Discarded the crappy cardboard tubes some time ago & replaced with aliminium ones. Always had a problem (with both) as the extractors impede the lining up from heat exchange point to fan box. Which means there`s a severe bend in the tubes as they come thru the engine floor pan & split. Decades ago when i had a beetle it had ends of coca-cola tins clamped around the air box. I don`t care for having a heater in the car,so the question is: Am i better off without the tubes & blocking the fan box outlets (neatly) or as it`s a 1600TP work out a solution? Thanks in advance.

people do that then wonder why there engines run hot

......but ive got the outlets plugged.....

thug the problem with doing it that way is those heaterboxes are actually heat exchangers
they need the air from the fan shroud pumped thro them continually even when the heaters arent on
most ppl dont realise they have a bypass outlet that dumps the hot air from them when not in use

without this air flow they act as heat sinks which radiates straight upto the heads above

problem is amplified more in hotter climates but if you wanna go this route then ditch the heaterboxes - sell them to someone who needs them and get some J pipes

I had similar problem a few years back with our beetle , and the solution was to make some custom pipes around the 2 & 4 exhaust inlets where they meet the head under the cut out in the engine bay tinware .
Its actually not that hard in that you just get some approx 50mm dia tube , cut it to length based on the same size as the original beetle muffler transfer pipes , then split your cut lengths from end to end and then cut a further u out of each half in the correct spot and weld them neatly back around your 2 and 4 pipes and walla a heater with extractors .
Just a thought but i would think you need to keep your heater opertional living in Sydney as it can get quite chilly down there , plus your demister won't work to well without some heat which could could cause you some dramas come pink slip time .

Thanks Joel. Might look into replacing the existing extractors with another type that allows for the tubing to be curved properly. cheers

if u block the tubes disconnect the plastic tube from car to heater box at the front

and wire open the heater valves so cool air will flow through the box and stop heat transfere to the heads

Thanks OZTowdster & VW54 also. Love the cold so heater not needed. No one ever looked at demister before funny enough. cheers