Are these things supposed to be turned off in the spring and turned back on the in fall.Just what are they for I guess.I've never had a car with one before

The factory valve is vaccuum actuated. It should be off with the A/C on "Max" only. Any other setting will allow some hot water flow.
You can replace the factory valve with a "manual shut-off" valve, and turn it off, but the heat will still be able to get to the core. The only way to completely eliminate the hot water from the heater core is to disconnect the hoses.
If your car's A/C is not cooling well, you may have other issues, also, and not just hot water in the core.
For other folks, if you have a car that doesn't have A/C, disconnecting the heater hoses will absolutely lower the interior temp in the summer.

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Joel Adams
C3VR Lifetime Member #56    
My Link


(click for Texas-sized view!)             NCRS

"Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comforting to cry in a CORVETTE than in a Kia"

My AC works fine,just had a bunch of stuff done to it.blows cold but I can still feel some heat down by my feet.

Welcome to Corvette Land!
You can install some heat barrier under the carpet, and it will help a bunch. Also, make sure there are no open holes in the firewall that will allow hot air to enter. This is a big problem.

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Joel Adams
C3VR Lifetime Member #56    
My Link


(click for Texas-sized view!)             NCRS

"Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comforting to cry in a CORVETTE than in a Kia"

Thanks,Joel.I've got a new carpet set that I haven't installed yet because the car really don't need it.I just got a good deal on it.My 82CE is very original with only 34,000 on the clock.It does have a SS dual exhaust on it.So I might be getting some heat from that.I will also get some of that heat stuff.I've heard you can get this at Home Depot/Lowes?

I got mine from Mid-America. Its a foil backed pad. It made a world of difference. Befor I put it in, you couldn't drive barefoot without burning your foot. Terry 

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Click on images for Before and After pics!

Another way to drop the temp down is to put sidepipes on the car - blow all that heat out the side before it gets under the car. Of course, there is the little issue of a slight (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) increase in the noise level......

[QUOTE=jgoglick]Another way to drop the temp down is to put sidepipes on the car - blow all that heat out the side before it gets under the car. Of course, there is the little issue of a slight (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) increase in the noise level......[/QUOTE] I have thought about that real hard for awhile now and am not afraid of a little noise.Never seen a CE with sidepipes!!!

I lined the floors and up the firewall area with Dynamat and it did decrease the amount heat coming up thru the floor. Especially the passenger side where the twin cats are sitting. Michele said her feet don't roast like they used to. Plus it did dampen the road noise levels quite a bit. It is kind of expensive, but if you are going to be driving it a lot it is worth every penny. That's my .02 cents.

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GEN III 5.7L "LS6" Engine swap
TKO500 5 spd.

The insulation will help quite a bit. You can get it at the Home Depot/Lowes, etc., and it comes in rolls around 36" wide, by so many feet. If you do this, get some of the tin/metallic type duct tape, to seal all of the joints in the insulation. It took me a couple of days to do this(right) on Dwain's(Longhorn294) car.

                                                    click on image for link

sorry, Dwain...I'm showing yer nekked car again!

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Joel Adams
C3VR Lifetime Member #56    
My Link


(click for Texas-sized view!)             NCRS

"Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comforting to cry in a CORVETTE than in a Kia"

Just an update and something that might save you guys a few dead president$$.

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