Inliners International Forums General Discussion Engines Water heating of intake.

Re-thinking the plumbing options, Chevy 292, Offy intake. Once the T-stat opens, Does the water pump bypass continue to move enough water to provide intake heat?
I was thinking about using the water pump bypass as a loop, from t stat housing>to intake floor>to water pump bypass return; Rather than returning to the heater core suction hose- Just trying to shorten up some of the hose runs.
My fear is that once the t stat opens, there is not enough flow in bypass loop.

I have a '68 Chevy truck with a 292. On this, the heater plumbing is, in effect, a second by-pass, and the heater does OK. I'm more concerned with getting the all the air out of mine. Seems like an air-bubble trap to me. I guess a guy could go all crazy, and run his automatic transmission cooling lines through it. Heck, hot ATF might be a better media for heating the manifold up, anyways.

Yes, the heater core loop is a bypass, when the heater control valve is open. It's designed that way to move heat to the cabin first, before the t stat opens and moves it to the radiator/ambient air.

My question is , does the bypass from the thermostat housing to the water pump continue to flow much volume AFTER the thermostat opens up??

The t stat does not stay open all the time once warmed up. I use the bypass fitting on my 292 to run coolant thru a turbo. It works great.

Thanks Tom, If the bypass flows enough to keep your water cooled turbo alive, it should flow enough to heat the intake manifold! I'll try it that way, as it will shorten the hose run compared to running back over into a heater hose as Langdon recommends.

I'm feeding mine from the low point block drain, thru intake heat plate, into small bypass water pump. Seems to work just fine.

Joe,
You are right. That is the same method I use.

Good idea Joe and Tom; rear block drain to intake plate to water pump would serve as the bypass circuit, AND would leave an open 1/2" NPT spot to put the temp sending unit in the thermostat housing. Perfect!

I think the engine coolant would provide quicker heat to the intake manifold to aide cold performance than utilizing transmission heat (especially on stick shift cars-hah).

On a "cold" Clifforded 250 during the somewhat warm Texas winters, I would tie a newly routed long heater hose (with zipties) along the bottom of the intake to heat more than just the carb base. When spring came, off came the hose-'cause you dont need its help during Texas summers. Nothing ever melted-the truck had a set of Hedmans, not a stock exhaust manifold, hence the need in the first place.

Some people's cars have a hot air source other than the exhaust. That might be utilized in some beneficial way as well.

Yeah, but I have a heck of a time getting my wife to ride in my truck...

wuz dat a shot?