Despite the standard Mini cabin heater & fan not being overly powerful, it's effective enough to keep the cabin warm on a cold morning/day. It is a legal requirement to have heated airflow to the window demister vents so for those two reasons, the standard heater will be retained and reinstalled.
The problem I had was that the hose connections from Starlet engine coolant piping are 16mm and the Mini heater matrix piping 1/2" so some adapters were required. The standard Mini heater hoses enter/exit the cabin area through an opening at the top of the firewall and I figured that was as good a place as any to mount the adapters.
I purchased some 16mm steel tube and welded together some 90 degree pieces. There's no a lot of coolant flow through the heater hoses so instead of using sweep bends, I felt a 90 degree elbow like this was suitable.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbcDzIEY7xhtzj3RNH5kh6BG6MiQz009VMzjrA1zGJSXQheX8rAmpMRQxKpd8WQHL166HXIDZOlsqPQ7E-hHC2otNtZJfdEpD-yx27CDsMYMr6ZoyfP7NdxKebUPVDSO2v4dVCd6KtraJT/s400/IMG_4382.jpg)
I then made a pair of 16mm to 1/2" adapter pieces on the lathe (with some beads machined into them) and welded them onto the above 90deg 16mm elbows
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjR-J0s03ZMjhjdiNqk5L1L6TyJvLpv83Q_bg1TWG4jPNZmyE3ooO-nlE058tFo-VTuGWxNIbeAS1v6dW0OviopPZneefeFJ7xGrjq02zdA0EpM0ziGBP_RNdiZsM4myHQcrLnpyurUPAC/s400/IMG_4383.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgawJH9HoLvA-4Hlw7ga20xYT7yqyJbkge3al0i29xVMb-yJ6CsvNaQP1n1vVFi8b7dmR3pqFuLbs0R2_Zz-DVPzbLBu7mzB7azFu1h1o_yx6UTQjm-rTrBz5y33hF_ndoL3bQzfKgGEPQC/s400/IMG_4384.jpg)
With the hoses slipped onto the tube, I felt they looked a bit unfinished so I made a pair of small hose covers welded them to the tubes. The end of the hose slips into this cover and gives a nice finished look to the hose connection. I also formed some beads on the end of the tube.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNZC1HRHOWABDaMbvmXwO4c0p6CsUYopBl4tvKKj458Cvh7HWcEO1oW6C058oEDkaNuCZSe3D9klaxYMAHZIMEJJ0cLTUvLGBPK343tds4Sa-hgkXroBSs5S-4yCGgL98Kst2MCQsB3huI/s400/IMG_4387.jpg)
The adapter pieces were then welded to a 2mm steel plate which covers the opening used for the factory Mini hoses, made to be a similar shape as the original cover plate that was installed there. To indicate the coolant flow direction from the engine, I stamped the plate with "IN" & "OUT". The IN hose comes from the thermostat housing and the OUT hose leads to a port behind the water pump.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbz4neToPjZ2Y8drmASsgGl47iJHOeAdIRnJ8zGhZdEqRW-kEpGvaz-svakGCzEKaX0r62vRo209GVnji3Gn_L5BQxy5DpiAcIRHlzcuef1YsEi-LnAVKEW0ZNnWaSXhpU6vCISWtWQsm8/s640/IMG_4392.jpg)
The problem I had was that the hose connections from Starlet engine coolant piping are 16mm and the Mini heater matrix piping 1/2" so some adapters were required. The standard Mini heater hoses enter/exit the cabin area through an opening at the top of the firewall and I figured that was as good a place as any to mount the adapters.
I purchased some 16mm steel tube and welded together some 90 degree pieces. There's no a lot of coolant flow through the heater hoses so instead of using sweep bends, I felt a 90 degree elbow like this was suitable.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbcDzIEY7xhtzj3RNH5kh6BG6MiQz009VMzjrA1zGJSXQheX8rAmpMRQxKpd8WQHL166HXIDZOlsqPQ7E-hHC2otNtZJfdEpD-yx27CDsMYMr6ZoyfP7NdxKebUPVDSO2v4dVCd6KtraJT/s400/IMG_4382.jpg)
I then made a pair of 16mm to 1/2" adapter pieces on the lathe (with some beads machined into them) and welded them onto the above 90deg 16mm elbows
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjR-J0s03ZMjhjdiNqk5L1L6TyJvLpv83Q_bg1TWG4jPNZmyE3ooO-nlE058tFo-VTuGWxNIbeAS1v6dW0OviopPZneefeFJ7xGrjq02zdA0EpM0ziGBP_RNdiZsM4myHQcrLnpyurUPAC/s400/IMG_4383.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgawJH9HoLvA-4Hlw7ga20xYT7yqyJbkge3al0i29xVMb-yJ6CsvNaQP1n1vVFi8b7dmR3pqFuLbs0R2_Zz-DVPzbLBu7mzB7azFu1h1o_yx6UTQjm-rTrBz5y33hF_ndoL3bQzfKgGEPQC/s400/IMG_4384.jpg)
With the hoses slipped onto the tube, I felt they looked a bit unfinished so I made a pair of small hose covers welded them to the tubes. The end of the hose slips into this cover and gives a nice finished look to the hose connection. I also formed some beads on the end of the tube.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNZC1HRHOWABDaMbvmXwO4c0p6CsUYopBl4tvKKj458Cvh7HWcEO1oW6C058oEDkaNuCZSe3D9klaxYMAHZIMEJJ0cLTUvLGBPK343tds4Sa-hgkXroBSs5S-4yCGgL98Kst2MCQsB3huI/s400/IMG_4387.jpg)
The adapter pieces were then welded to a 2mm steel plate which covers the opening used for the factory Mini hoses, made to be a similar shape as the original cover plate that was installed there. To indicate the coolant flow direction from the engine, I stamped the plate with "IN" & "OUT". The IN hose comes from the thermostat housing and the OUT hose leads to a port behind the water pump.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbz4neToPjZ2Y8drmASsgGl47iJHOeAdIRnJ8zGhZdEqRW-kEpGvaz-svakGCzEKaX0r62vRo209GVnji3Gn_L5BQxy5DpiAcIRHlzcuef1YsEi-LnAVKEW0ZNnWaSXhpU6vCISWtWQsm8/s640/IMG_4392.jpg)
Love the hose covers - a very neat solution :)
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