bill70j
Member
I recently posted about my heater core failing and dumping coolant all over the passenger side footwell. I had to replace the heater core and also rebuilt the heater box while I was at it.
But the replacement heater core didn't fit out of the box so I made some slight modifications which did the trick.
The replacement core seems to be nicely made. The frame and mounting holes are in precisely the same location as the failed unit, which is original to the car. And the heater tubes look to be bent properly. But: 1) One side of the frame mounting flange was canted down by about 10 degrees, and 2) The outlet heater tube was misplaced by 1/4 inch, which was the bigger issue.
Here is what I had to do.
1) Put the frame in the vice and bend the one flange to be in the same plane as the other three
2) Remove (de-solder) the tube mounting bracket
3) Dog-leg the outlet heater tube so it lines up with holes in the heater box and firewall
4) Modify the mounting bracket so it fits the heater box
5) Re-secure the bracket to the tubes
6) Install the core in the heater box
This wasn't a big deal, and even though you guys warned me that the replacement box probably wouldn't fit, I was a trifle annoyed. But all's well and I would do it over the same way -- though I doubt I'll have another failure in my lifetime. The photos show some more details.
Here's a stock photo of the replacement frame and core
Here's a screenshot of the comparative location of the tubes in the frame (feeding the header box)
Here's a rendering of the tube location vs. holes in the OE frame
Here's the change to the mounting bracket, which goes along with having to re-orient it on the tubes
Here's the unit ready to be installed in the box
But the replacement heater core didn't fit out of the box so I made some slight modifications which did the trick.
The replacement core seems to be nicely made. The frame and mounting holes are in precisely the same location as the failed unit, which is original to the car. And the heater tubes look to be bent properly. But: 1) One side of the frame mounting flange was canted down by about 10 degrees, and 2) The outlet heater tube was misplaced by 1/4 inch, which was the bigger issue.
Here is what I had to do.
1) Put the frame in the vice and bend the one flange to be in the same plane as the other three
2) Remove (de-solder) the tube mounting bracket
3) Dog-leg the outlet heater tube so it lines up with holes in the heater box and firewall
4) Modify the mounting bracket so it fits the heater box
5) Re-secure the bracket to the tubes
6) Install the core in the heater box
This wasn't a big deal, and even though you guys warned me that the replacement box probably wouldn't fit, I was a trifle annoyed. But all's well and I would do it over the same way -- though I doubt I'll have another failure in my lifetime. The photos show some more details.
Here's a stock photo of the replacement frame and core
Here's a screenshot of the comparative location of the tubes in the frame (feeding the header box)
Here's a rendering of the tube location vs. holes in the OE frame
Here's the change to the mounting bracket, which goes along with having to re-orient it on the tubes
Here's the unit ready to be installed in the box
