A/C Heater Box Restoration Made Easy

[Mopar Crazy]

Way to go 440 !!!   Thanks so much. Mine is all apart, have the same kit. I just had the box blasted and powder coated....

This is a great help........

Thanks again.. Pete

[PlainfieldCharger]

Hello 440,

I am new to this site and am currently doing a 68 RT. The heater/AC had just been put in the car with some thing missing and disconnected . I was lost to what the parts were and how they are connected. This thread is incredible

Is the air intake hose new? If it is... where did you purchase it from.

Thanks

[440]

Hello All, thanks for the compliments.    

Plainfield - Unfortunately no, the big intake hose isn't new. Mine was slightly torn so I had to buy another that was in good condition. The place that restored my dash restored the hose. They lightly blasted it and super etched it.

All of the other hoses can be purchased new.

[440]

Well, I thought I'd post the restoration of the drivers side fresh air box. It is quite easy. First picture is of all the parts cleaned and ready to be assembled.

[440]

Next, lightly glue the rubber seal onto the flapper door and insert the rod into the housing. The second picture shows how the rod mounts to the door. Bolt the door to the rod and operate it a few times. Don't forget to push the retainer nut onto the end of the rod.

[440]

Lastly we just need to attach the grill and seal. 3 screws hold the grill on, the longest of the 3 screws go on the left and the two shorter screws go on the right.

Lightly glue the gasket in place and your done. It's ready to be installed in the car.

[roger440]

Fantastic write up. Shame i did mine last year I though i did mine quite well, but this is another step up.

Looking forward to similar on other bits of the car?

[FLG]

Soooo how would you like to work.on a 73 heater box?

[440]

Ship it to Australia and I'll have a look at it for ya 

[brant]

whoooo, she's a beauty! nice work.

[AirborneSilva]

Thanks, makes me think I might be able to do mine 

[tylerk]

440,

On your resistor, did you clean it up with anything, or is there any way to tell if it works? I don't know jack about them, or if I'd need to get a replacement...thought you might could throw some knowledge my way.

[440]

I lightly blasted the face side it to clean it.

I'm not sure off the top of my head but I think Bull has a thread with the resistance values. As long as they are pretty close yours should be fine. I'll have a look and see if I can find it for you.



Edit, I found his post but the low speed values were different between the two different  years he tested. I'll test mine and see how they compare.

[FLG]

Ship it to Australia and I'll have a look at it for ya 

Sure whats the address 

Seriously though, how much did this one cost you in parts to do and would you consider doing another? (and getting paid of course)

[440]

About $500 but I started with a box that needed a few things. I had to buy a new blower motor, main door, vacuum pod and intake hose. As I've posted in another thread considering SMS Mopar A/C boxes are about $1500 I took the cheaper option to do it myself. Of course the SMS boxes are probably more accurate for purists but I think my efforts yielded a similar result.

I re-plated everything which wasn't necessary. I think if your box is complete and not needing parts other than a seal kit I'd say around $300.

The hardest part about it was finding the materials and making a "How To" thread about it  

In short, yeah I would do another one. It was a fun challenge.

[Chatt69chgr]

Very informative writeup.  I'll be using this info to do mine.  Thanks for taking the time to put this together.

[440]

For the Heater Control Buttons you'll need;

400 Grit sandpaper
Hobby Knife
1x Can Tamiya Fine Surface Primer (87044)
1x Can Tamiya TS-14 Gloss Black Spray (85014)
1x Can Tamiya TS-13 Gloss Clear Spray (85013)
2x Woodland Scenics Gothic White Transfers (DT507)

Here are the heater control buttons that I restored using the same transfer method as ChargerST. The items required can be purchased at pretty much any reputable hobby shop. I suggested getting 2 packs of transfers as there aren't enough F's, I had to modify a few E's. Also there aren't many spare letters so if you mess one up you may not have enough. You can also finish the buttons in a semi-gloss finish if you wish (Tamiya TS-79 #85079). I chose to paint mine gloss due to the fact the unrestored "TEMP" was gloss. I left it unrestored.

Firstly, I gave them a quick sand with 400 grit to remove the dead plastic. After that I gave them a quick rub down with acetone to clean them thoroughly.

Next I cut a cardboard holder to hold the buttons and gave them two light dustings of primer. I used the normal grey primer because I had some lying around, the fine white surface primer would work better to retain the outline of the letters.

After letting the primer thoroughly dry I gave them a couple light coats of the TS-14 Gloss Black Spray.

Next it's time to do the transfers, they can be quite tedious so take your time with them. I chose to cut out each letter and position them one at a time. I found a tape edge handy to align the letters straight. If you find yourself getting frustrated walk away for a few minutes then return to them.

Once your satisfied with them put the buttons back in the cardboard holder and give them quite a few light coats of TS-13 Gloss Clear (or TS-79 Semi Gloss Clear)

Sit back and enjoy the results.

[440]

All Finished.

Unrestored TEMP button next to restored OFF, not much of a difference.

[Fred]

Very well done mate. Full marks to you. 
That's one problem we lover's of '68's don't have.

[cdr]

thank you for taking the time to post 

[bakerhillpins]

thank you for taking the time to post 

Whole heartedly agree! Wow, what a great thread.    I am hoping to pull a bunch of dash stuff before she goes into winter storage but my track record is so poor at this point I don't think it's gonna make it this year. 

I also took my blower motor apart and serviced it, and, after destroying one motor I can pass on my mistake to save someone else the same trouble. I can post this later if anyone is interested in servicing your motor.

Would find that very useful if you could!     

[ChargerST]

Those look great!!! Very nice job! Yeah, it takes some time but the result is so worth it.

[Dino]

It looks hideous!  Now do mine!   

That looks so good I may remove my PCG decals and redo them.

[440]

I also took my blower motor apart and serviced it, and, after destroying one motor I can pass on my mistake to save someone else the same trouble. I can post this later if anyone is interested in servicing your motor.

Would find that very useful if you could!    

Been fun tinkering so far and the results are quite rewarding.

Here is an overview of another blower motor I just did this evening    
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,96149.0.html

[440]

Those look great!!! Very nice job! Yeah, it takes some time but the result is so worth it.

Thanks ChargerST, the results are definitely worth it. I'm glad I decided to go that route instead of the decals. I take it you've had some modeling experience to come up with such a detailed endeavour.