What are your views out there?
I will be fitting a screen so many will say fit it after IVA so no demister required etc.
My plan will be to use the car all year round and would rather have warm feet than save weight on the car.
Is a Mini heater any good or will it do no more than meet the demist requirment?
Anyone used the electric demisters from CBS?

I have a heater in my Mojo, and it makes the car so much more useable in the winter (I use it everyday to get to work). I'd say it's only worth it if you use sidescreens too, though... otherwise the heater has no chance!

I don't have experience of the mini heater, mine is out of a fiat 126... but it's a pretty small unit and still kicks out a fair bit of heat.

[Edited on 23/3/10 by nre]

Year-round use you are probably best going with a heater.
However on mine I've used a fly-screen from Mac#1. A bit of work with the Dremel and hot air gun sorted the fit out. Then there's no need to fit a heater, demister, screen or windscreen wipers.
As long as you are out of the main slip-stream it's not too cold.
Also depends on which side your exhaust exits as this warms up the footwell even if the pipes are lagged.
Buy a decent set of thermals for cold weather use!
HTH.
Cheers, Pewe

I used a mini, will be getting rid of it:
Fisrt time I filled it with water it leaked, matrix corroded. Changed to a different type of matrix from the original, but now does not produce much heat.

I will make a custom heater using an astra mk3 matrix as it is twice as big as a mini matrix.
Air Flow rate is okay though.

Darren

Polo heater is probably a better bet than mini.

See this thread
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=21377

and ayoungman's photo archive for pictures of the bare heater.

I drove my Indy all year witha Mac1 sports screen and no heater. TBH if it's cold enough to worry about a heater, you'll need good jacket, gloves, snood, helmet anyway so the heater doesn't seem worth the effort really - unless you go for a full windscreen, sidescreens etc.

Im not fitting a heater for IVA (not fitting a windscreen) But i have 225 horses passing me and exiting right next to my ar*e so i should keep faily warm. Heater will probably be fitted post IVA though.

No...

MX5 might be worth considering. I had one of those and the heater was easily capable of heating the car with the roof down even in winter to the point where gloves and coat were not necessary. Kit cars have a lot less space to heat, although you might struggle to squeeze in the mx5 matrix and blower.

I thought about it but have no where to hide it.

Was thinking of running a plastic tube from the back of the radiator into the footwell.

However I found that wearing a nice motorbike jacket with a scarf, helmet and gloves works OK.

My old air cooled Citroen GSA had a take off from the exhaust manifold, a pipe and a fan, and gave plenty of warm air.

If you fit a water heater, make sure the pipes are all in good nick as I came across a guy in a Westy last year on the M25 whose heater had let go and pumped boiling water all over his legs. Given the space in the footwells, there was no way he could get them out of the way and got burned quite badly.

Stu

those who ride a motorbike in winter know just how cold it can be without a heater...painfully cold

Anybody try the little heater from a frogeyed sprite, quite small and heated a similar sized space.

If you are fitting a screen and weather gear then yes. You actually might like the heater to allow you to push cold air into the foot wells, not had mine on the road long enough to tell but I could believe on a hot day this might be required!

Personally I would fit or at least plan the space for a heater+demist vents+wipers as you are building as finding space for these latter is not simple as space is tight.

Dan