Heater Box Restoration

In my previous blog I mentioned "go to" guys that rebuilt various components for me.  For the heater box, I'm the "go to" guy!  Tillie's heater box is buried up under the dash, so it's one of the first things to get installed during a rebuild. There are only two parts to go bad in a heater box...the electric motor that runs the fan, and the heater core that the hot coolant flows through. With that in mind, I ordered a new heater core from TRF and a new fan motor.  The core was in stock and shipped within two days of my order, but the electric motor was on back-order. No problem, I thought, as I've got at least two months before I need it. Well, over three months went by and no sign of my fan motor. A call to TRF brought no joy...they had no delivery date.

Old fan motor.

I tried taking my fan motor to a local auto electric shop for rebuilding....the guy behind the counter took one look at it and gave it back,saying, "Sorry, no parts, I can't help you."  

Well, this is the 21st century, so I did an internet search and found a web site for Holden Vintage & Classic Ltd. in the UK.  They carry electric motors(among other things) for various old British cars, and I soon found a motor that had the same specs as my original. Even after the conversion from Pounds to Dollars and shipping from England, the cost came in less than the TRF unit. 

The heater box is truly just a metal box that holds the heater core and the fan assembly, so I simply took out all the screws ( after taking pictures) and pulled it apart. My body tub was at the media blaster's at this time, so I gathered up all the heater box metal and took it out to Roy for cleaning.

Before

All good solid metal, just gunky and dirty after 40 years of use !

A few of the pieces after priming and painting

Old heater core

 New replacement core from TRF

Back in place !

This is a pretty straight forward part to rebuild. Just take plenty of pictures during the dis-assembly process. After I was done, I did find out through the 6-Pack that there is a gentleman in California who rebuilds the fan motors, and if you don't want the cost of a new core, any radiator shop will pressure test / repair your existing core.  One more thought just came to mind... be very careful with the plastic fan unit when you pull it off the electric motor. They are not available new, so you would have to find a used one if you break it ! 

Parts and "Go To Guys" !

On this post, I wanted to turn the spotlight on three vendors who have provided first class work for Tillie's restoration. All three of these guys have been easy to work with and have a proven track record in the British car community. I have no financial interest in any of these companies but am just a satisfied customer!

One component that makes an engine run is spark via a distributor....a.k.a "dizzy" in Brit speak. Jeff Schlemmer of Advanced Distributors is considered by many to be the "go to" guy for distributor rebuild work, so I filled out his very detailed "curve" work sheet, packed it up along my distributor, and sent them off to Minnesota. Jeff's worksheet allows him to build your dizzy to match any performance enhancements you've added to your car's engine. In my case, I found out my dizzy was not even the correct one for my car!

Old dizzy

Jeff supplied a correct core, did the  rebuild / recurve, then topped it off with a nice polished finish.

The TR6 came from the factory with two Zenith Stromberg carburetors, and one way of increasing horse power with a modified engine is to add a third ZS carb.  Jeff Palya is the owner of Paltech Technologies, and one of his specialties is carburetor rebuilding for British cars. Jeff is considered by many as the "go to" guy for this critical component of any engine. So, off went my old carbs to be rebuilt and used as part of  a triple conversion.

My original two carb setup

The new Triple carbs will not only provide more power, but look terrific !

Jeff uses an exclusive micropolish process to make old parts look better than new.

My final "go to" guy on this post is Scott at Brake Materials and Parts located in Fort Wayne Indiana.

Like all the parts on a 38 -year -old car, my brake servo(power) unit was looking pretty tough. However,  uppermost in my mind were the internal components and if they were up to the job of stopping my car! Since this is another part  that needs professional attention, I packed up my servo and sent it to Indiana. 

Ten days later, I got back my brake servo unit with power coating on the outside, and most importantly, all new components on the inside!

 Again, a big "thank you" to the TR6/250 Car Club of America  (6-Pack Club) for all the great information on it's web site. These "go to guys" have all been recommended by other 6-Pack members.