Missing heater core hoses

[Jon O.]

I did a pressurized test on my 72 Newport, and I don't think that the heater core is bad, but I am still missing the hoses from the engine block, and the lever that cuts it off. Could I have direct hoses, or would coolant running through it all the time overheat something? I hope it doesn't really leak. I can live without air conditioning, but I plan on taking a long trip in march, and I just may need heat!
also, would a 69,70,71,or 73 heater core be interchangeable?

 

[livininharrow]

I would just run the hoses to the heater core. most of the cars I own dont have a/c therefore no auto shutoff. I would just put a ball valve in one of the lines to stop flow if you like. that's what I did in my 35 Plymouth hot rod. it works fine. simple solution.

 

[Davea Lux]

I did a pressurized test on my 72 Newport, and I don't think that the heater core is bad, but I am still missing the hoses from the engine block, and the lever that cuts it off. Could I have direct hoses, or would coolant running through it all the time overheat something? I hope it doesn't really leak. I can live without air conditioning, but I plan on taking a long trip in march, and I just may need heat!
also, would a 69,70,71,or 73 heater core be interchangeable?

If your car has A/C, it should have a vacuum operated heater control valve located on the passenger side fender. If your car has ATC, it will have a different heater control valve. There is a another different valve for most non A/C cars. Most of the time when the heater hoses have been disconnected, it is because the heater core is leaking. You can try hooking heater hoses up, but my guess is the the core is probably going to leak, but you never know, you might get lucky. There are several possibilities as far as a replacement core goes. The non-A/C cars use a different core that the A/C equipped cars and some of the ATC equipped cars are also different. I do not remember the exact application data for the cores, but I think they are the same for 72 and 73, no sure about any other years that might fit. These cores are hard to come by, so you might be looking at finding a parts car with a good core or taking your core to a radiator shop to have it repaired.

Dave