Could some of you guys share your experiences attaching barbs to one of these things? I'm building my first wc rig and my grandfather was a plumber before he died so I know how to sweat copper (sort of) and can probably do this with a little help. Just want to know where you got the barbs, what you learned in your experience doing it...etc...
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How to modify an 86 Chevette heatercore
- Thread starter bbuster
- Start date
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2004
- Location
- Oklahoma City, Ok
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=304440
Weapon amongst others seems to be a pretty dang good source for info on this type of modification.
Check his thread unders the Watercooling Stickies forum (linked above) and if you still have questions simply post them. I have suspicions that Weapon is in fact a very wise forum-bot with the speed of his answers many times
While the above thread is for a different heater core most of the information is still relevant.
Weapon amongst others seems to be a pretty dang good source for info on this type of modification.
Check his thread unders the Watercooling Stickies forum (linked above) and if you still have questions simply post them. I have suspicions that Weapon is in fact a very wise forum-bot with the speed of his answers many times
While the above thread is for a different heater core most of the information is still relevant.
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2002
- Location
- Seattle, WA
I found that barbs aren't really necessary. If you cut off everything but an inch or two of the existing barbs you'll find that 1/2" clearflex fits pretty snugly over them. You still need a hose clamp, but it works well.
Unless you're going for the professional look. Then all I could say is...try Home Depot or your local equivalent.
Unless you're going for the professional look. Then all I could say is...try Home Depot or your local equivalent.
- Thread Starter
- #4
The looks aren't all the important to me. And thanks for the link Bugsmasher, that helps. That's probably what I'll do - just heat it up and rip the old pipes out and then thread the holes by hand. Thanks for the help. I post pics when I finish in few weeks time.
- Joined
- Nov 13, 2003
- Location
- Vancouver B.C.
johan851 said:I found that barbs aren't really necessary. If you cut off everything but an inch or two of the existing barbs you'll find that 1/2" clearflex fits pretty snugly over them. You still need a hose clamp, but it works well.
Unless you're going for the professional look. Then all I could say is...try Home Depot or your local equivalent.
I have to agree. I just used my dremal to cut down the ends. I heated my tubing up in some hot water and then slipped it over then ends. I was going to add barbs but it seemed so unnessesary, and if you mess up then the heater core could leak....seems like a lot of troble for nothing to me.
- Joined
- Nov 13, 2003
- Location
- Vancouver B.C.
bbuster said:
who's screen name? mine? If so I had no idea. My screen name refers to Adam Smith's free market where everyone is guided by the invisible hand to do what they do best...my avatar is his picture.
- Joined
- Oct 3, 2004
- Location
- Sudbury, Mass
lol we all know the next star wars is gonna suck....
- Thread Starter
- #9
Very funny mat1314. And yes "the invisible hand" is the name of the ship...and yes I did notice Mr. Wealth of Nations but was just curious. Back on topic now: Why does Weapon talk about wanting a copper heater core rather than brass...I know you are not supposed to mix metals b/c that can cause corrosion but why is brass such a no-no?
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2004
- Location
- Oklahoma City, Ok
bbuster said:
I *think*its because the brass is a bit tougher to use- tougher to tap for the barbs. Just a guess but brass is generally a bit harder to work with than copper. There may also be a difference in how difficult it is to get the fittings out of the brass tanks but I really dont know about this part.
*turns on the Weapon-modded BatLight*
- Joined
- Jul 1, 2004
- Location
- New Haven, CT
Brass = less thermal properties than copper. Brass is pretty much non-reactive, I've never heard of it causing corosion in a WC loop. Weapon wants a copper one becouse the heat goes away faster.
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2004
- Location
- Oklahoma City, Ok
The following quote is from Weapon in the above linked guide to modding a dual heater core. I think the reasons behind his suggestion of copper over brass HCs pretty much stands the same however-
Keep in mind that Weapon's preference in this quote is about the brass or copper versions of a '77 Bonneville heater core. It pretty much boils down to how the tubes were connected. There is no guarantee that this will be the case on the 86 Chevette HC however. Just a guess though since so many have posted the copper preference- it *might* just be exactly the same thing since there are few actual manufacturers of HCs out there. There is a very good chance that the way copper and brass ones are put together is fairly consistent from HC to HC.
Keep in mind that Weapon's preference in this quote is about the brass or copper versions of a '77 Bonneville heater core. It pretty much boils down to how the tubes were connected. There is no guarantee that this will be the case on the 86 Chevette HC however. Just a guess though since so many have posted the copper preference- it *might* just be exactly the same thing since there are few actual manufacturers of HCs out there. There is a very good chance that the way copper and brass ones are put together is fairly consistent from HC to HC.
Last edited:
Bugsmasher said:http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=304440
Weapon amongst others seems to be a pretty dang good source for info on this type of modification.
Check his thread unders the Watercooling Stickies forum (linked above) and if you still have questions simply post them. I have suspicions that Weapon is in fact a very wise forum-bot with the speed of his answers many times
While the above thread is for a different heater core most of the information is still relevant.
lol @ forum bot. *initiate bot script version 1.2 - check data (heatercore)*<br><br>
<i>"[insert core info]"</i><br><br> <a href="" target="_blank">"
that almost made me spit bud light on the monitor.
bbuster said:
as for the 77 b'ville, bugsmasher hit the nail on the head with the quote from above. Not all brass cores are made with the PITA fittings but lately, there have been enough of them that require extreme measures as to where the copper ones were just easier to go with as a default.
Keiron said:
the copper ones might be a slight bit better but that wasn't the main reason that I went with them. I have a modded brass tanked/sided core here and it performs on par with the copper one right next to it. Either one will work very well provided you can get the tubes modded although the copper one might have a razor-thin advantage.
Bugsmasher said:
that was exactly the deciding factor on the b'ville cores. some of the brass ones were too much of a hassle to work with. As for the chevette cores, it has been some time since I modded one but I have done several in the past. Look for ones with round inlet and outlet holes in the tanks and try to avoid any that have a slightly raised rim around the tube for the easiest mod.
pic of a chevette core I did a while back - it was moved thru several systems so it looks a little worse for the wear and tear:
that one has a shroud I made outta plexi and some extensions added to the original tubes to fit the particular system it went into.
maybe I should do a chevette core how-to??
as a side note, I have pretty much worked out a deal to get '77 b'ville shrouds CNC'd, welded and powder coated in mass so if the concern of having to build a shroud for one of those has kept anyone from jumping on them, don't worry about that prob. I'll get the rest of the info up in the classifieds as soon as they are ready as per forum rules...
- Thread Starter
- #15
Thanks Weapon. And yes, I think you should absolutely do a how-to on the 86 chevette b/c so many people seem to use them. Though alot are now using the bonnevilles as well. Alot of people here seem to think that I should just attach the 1/2" tubing onto the heatercore pipes instead of removing them. I would really like barbs. What would you suggest? (This is where a how-to on removing the pipes and installing barbs would come in handy) *winks*
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2004
- Location
- Dallas, Texas
Is it visiable on the brass '77 b'ville if they are crimped in?
bbuster said:
It has been a while since I did a chevette core mod but it seems like the tubes come out about the same as the ones on a b'ville core. As usual, there are some minor differences from one maker to the next with the factory tubes - the one that I did last had round tubes entering the tanks with 1/2" tube on the inlet side and a 1/2" tube with an enlarged 3/4" bell section on the other side. If that is the kind you got, you can just cut off the bell section and have 1/2" tubes on both sides that clearflex or tygon can slip over. If you have round tubes entering the tanks, you can remove them with the torch and install barbs as with the 302.
you can get the the crimped in tubes out - it is just a PITA. I ended up using one of the last ones that I got that had the crimped-in tubes but it is a bit more work. I cut them as close to the tanks as I could and then used a grinding bit on a dremel to get the rest of them out of the tank. It's much more time consuming than just hitting them with the torch and pulling them out.sunrunner20 said:
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2004
- Location
- Oklahoma City, Ok
weapon said:
Will be watching the classifieds for that one Weapons. I had little problem fabricating some '86 Chev. shrouds but didnt like the final result for my '77 B-ville shroud. I like setting up in a push/pull config so it requires 2 of them for the end product. One quick question- will they be chambered separately for each fan? If not then no problem, I can easily manage that after the fact if its suggested.
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2004
- Location
- Dallas, Texas
About what will the price be Weapon?
And also, I was asking if you can just look and see if they are crimped.
And also, I was asking if you can just look and see if they are crimped.
Bugsmasher said:
I ran a few designs with dual chambers and tried reworking them several times (lost a good deal of sleep in the progress...) but the cost of adding the center divider ended up being too much in the end. Due to the extra steps required and additional cutting it added more to the cost than it was worth so at this time the plan is to make them without the center plate - of course, since it is on the underside of the shroud, 5 minutes, a thin piece of plexi and some plumber's goop will divide the main chamber - I left enough space between the fans so that wouldn't be a problem.
I might take one more shot at adding the center divider but I think the only way to do it with any sort of volume would likely be far too expensive. sunrunner20 said:
If you can give me a pic of where the tubes enter the tanks, I can prolly tell you if they are crimped - they normally have a slight ring or sometimes a visible but slight bulge right where the tube enters the tank.
cost of the shrouds is kind of hard to pin down at the moment as we are still working out the final details but they will be very reasonable for the quality/design. I'll get all of the info up in the classifieds when they arrive.
