Restoring Rusty

[Gregski]

alright, one more tiny little screw on the inside of the cab, this one is hidden directly behind the ashtray, thank you General Motors, the German intern must have designed it's location, LOL

I slid the ashtray out as you would to dump the ashes of your Cuban cigar, then using a long extension I think a 1/4" socket was used to remove that pesky little guy

this tiny screw holds the heater core assembly to the upper vent housing, it's just enough to keep you from being able to remove the lower heater core assembly, so it must be undone, or you risk cracking plastic and you can kiss your concourse de elegance resto goodbye, ha ha

[Gregski]

I believe in all the excitement I forgot to take fresh pictures of the three studs which pertrude out the firewall inside the engine bay in triangle formation, I will take a pic of them upon re assembly

which brings us to the Fun Level meter, on a scale of 1-11 I give this job a solid 4.5 (factoring the cooler time of the year and the fact that I waited to do this job until the first rainy weekend of the season, lol)

[Gregski]

provided you loosened all the 7 fasteners, 3 inside the cab and the 4 under the hood, now you may commence the wrestling match with said opponent

I found that if you are not going for style points you can get the heater core out of the assembly without undoing any of the cables, you can gently flip it on it's back and tickle its belly

[Gregski]

you are almost done, to get the actual heater core out of the assembly, two tiny internal screws (smaller than 1/4" hold it to the plastic assembly on the inside, not the two 1/4" screws on the outside)

[Matt Man]

Looks like a Harrison core, I held on to mine just in case I ever have the money to have it re cored one day.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by Matt Man

Looks like a Harrison core, I held on to mine just in case I ever have the money to have it re cored one day.

yeah, my seems pretty nice and solid like it has some quality to it, I may try to braise the leak, I am sure the replacement one will be a flimzy China plastic one

[Gregski]

and she's out


Note to self: my motivation to take out this assembly and clean it out nicely is at an all time low... squirrel!!!

[Matt Man]

Originally Posted by Gregski

yeah, my seems pretty nice and solid like it has some quality to it, I may try to braise the leak, I am sure the replacement one will be a flimzy China plastic one

If it helps, I put a spectra "premium" heater core in from pepboys and it was good for the 2 years it was in my truck before I put the vintage air in. My unit was all aluminum.

[Gregski]

Anatomy of the Heater Core

so there's a rubber gasket thingy and a metal bracket that holds it in place with those two tiny screws

[Gregski]

time to test the old heater core

so I filled it with water and plugged the ports with those handy rubber plugs then I dried it real good with a paper towel and held it up to see where it leaks from

I am not sure exactly where the leak is, but it's not from the rubber stoppers so time to get a new one, I may braise this one some day as I like the good solid quality of it

[Gregski]

ordered a new heater core from Auto Zone it was $30 bucks but they have to transfer it from the hub store so that's it for today folks, thank you for reading, feels good to be back in the saddle again

[Whamo]

This thread has shamed me to start documenting my "fixing up" better...great thread and great build...Thank you!

just curious if you ever tried to do anything with the dash pad...maybe I missed it...

[Whamo]

This thread has shamed me to start documenting my "fixing up" better...great thread and great build...Thank you!

just curious if you ever tried to do anything with the dash pad...maybe I missed it...

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by Whamo

This thread has shamed me to start documenting my "fixing up" better...great thread and great build...Thank you!

Glad to hear it!

Originally Posted by Whamo

just curious if you ever tried to do anything with the dash pad...maybe I missed it...

Sure did, The Greg left no stone unturned, I realize this is a long monsterous thread (apologies) so I found a section on the dash pad in thread number 2219 check it out please, I think it jumps around from there, also updated the Table of Contents (that a kind reader started for me and gave me the idea to do, thank you so much)

[Whamo]

Oh man!...I totally dig the dash and I started tearing mine apart last night! Got an idea for the holes (I'll post pics) using barn wood...

Sorry you had so much trouble with the JBW. It can be tricky if you ain't used to it...here in the hood we use it more than duct tape...

[daddyjeep]

Ahhhh, that brings back memories. My first experience with a heater core was in my 78 K10 back around 1990... good times.

[truckin 79]

I have learned a lot reading your post thread thanks a lot. You will find the new heater cores are aluminum and are smaller than the original. At least the heater core I got from Advance auto was like that. I luckily had some extra foam lying around that I stuffed on the sides of the heater core. Also make sure they give you the right heater core as the first time they gave me a H core for a AC truck. I hope you didnt ruin the bolts that bolt on from engine bay, those are a bear to find.

[Gregski]

man I had a hard time getting motivated to get this new core in (the desire ranked right up there with a voluntary appendectamy), LOL, but I finally got tired of using my shirt sleeve to wipe off the sweaty windshield every morning

so here it is the new core

part number: 94553, 399079

[Gregski]

and as always we compare the old (quality unit) with the new (flimzy junk)

[Gregski]

the sound detening heater padding was sagging down making it difficult to get the heater core studs in the proper holes, so I yanked it all out, it came off in chunks the size of 3x5 cards, not my proudest achievement but it exposed any rust sections lurking underneath there, someday we will insulate this again (umm, or not)

[Gregski]

and the heater hoses went back on, cluttering up my beautiful engine compartment again, sometimes Form wins, sometimes Function!

So far no leaks, the truck ran in the driveway for about 20 minutes whilst I vacuumed it out (yes including the bed, ha ha) since I hauled some fire wood, yup say it with me now; "truck doing truck things!"

Then I took it for a test drive to Target and the grocery store, still no leaks, and wait for it... we now have heat! oh what a spoiled gangster I am now.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by truckin 79

I have learned a lot reading your post thread thanks a lot.

Glad to hear, you're welcome, and thanks for the feedback, its always appreciated and keeps me motivated.

Originally Posted by truckin 79

You will find the new heater cores are aluminum and are smaller than the original. At least the heater core I got from Advance auto was like that.

Hmmm, I got mine from AutoZone and this one fit like a glove. Hopefully posting the part number like I did will save somebody some grief.

[Gregski]

next we'll tackle something we started over 2 years ago back in thread 1039 Anatomy of a Kick Panel

[LT7A]

It's good to see some more work done on Rusty. Another 'installment', if you will.

BTW, this is my post number 454. I had to make note of that since it's a number I have coveted since high school.

[Ratman74]

Originally Posted by Gregski

and the heater hoses went back on, cluttering up my beautiful engine compartment again, sometimes Form wins, sometimes Function!

So far no leaks, the truck ran in the driveway for about 20 minutes whilst I vacuumed it out (yes including the bed, ha ha) since I hauled some fire wood, yup say it with me now; "truck doing truck things!"

Then I took it for a test drive to Target and the grocery store, still no leaks, and wait for it... we now have heat! oh what a spoiled gangster I am now.

Good stuff Greg, I changed my heater core a couple years ago and was amazed at how fast I can heat up the cab (which is handy here in WV right now).