How about another before/after heater box thread?

[bull]

I thought I would have to hurry to get this heater box done in time but with all the ineptitude I've been experiencing at the hands of the "professionals" that have been "helping" me it is just sitting on the work bench all rebuilt and ready to go. So, I figured I'd post some before/after pics so someone else could look at it instead of just me.

Most of the other guys did more of a step-by-step process picture essay so I won't bore you with that. Instead it's just a few of how it looked before and three weeks ago when I got done.

The first few I shot when I took it out. Last winter we had a mouse problem in the garage where we kept the dog food and they apparently thought they had hit the food-storage jackpot. I didn't realize what they had done until I took the front cover off. We don't keep the dog food in the garage anymore.

[bull]

More before:

[bull]

Now the after:

All the outer metal cover plates I had media blasted and powder coated matte black and it was a perfect match with the SEM 39143 trim black I used on the fiberglass housing and plastic vent. I love SEM! It makes it look like I know what I'm doing. I got the foam kit, cowl vent seal and stainless screw kit from Detroit Muscle Technologies and a new blower motor vent tube and firewall nuts from MegaParts (both those companies are top notch IMO). All the inner metal parts that were removed also were media blasted and painted. I had the blower motor rebuilt (sort of-long story) and I got a new blower wheel from Baxter Auto Parts once I found a guy there who would actually take the time to match it up with a new one (http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,56792.0.html). The old one was siezed onto the motor shaft and I bent it trying to get it off. Oh, and the heater core I bought new off Ebay like three years ago.

[bull]

 

[The70RT]

Nice job. That is one thing I will be doing also.......sooner or later.

[tan top]

real nice job    looks better than new 

[Shakey]

Looks fantastic - well done!

[69*F5*SE]

Great job Bull   

[twodko]

Looks like it just came out of the factory Bull, very nice work! I just removed the glove box (it pretty much crumbled in my hands) in preparation of removing my heater box too. Hope mine turns out as well as yours did.

Tom

[bull]

Looks like it just came out of the factory Bull, very nice work! I just removed the glove box (it pretty much crumbled in my hands) in preparation of removing my heater box too. Hope mine turns out as well as yours did.

Tom

It's actually much easier than it looks. Things can get a little confusing when you start putting it back together so just search and reference some pics here (like I did with Shakey's thread) and it will go fine. I highly reccommend that you use that SEM paint I referenced above though. It is much more forgiving than any other rattle can paint I've ever used.

[BROCK]

Ah the old dogfood in the blower routine.  I once found an extra large coffee can worth of
accorns in my glovebox   I opened the glovebox door & they spilled out for more
than a minute.

[twodko]

Thanks Bull. I try to shoot pix as I finish things and I'll post the outcome.

Tom

[The70RT]

Ac boxes look to be a little more complicated.

[twodko]

I've already been warned in this forum to be careful of the resistor in the heater box during the resto..............I don't want to lose any fan speeds. To make sure, I'll check it by putting batt power to it before I reinstall the box. My question is are these resistors available for replacement  as repops in the event they become compromised? Is there an updated version or a solid state option like a common modern resistor? Thanks

Tom

[bull]

I've already been warned in this forum to be careful of the resistor in the heater box during the resto..............I don't want to lose any fan speeds. To make sure, I'll check it by putting batt power to it before I reinstall the box. My question is are these resistors available for replacement  as repops in the event they become compromised? Is there an updated version or a solid state option like a common modern resistor? Thanks

Tom

They're not reproduced that I'm aware of but it's a pretty common configuration as far as blower resistors go. More modern ones will often have inline diodes added to them. You don't have to hook battery power to it to check if you don't want but that's a poor man's method of testing.

You could just check the three terminals with an ohm meter to make sure you're getting continuity and a different resistance reading for each one. I've yet to find what the resistance values are supposed to be but as long as they're different you'll get three different speeds. It's a pretty simple componant so chances are pretty good that it works just fine. And it's easy to get to right there front and center so if it goes bad it can be removed quickly, unlike the motor itself.

[twodko]

Thanks Bull.

[bull]

Thanks Bull.

Here's how I tested my resistor: http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,59750.msg666589.html#msg666589

[twodko]

Hello Bull,

I got my heater box out yesterday and got it disassembled except for one flapper inside the case and one flapper in its frame that closes off fresh air from the cowl. I've got 2 questions for you:

The brackets revited to the exterior of the housing that hold all the control cables are not removable. How did you clean them up and then paint them so well?

The two flappers that aren't removable (I believe) need to be cleaned and painted before I they get new foam and gaskets. How did you clean and paint these? Thanks

Tom

[bull]

One of the flappers (the smaller one with the recess) cannot be removed without cutting the factory rivets. After you get it out and the framework you'll be able to clean it up, paint it and reinstall with regular pop rivets, unless you want to go through the hassle of using new tubular ones. Just be careful when you remove that frame piece as the rivets can tear away part of the fiberglass if they're not completely cut flush.

The other flapper can be removed by cutting the end of the shaft off a little bit to pull that end out of the housing. Cut little bits off at a time and try removing it after each cut so you don't cut too much off.

Detroit Muscle Technologies (and I assume the other rebuild kits) come with instructions although the ones I got were fairly vague.

[twodko]

OK Bull, Thanks.

Tom

[redfourjohnd]

twodko,

I used some stainless allen round head screws to replace the rivets on mine. Put nylock nuts on the back of them. They work good and match the rest of the stainless hardware from the Detroit Muscle hardware set I got for mine.

Thanks,

John D

[twodko]

I really appreciate these tips Bull & John D. I drilled out the rivets holding the one flapper in place. It came out easy but I discovered a couple cracks. The other flapper came out just as you described Bull......I'm glad I took a lot of pictures though! I'll be taking all the sheet metal to a buddies house to soda blast it later today.
The heater housing is in excellent shape were it not for the these cracks I found. I guess I'll paint the housing too after I repair the cracks............I wasn't planning to.
What epoxy works best on these housings? I've looked at several heater box resto threads and the housings all appear to be painted with semigloss black. Whats the concensus on this and the paint for the sheet metal panels on the backside? Thanks again.

Tom

[redfourjohnd]

I used devcon 5 min clear epoxy to patch the cracks on mine. There weren't that many. The epoxy comes in the syringe type dispenser. I like it because it's clear and you can see through it to make sure you got it mashed down into the crack.

I keep a 3x5 pad of paper on the workbench, along with a box of toothpicks to mix and spread the epoxy. I mix two pea sized amounts together and apply it. I find that smaller amounts work best as it just takes a minute to mix more. If the repair is inside the box it doesn't matter what it looks like anyway. After you're done it's an easy clean up too, just toss the sheet and the toothpick.

I'm not going to paint my box as the cracks and the repairs don't really show. I may change my mind as Bull's paint job looks SUPER nice. As for the panels, Detroit Muscle says that rustoleum has stainless and titanium colors of spray paint. I bet they would look good, but I've been unable to find them. I painted my panels and brackets black, even though it's not the original look.

Thanks,

John D

[twodko]

Hello JohnD,

Thanks for the tips on epoxy. That sounds like the way to go, the crack is on top of my heater box so you'd really have get up in there to see any repair.

Most importantly I've got the box out, disassembled and look forward to some soda blasting this weekend. I'm not painting my housing, its in great shape and cleaned up well. My Charger is a NM car so I want to keep it as stock as possible. Then its on to painting some things, reassembly and getting it back in the car before I get the call to bring my car in for paint.

Speaking of paint, I remove the instructions sheet yesterday that came with the Detroit Muscle Tech resto gasket kit to look over as I swilled wine. Low and behold Jim @ DMT lists the recommened paint to use...........Rustoleum "Stainless Steel"!
You were right on the money John. Talk to youse guys later.

Tom

[bull]

Once the metal parts have been blasted clean I recommend priming them with epoxy to seal out the moisture (like I should have done).

Epoxy primer thread: http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,59010.0.html

And if you need a new blower wheel: http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,56792.0.html

[twodko]

Thanks Bull.

Tom