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 !
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