When I got the '79 less than a year ago the heater core was not hooked up. I put a new core in & while doing so, noticed that one of the flapper doors was wedged open with a piece of metal. I removed the "wedge" & made sure evrything was hooked up like vac lines & cable. Only vac line still not hooked up is the one that goes to the heater valve. Anyway, I'm not sure if it was because there was a wedge in the flapper door or not but my temperature lever will NOT go into the full "hot" position. It gets 2/3 of the way to the right & stops. I think it may have been forced too far at one point but everything LOOKS ok. Anyone have any ideas what else to look for or do I need another control assembly? The cable doesn't seem to bind anywhere. Thanx in advance.
Bill

Anyone ???

Hi Bill,

Don't know why there hasn't been any help offered up here for you yet. I haven't had the 'pleasure' of digging into my ventilation system yet but I know I'm going to have to at some point. I think something is stuck or not hooked up because no matter where the ventilation knob is placed (full defrost or full floor) the same amount of air comes from both places. Getting heat is no problem!

I don't drive mine in the winter months so taking all that apart isn't very high on my project list. (I don't have A/C either.) Hope someone contributes here soon to help you out!

Hi Bill, I am not only a 71 Vette owner, but also an automotive Cooling, Heating, A/C business owner. The first question is do you have a way to check the temp ie. infared thermometer? Is your guage reading accuratly. What I,m saying is its more important your guage reads properly than if it climbs to hot. My 71 runs around 180deg. consistantly, with 195 stat. The other question is do you get heat from heating system? If the hot water is flowing through heater and no heat, the blendoor may have been weged open on purpose. Does your car have A/C? The next thing I would check is the voltage going to guage from sender. A test light should pulsate lightly if the sender is working. I still don't rule out that you guage spring may be damaged. I would make sure your car is running at the proper temp. first then repair guage if needed. you can buy aftermarket temp guage fairly cheap, and in my business the Raytec infared therm. is a must ($175.00) Hope this helps. Sorry it took so long to view this thread. You can e-mail me at fpopper@netpenny.net if you like.

Sears sells infrared temp gauges for $99.00, catalog only.

Thanx guys, I think I may have phrased my problem wrong tho. My coolant temp is not going 2/3 to the right. It's my temp lever on the control panel that's only moving part-way. Engine temp is fine. I'll get back under the dash in a couple days to see if the cable got kinked when I put the heater core in tho, that's what it feels like.
Thanx again,
Bill