remember the 'pontiac engineering mistake thread' ?
 

remember this thread a while back?
it talks about how Pontiac uses the coolant from the back of the right head for the heater. We take some coolant that has not gone through the head that could be helping cool the head.

Well what if i plugged the right head the same way the left is (with a freeze plug it looks like) and ran the heater feed line to the front of the intake manifold in the water passage (used one of the sensor holes near the thermostat)? The coolant in the crossover there has already gone through the head and is on its way to the radiator, so taking that coolant to the heater seems to me like it would work better?

What do you guys think will this work better that the stock setup, or will it work at all?

Honestly I think either way would work. The heater acts as another small radiator and the water is cooled and pulled back into the water pump either way when heater is on. I run with my nipple removed and blocked as you describe, and no heater at all.

Yea, should be good.
California needs a heater?

I started the thread and agree with your post.

Tom V.

I did this exact thing back in the early 80's on a 75 firebird with a moderately worked RAIV motor with a big crane solid cam and never had any cooling problems. Stock 3 core radiator, water pump, auto trans, 4.10 gears. Never ran hot, even on 105 degree days. Makes sense to me. I will be doing the same thing on my 69 LeMans.

car needs defroster and girlfriend needs heater, so the heater is staying to keep both happy

thanks for all the quick replys guys, and Tom i was hoping you would chime in concidering you started and were very active in that thread
and sorry if this idea was covered already, i must have missed it

that;s how some pre 64 manifolds are, nipples on the crossover, it seems to me like a better idea, just common sense, pull water from the last possible place for heat, and let all the water in the system run completely through both heads. do it!
davey

Dont mean to hijack the thread. But im running my heater fitting plugged, as well as the nipple on the water pump (no heater). Will this affect my cooling?? It doesnt run hot, but id like it a little cooler in 100+ degree weather...

Nope, no problems running that way Ryche. I run mine that way too in the summer. Spring and fall I hook up the heater lines. Get's chilly in the mornings around here, and can freeze one day, be hot the next. I run no heater and striaght water/water wetter in the summer fro cooler temps and drag strip purposes. I have found a 20+ degree difference when running water/wetter over a 50/50 mix of antifreeze.

No need for heater here. For the whole 5 days of winter we get here, I really dont need it.