Triumph Repair: Hot air blowing, heater control valve, triumph spitfire

Question
Hi Howard. I recently bought a 1980 Triumph Spitfire, and it always seemed hot in the interior. I noticed the other day that with the heater and defrost off, there is hot air blowing out the defrost and heater ducts. Before I go digging around, perhaps you could save me much heartache by telling me what's up with that. Thanks, Tom.

Answer
Hi Tom,
If you have had the heater turned off all the time and heat is coming out of the vents then the heater control valve is not turned off. The only way hot coolant can travel through the heater core is for the heater control valve to be either on or leaking by. If you had the heater on and turned it off, it takes a while to dissipate all the heat in the coolant in the heater core.
Howard