Heater box questions

[Pdxguy]

Couple of questions about the heater box.

 

1. My heater box is missing the curved vents circled below. Is it available, and/or needed? Pictures borrowed from another site.

 

 

2. The two holes in the plastic where the metal tab attaches in the picture below on my box are not open. There is a slight recession where the holes should be, but it doesn't go all the way through. Did someone repair it in the past and cover the holes partially? I can drill it out easily enough, want to make sure I need to. 

 

Thanks,

Dennis

 

 

[stephers]

#1    No, I don't believe that those are av available separately.  You may have to find someone with an old cracked box that you can salvage them from

 

#2  That should be riveted to the box, it holds a clip on style speed nut for the under dash trim panels  to be attached to

 

Thanks, Rick

[tech71]

Those deflectors are nice to have as they direct air more effienfly but not required , seem to get lost easily

[Mike Self]

1 hour ago, stephers said:

#2  That should be riveted to the box, it holds a clip on style speed nut for the under dash trim panels  to be attached to

If those metal tabs are missing and/or need reattaching, I wouldn't recommend pop riveting 'em back on--and in addition, if you have the heater box apart, I wouldn't rivet it back together either.  Those boxes were kinda brittle to begin with, and 50-some years hasn't made 'em any more flexible.  I'd use small machine screws, nyloc nuts and flat washers to do the job.  

 

As an aside, I didn't realize those air deflectors on the bottom were detachable.  Learn something new every day!

 

mike

[pehlivanov_tii]

1. As it has been said those vents are not a must, they probably are good for directing the air, but i doubt you would notice a big difference with or without them.

 

2. As Mike said, i wouldn't risk to rivet them, because the plastic can crack. On my box i used bolt and nut on the other side, but this is only if you open the heater box. If you don't open it you can use a larger than the rivet rapid screw, it should do the work.

[uai]

It depends on the year they came only in late models

[calw]

12 hours ago, Mike Self said:

If those metal tabs are missing and/or need reattaching, I wouldn't recommend pop riveting 'em back on--and in addition, if you have the heater box apart, I wouldn't rivet it back together either.  Those boxes were kinda brittle to begin with, and 50-some years hasn't made 'em any more flexible.  I'd use small machine screws, nyloc nuts and flat washers to do the job.  

 

As an aside, I didn't realize those air deflectors on the bottom were detachable.  Learn something new every day!

 

mike

Fender washers if they fit, to spread the stress on the plastic as much as possible...  And any drilling needs to be done as gently as possible.  "Brittle" is a kind word for the state of the plastic now.

[jimk]

7 minutes ago, calw said:

"Brittle" is a kind word for the state of the plastic now.

How about a "pencil" hot iron to make the hole?

[jgerock]

On 4/24/2023 at 1:08 AM, Mike Self said:

If those metal tabs are missing and/or need reattaching, I wouldn't recommend pop riveting 'em back on--and in addition, if you have the heater box apart, I wouldn't rivet it back together either.  Those boxes were kinda brittle to begin with, and 50-some years hasn't made 'em any more flexible.  I'd use small machine screws, nyloc nuts and flat washers to do the job.  

 

As an aside, I didn't realize those air deflectors on the bottom were detachable.  Learn something new every day!

 

mike

Pics of the heater box deflectors removed from my 1971 Agave 2002 vin 2572558.

 

Perhaps earlier cars didn’t get them because of the cardboard flaps on the shorty center console.

[calw]

19 hours ago, jimk said:

How about a "pencil" hot iron to make the hole?

Yes, that works.  It melts nicely, like styrene plastic (which it probably is- think plastic car model kits when you were a kid).  You'll need a sharp xacto knife to trim the melted plastic around the hole.  Don't breathe the fumes though, and clean the iron tip thoroughly before heating it up later.  The trick is to be gentle with these old plastic parts. Everything in moderation.

 

DIY heater box repairs:

To reinforce the old box, sheet styrene from the model shop (if there are any left out there) will bond nicely to it using solvent glue after final cleaning of the surface with 91% alchohol.  Curved surfaces can be strengthened with epoxy glue and fiberglass cloth.

Rivets = no, too risky.  Machine screws with big washers = yes, you can apply force gently - it's not your car's suspension.

[Pdxguy]

1 hour ago, jgerock said:

Pics of the heater box deflectors removed from my 1971 Agave 2002 vin 2572558.

 

Perhaps earlier cars didn’t get them because of the cardboard flaps on the shorty center console.

 

Don't suppose you still have the deflectors and want to sell them?

[Pdxguy]

Thanks all for the info, as always, this forum is a wealth of info

 

Dennis

[jgerock]

12 minutes ago, Pdxguy said:

 

Don't suppose you still have the deflectors and want to sell them?

Sorry- long gone, just like the car.  You don’t need them. Both my 69 and 73 cars will blast enough air thru those openings.

[KevinLo822]

On 4/23/2023 at 9:54 PM, stephers said:

#1    No, I don't believe that those are av available separately.  You may have to find someone with an old cracked box that you can salvage them from

 

#2  That should be riveted to the box, it holds a clip on style speed nut for the under dash trim panels  to be attached to

 

Thanks, Rick

I was about to write the very same thing.