Vintage Air plumbing: Will this work?

[Alponcho]

I think I may have made an error when I installed the vintage air in my Pontiac Powered 70 Firebird. As shown in the figure I drew, I used a couple Y's to create a bypass from the engine to the out side of the Vintage Air (my engine builder/experienced racer urged me to do this). Now, after I buttoned her all up, it occurred to me that the Y closest to the heater control valve is pointed back towards the engine rather than toward the Vintage Air unit. Will I still get enough flow to the Vintage Air? If not, wondering if I should install a Ball Valve before the other Y to control the flow of the bypass.

[dhutton]

I would replace it all with this
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/v...hoCfbIQAvD_BwE

Don

[dontlifttoshift]

I would love to know the logic behind what is in that drawing.

That Vintage Air part Don linked, VTA-344470, is the right answer if you want/need a bypass.

****edit, isn't there a pretty large bypass already in the timing cover?

[Alponcho]

I teed off the back of the heads (not shown in the diagram) to equalize the temps on both sides (left side--especially #7--gets hotter with factory configuration where heater hose comes from back of right head only). The bypass I created with the Ys allows water to continue to flow through both heads when the valve in the AC unit is closed. That's the basic idea.

I have a ton of money in the paint and panel alignment, and I'm sure I'll make a mess of things if I have to pull off the fender to redo the mess I created (maybe using that Vintage Air H adaptor), so just trying to figure out if the AC will be functional as is.

Hence my question of whether the orientation of the Y fitting (from the engine side) is going to completely kill the flow of water to the AC unit. Thoughts about this particular issue?

[dhutton]

I teed off the back of the heads (not shown in the diagram) to equalize the temps on both sides (left side--especially #7--gets hotter with factory configuration where heater hose comes from back of right head only). The bypass I created with the Ys allows water to continue to flow through both heads when the valve in the AC unit is closed. That's the basic idea.

I have a ton of money in the paint and panel alignment, and I'm sure I'll make a mess of things if I have to pull off the fender to redo the mess I created (maybe using that Vintage Air H adaptor), so just trying to figure out if the AC will be functional as is.

Hence my question of whether the orientation of the Y fitting (from the engine side) is going to completely kill the flow of water to the AC unit. Thoughts about this particular issue?

Doesn’t look good to me. But I have no hard data to support that.

Don

[Alwhite00]

I would replace it all with this
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/v...hoCfbIQAvD_BwE

Don

That's what I used on my chevelle. Worked good.

[dontlifttoshift]

I mean, if it is already done and you think it might work, just run it. How much heater do you need in Scottsdale?

Really no reason to pull fenders to change heater hoses if it doesn't work, use a splice connector and just cut them where you see fit

[Alponcho]

I mean, if it is already done and you think it might work, just run it. How much heater do you need in Scottsdale?

Really no reason to pull fenders to change heater hoses if it doesn't work, use a splice connector and just cut them where you see fit

Don't need a heater much here, that's for sure. But I do spend time up north where it's nice to have heat. Really just wondering if there's a definitive answer...if someone with more experience than me with these things (most everyone on this board, I suspect) was certain that the AC wouldn't get enough flow because of the orientation of that Y, I'd address it now before I add coolant etc. At this point, I only have easy access to the hose from the engine and the hose back to the engine....the heater control valve and both Ys are tucked under the fender along with other AC lines, -10 remote oil filter lines, and some wiring.

Since I'm running an aftermarket block, I used NPT fittings in the heads rather than the factory fittings with a restrictor. I suspect this will result in higher flow of hot coolant back into the engine, in turn, increasing operating temps. So I'm considering an Earls ball valve in one of the two accessible lines to reduce the flow of hot coolant back into the engine. Any thoughts as to whether one location would be better than the other in terms of addressing both concerns?

I can run it as is to see what happens, and then experiment, but really trying to sort out as much as possible now.