Retrofitting 60 or 80 series rear heater into 40 (1 Viewer)

[youngmanchego]

Looking at alternative (but still Toyota) heater options for a 1973 SA-spec FJ43. It didn’t come with one from the factory and I appreciate the room above the transmission/below the dash. I live in Portland, so defrost, at a minimum, is required.

I noticed the rear heaters in 60 and 80 series are about as simple as a 40 but slightly more compact. They’re also cheaper than a nice front 40 series blower+heater setup.

The hood vent on the 43 brings in fresh air through the dash, so I’m not worried about needing the 40 series blower’s gate mechanism to get fresh air into the cab.

The vision is to mount an 80 series rear heater/blower unit where the 40 series blower would go in the engine bay and then push that hot air through the defrost vents (for defrost) and then either through holes in the dash or a a vent right below the dash, facing the passengers. There are currently no holes in the firewall for a heater, so I have a lot of latitude around where I place the inlet into the cab.

Any big red flags putting the heater core and fan in the engine bay and tucked up against the fire wall? Anything else I’ve overlooked? The core

(The photos below are of a rear 80 series heater on eBay and the red truck is from Google, not my own. Diagram is from SOR).

 

[archie73]

Wow, you mean passive engine heat isn’t enough. Just kidding, I’d be curious to see how this works. I have a stock heater in storage, but using it means cutting it up. So I run without heat. Maybe this is the answer I’m needing.

 

[Mike Shull]

Wow, you mean passive engine heat isn’t enough. Just kidding, I’d be curious to see how this works. I have a stock heater in storage, but using it means cutting it up. So I run without heat. Maybe this is the answer I’m needing.

Doesn’t it get pretty cold in Idaho? I’m also curious if I see how well this works. My rear heater motor is on the way out and I want something with more cfm.

 

[pb4ugo]

I sold a FJ40 rear heater to a friend who had a cj and he put it under the drivers seat.

 

[archie73]

Doesn’t it get pretty cold in Idaho? I’m also curious if I see how well this works. My rear heater motor is on the way out and I want something with more cfm.

It does indeed. They also paint the roads white with magchloride in the winter. Cruiser sleeps for most for winter. I have 4 tops for it, but I really only use the bikini top. Summer fun toy.

 

[Mike Shull]

It does indeed. They also paint the roads white with magchloride in the winter. Cruiser sleeps for most for winter. I have 4 tops for it, but I really only use the bikini top. Summer fun toy.

They do the same thing here, and we still use salt when it gets really cold, but I couldn’t resist and I was out blasting the roads a few weekends ago. My Cruiser was white when I got home.

 

[archie73]

They do the same thing here, and we still use salt when it gets really cold, but I couldn’t resist and I was out blasting the roads a few weekends ago. My Cruiser was white when I got home.

I leave for St. George a week from Sunday, so basically driving north to south through UT. Invariably, we’ll pass through some weather. I’ll cringe at the sight of the cruiser painted in snow melt, but these trips are why I built it.

BACK ON TOPIC
I’d like to see how you plan to handle the ducting. About the only stock part of my truck is the dash. Putting vents in the dash is logical, but I have a fascination with keeping the dash stock….

 

[youngmanchego]

I leave for St. George a week from Sunday, so basically driving north to south through UT. Invariably, we’ll pass through some weather. I’ll cringe at the sight of the cruiser painted in snow melt, but these trips are why I built it.

BACK ON TOPIC
I’d like to see how you plan to handle the ducting. About the only stock part of my truck is the dash. Putting vents in the dash is logical, but I have a fascination with keeping the dash stock….

This is what I’m thinking about now. I’ve seen some people use shop vac hose and PVC fittings to replicate the OEM set up. Not exactly stock, but it will be buried between the dash and firewall. The truck is still in Bogota (7 months late) so I have some time to mull and look around. I could always shape the OEM ducting with a heat gun, but that sounds expensive if it goes south.

In terms of blowing air at the driver and passenger I’m considering a couple options. I did an ashtray delete so I have room to run little jets like the FJ.co does. The issue is I have an original Vader on the right of the glove box, so it would be a squeeze and potentially a fuster cluck if I also do a swap in the early windshield latches (current plan).

Alternatively I’m considering a sort of “blower rail” below the dash. Sort of like if you rotated the defrost vents 90 degrees and pointed them at the driver and passenger. Could even use modified OEM defrost vents. This would be low profile, but I’d need to test the amount of airflow. It could also look really derpy.

All theoretical until I can get my hands on the truck with a measuring tape, but curious if you have any other thoughts or ideas.

Cheers,

Sawyer

 

[youngmanchego]

I sold a FJ40 rear heater to a friend who had a cj and he put it under the drivers seat.

This is clever

Wow, you mean passive engine heat isn’t enough. Just kidding, I’d be curious to see how this works. I have a stock heater in storage, but using it means cutting it up. So I run without heat. Maybe this is the answer I’m needing.

Haha, not quite but pretty close. I’ll keep this thread updated as I find out more re-
80 series rear heater. Biggest thing as I pointed out below is figuring out how the heck to get the air to the driver/passenger. The defrost is the easy bit. Maybe I’ll just start there

Edit: deleted duplicate quote