More work on the diverter today, and nearly completed the entire heater revision. I picked up a couple of ABS fittings yesterday and modified them to work for hose ports. Threads on the back side were sawed off, and the thickness of the threaded portion was removed with a Dremel drum so the inside diameter of the fitting would be a full 1.75”. The adapter plate was cut with a new hole saw and the adapter was epoxied in place from the inside with JB Kwik. The plate was attached with pop rivets:
The shop vac nozzle was inserted in the open end of the heater, and the new outlet was cut. The 2nd ABS nozzle was also attached with JB Kwik from the inside, after which the new end cap was attached through the factory screw holes.
I tried positioning the diverter in a variety of locations, and quickly realized two things. The upper factory bracket was problematic no matter where the item was placed, so it was sliced off. The other problem being the passenger side defroster outlet. Regardless of orientation, the outlet was an interference fit with everything, the dash, firewall, or the defroster outlet itself. So a quick analysis showed it could be relocated to the next panel down on the diverter body, which freed up a number of new options. The old tube was carefully removed, and came out so nice it almost look like it was removed with a laser. It looked so great I wanted to take a picture before I fabricated and installed a cover plate for the defunct outlet, but I was covered with grinding powder and didn’t want to go in the house for the camera.
The new outlet was cut, and I considered reinstalling the factory tube, but the plastic versions are much easier to work with and are much stronger. So tomorrow I’ll pick up one more, pull the end plate and epoxy it in place. After that I’m going to see if I can get the darn thing mounted and connected to the heater so when the A/C shows up I’ll have this portion behind me.
I also tested the air flow out of the new heater outlet and the Fiero heater motor really puts out a ton of wind, so I’m reasonably confident it will be adequate for my limited winter needs.