic is a mirror image but my rig has enough variation in fitment between the left and right sides, the passenger side template will require a little trimming to fit the driver side. I can clearance it a little in the tight areas to make one shape fit both sides, but I’ll have to try it and see if my OCD rejects the design

 

[Sid]

I tried a couple different ideas but the simple way seemed to work the best. I’ve got a few other things to get to tonight, but if it’s not too late, I’ll try to get it out for a test drive and report back on their effectiveness …or lack there of 🙃. I think it actually looks better with them installed than it did with the huge door gap. I’m running a little low on abs in my shop, and will be using a lot of what’s left on stuff my brother wants to make, but I traced parts out on a sheet and ordered more material in case I have time to make some extras.

 

[Devil jake]

Those look really good. Do you think automotive weather stripping (like then plastic window trim ) would hold the 2 pieces together instead of crimping to fit

 

[Sid]

Test drive review:
These blocked 90-95% of that nuisance cold air that was freely blowing through the gap, and the small amount that comes through now is just seeping in, instead of blowing through my pant leg. This was a short 4 mile drive, at speeds between 50-54 mph and “feels like 14° F”. These are a big improvement over having that door gap.
I’d give myself 4 stars There’s room for improvement, but these are simple, cheap, look good, and work.

 

[Sid]

Those look really good. Do you think automotive weather stripping (like then plastic window trim ) would hold the 2 pieces together instead of crimping to fit

Thank you! You mean where it rests against the door? I looked at a few different rubber edge/bulb trims for that edge, but didn’t come up with anything. Did you have something in mind that might work?

 

[Sid]

I have a USA windshield. It’s really been bugging me having pieces of pipe insulation stuffed in the top gaps. Last night I made 3 pieces to seal the gap between it and the roof. I heated and bent them about 75°, and used the last 15° of angle as spring/sealing pressure for a 90 degree fit. At some point, I might end up build a 1-piece, but the rain gutter edge of the roof isn’t really uniform and will be more of a challenge to seal using one long piece, so it would require some heat shaping the top edge of it to fit properly. The passenger side piece came out slightly angled due to a bow in the roof edge, which bothers me, but everything else lines up well so I’m leaving as is for now.

 

[Devil jake]

Thank you! You mean where it rests against the door? I looked at a few different rubber edge/bulb trims for that edge, but didn’t come up with anything. Did you have something in mind that might work?

Thank you! You mean where it rests against the door? I looked at a few different rubber edge/bulb trims for that edge, but didn’t come up w View attachment 109610
ith anything. Did you have something in mind that might work?

Thank you! You mean where it rests against the door? I looked at a few different rubber edge/bulb trims for that edge, but didn’t come up with anything. Did you have something in mind that might work?

 

[Sid]

View attachment 109611

That would probably look nice!

 

[Sid]

View attachment 109611

I ordered some. We’ll see.

 

[Sid]

I tried some of the rubber edge trim last night, but it didn't make a difference. It wasn't stiff enough to eliminate the retainer tab that rests outside the jamb. I did cut out another set and traced out a 3rd so I can keep experimenting, but I'm pretty happy with these as is for now.

 

[Sid]

I took my brother-n-law for a ride tonight. He was wearing a hoodie and jeans and it was 24 degrees outside. He just moved here from Southern Commifornia, so he’s not exactly used to this kind of weather. He was pretty impressed by the heater. After a couple of miles at 54 mph, he said “dude, this thing puts off quite a bit of heat, like, I’m totally fine in here”.
My windshield valance worked perfectly! It blocks 100% of the wind from getting in between the windshield and roof. I ran my hand along it while driving and that whole area was just dead air. No noticeable cold air on the door side leg anymore either. The only nuisance cold air now was coming through the outside corners of the USA vents where they are clearanced around the a-pillar and that wind was straight to my hand on the steering wheel. I cut some 1/4” rubber to fit and it sealed those up tight. I’ll have to take it out tomorrow and see if I feel any other drafts, but these homemade parts have been a huge improvement. For anyone with the same issues, I recommend getting on Amazon and ordering some 1/8” abs sheets. Cheap and easy.

 

[Devil jake]

Sorry the trim didn't work. Thought for sure it would save you a step. Still interested in possibly buying a set when you get it all figured out

 

[Sid]

Sorry the trim didn't work. Thought for sure it would save you a step. Still interested in possibly buying a set when you get it all figured out

No problem. I thought it might help stiffen it up enough to get rid of the tab, but not having the tab allowed it to rattle at certain speeds. When I get time I’ll do some more trial and error with heating and bending a set. As is, they are good, but I think I can make them look a little better.

 

[Sid]

Removed my manual wipers and got my 12v Dual wipers installed. I used a Speedway Motors kit with adjustable arms, meant for chop top street rods with flat windshields (Model A thru 1940’s). All of the items in the kit are brushed stainless including the motor covers, but the stainless stuck out like a sore thumb, and I didn’t want any glare, so I sanded, primed, and painted them textured black . The motors have auto-park and a sync connection, but being DC motors they don’t sync perfectly, so I made a linkage with stainless ball ends to force true syncing. It slightly increases load on the faster motor if they try to get out of sync (less load than mud or snow). These motors are much more powerful than I thought they’d be. Before the spreader, I found that if I let them get out of sync they will collide and throw wiper blades across the shop . The junction box is heat molded and plastic welded ABS sheet (homemade) and allowed me to attach the controls where I wanted them, directly to the windshield frame. Everything comes out with the windshield if it’s removed. The face of the panel is wide enough to add up to 3 Contura V rockers if I decide to later.
I still need to install my sprayers and reservoir but I’m happy so far…