Chickenhunterbob
The quick connector has a restrictor (rubber disc below O ring) in it to slow the coolant flow through the heater core, without this restrictor your heater perfomance will probably be poor, not that it gets cold in winterpeg . I believe that without the restrictor the flow is to fast through the heater to properly extract heat from the coolant. I have had this problem before when I used a plumbing nipple instead of an automotive nipple. Automotive nipples usually have a much smaller ID than plumbing nipples
Good luck
Ron