After being quite disgusted by the new $40 heater valve that I bought for
my Spitfire that was so stiff in operation that the cable broke soon after
I installed it, I decided to see if I could find something modern that
would work a little better. I ended up getting the valve off of a VW Fox in
the junkyard. Now this is supposed to be a vacuum operated valve - I just
drilled through the diaphragm, ran the wire through the middle and put it
through a hole drilled in the actuator arm. The actuator is sprung in one
direction so it is not necessary to mount the outer cable casing like the
original, it just butts up against the diaphragm. The throw inside the car
is slightly less than the original, but not noticeably so. Due to the
spring, it is slightly easier to turn the heat on than turn it off. Works
very smoothly, and the price was right, the junkyard I went to gave it to
me for free. $5 for a new cable at Napa (choke kit). Any purists out there
want a three day used heater valve?
Kevin Rhodes
69-80 Spitfire - now with Brazilian VW parts too!
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