I have always been under the impression there is heat flowing into the footwells even when the heat knobs are completely in the "cool" side. This must be that the hot coolant is circulating all the time, but should there not be some way to purge that air to the outside? Today temp in Memphis was around 70, but there is definitely heat coming from the area where the vents are in the footwell area. No wonder the AC seems to have such a hard time cooling the wagon! Any suggestions?

When I prepared my '64 544 for its first parade, I purchased a 12v pancake fan - I disconnected the duct in the engine compartment and directed its flow to pull air out of the passenger compartment through the heater core.

This cooled both the engine and passenger compartment - as 544s are known to get warm from engine heat in warm weather.

You might try an insert in the left rear window, and get a 12v muffin fan to blow air in and reverse the flow from your footwells.

I would fashion a cardboard panel and attach it inside the right rear window so that I could raise the window when the car is parked.

The fan I got at Radio shack was cheap, and you could power it from the 12v plug in the console.

If the experiment works, you could develop a more elegant solution.

BTW - I have vent visors in the rear of both my XC70s that were made for a certain year Nisan Pathfinder - I measured SUVs in my grocery store parking lot and left a note on the Pathfinder that seemed to be a good fit for my XC70s.

That won't work in the new cars. Besides, if it is 80-90F outside, it will be 10F warmer inside while driving. The engine bay air does not come into cabin vents, thank goodness.

The heater core thermostat for the early red blocks actually turned off the flow of coolant, when it worked. The white block engines have the coolant flowing constantly, so opening the windows doesn't help. I keep thinking about my VW beetle, either there was no heat or my right foot burned.
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Keeping it running is better than buying new

thank you Klaus. It is indeed the manual temp system. one interesting twist to this tale; yesterday it was 70F so i had some windows open and the heat was noticeable in both front footwells. Today i drove around with the windows closed and big difference, no heat like i had yeesterday.

For a manual system, if anyone has ever had the unit pulled out, it is easy to have the cables twisted and that will leave the vents slightly open.
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Keeping it running is better than buying new

You assume correctly, the coolant always flows through the heater core. It is the vent controls that dictate hot or cold air gets through to the vents.

Does the heat come out of both sides of the console? You may need VIDA/VICE scanner to check the climate control system, unless you have manual climate control. If it is a manual system, the cables may be binding up. The electronic system could have a problem if both sides push out warm air. If it is only one side, it may be a vent control motor is not returning to completely closed. The only way to find out is to pull the kick plate down from the dash, remove the vent motor and check the vent action.

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Keeping it running is better than buying new