Another heater box question ????

[lime73]

Is there a trick to removing the door that opens and closes off the passenger side cowl vent from the heater box shell?  I really don't want to drill out the rivets but if that is the only way i guess i'm gonna have to do it.  Any input is greatly appreciated.  Thanks

[burdar]

I'm right there with you.  I'm at that step right now in my heater box resto.  Unfortunatly, the only way to remove the door is to drill out the rivets.  The problem is that you CAN NOT use pop rivets to put it back together.  There are two reasons...the first is that the fiberglass is too brittal and will crack either right away or over a short period of time.  The other reason is that the air door will hang up on the end of the pop rivet.  The only way to do it is to use the factory style rivets and I don't have access to those.  Even if I did, I'd have to buy the tool to install them.

Right now my plan is to just clean everything up with it still together.  I can cut a slit in the one pivot bushing so it can be installed on the shaft.  A little weatherstripping adheasive at the ends should work to joint it back together.  If anyone has a better idea I'd like to hear it.

By the way...the first thing I did was to bend the outer bracket stop to see if I could rotate the door farther to be able to slide it out...that didn't work.     

[Topcat]

I re-built my non A/C heater box without taking the rivets off.

What I did was take the the half that had the flap on it and stick it on a container close as possible to the shape of the half. Then I filled it up with Evaporust. I recall a gallon of it did the trick. Since I didn't get it completely submerged, I flipped it over a few days later and did the other side. Between intervals, I wire brushed the metal door really good and washed it off.

Once I was satisfied that the rusty door met my expectations; I then put a coat of black rattle can paint of Rustoleum on. When it dried, then I had some thin foamy rubber padding kind of like on the bottom of tool boxes. I used the 3M interior spray. Real sticky stuff once it begins to tack up.  I let it dry and it worked fine.

After I assembled everything, I took some fine sandpaper and wet sanded the front face. Sprayed a light coat of clear and it looks great now. The clear tends to hide any scratches on it.
Metal mask paint was put on outer metal parts like on the flap hinge.
This probably saved me 300-400 dollars versus sending it out.

[burdar]

That is what I'm going to do too.  I bought a gasket kit from Detroit Muscle Technologies that has all the gaskets needed in it.  The problem you run into if the door isn't removed is that there is a small gasket on the air door shaft.  The door has to be removed from the box cover in order to slide the gasket on and off of the shaft.  That is where I said I was going to cut a slit in the gasket so I could install it.  A little glue should hold the two ends together after it is on.

Your idea of spraying the cover with a light coat of clear is a good one.  I've heard of people doing that before on boxes that are really scratched up.  Luckily mine is in good shape in that department.  All of the factory inspection stamps are still visable so all mine needed to look new was to scrub it down with soapy water.

Mine does have the typical chunk missing from the passengers side opening though.  Resto Rick has a really cool looking fix for that on his website but I'm just going to take an air saw and blend that area a little so it looks better.

[Topcat]

That is what I'm going to do too.  I bought a gasket kit from Detroit Muscle Technologies that has all the gaskets needed in it.  The problem you run into if the door isn't removed is that there is a small gasket on the air door shaft.  The door has to be removed from the box cover in order to slide the gasket on and off of the shaft.  That is where I said I was going to cut a slit in the gasket so I could install it.  A little glue should hold the two ends together after it is on.

Your idea of spraying the cover with a light coat of clear is a good one.  I've heard of people doing that before on boxes that are really scratched up.  Luckily mine is in good shape in that department.  All of the factory inspection stamps are still visable so all mine needed to look new was to scrub it down with soapy water.

Mine does have the typical chunk missing from the passengers side opening though.  Resto Rick has a really cool looking fix for that on his website but I'm just going to take an air saw and blend that area a little so it looks better.

Yes DMT has the whole kit that's what I bought. . Re building these isn't very hard for sure. Get the Metal Mask made by POR 15, the Evapo rust you can buy in Harbor Freight. The container from a Dollar store or from your wife/GF when she's gone. 

[dixiedog]

bought the same kit and did like the other guys.  Didn't want to risk breaking the fiberglass by drilling the rivets.  Just cleaned and painted it still intact.  Some use the clear coat on the box so it still looks original and new.  Works great.   

[femtnmax]

For non A/C passenger side air door, I went ahead and drilled out the two steel rivets.  Took my time and held the rivet head from spinning with my fingertip.  Was able of course to clean, paint and foam seal real well.  Only one of the two rivets locations is in the way of the door movement.  Going back together I used #8 x 3/8 long bolts, nuts, and washers where I could.  Blue loctite makes it permanent.  Put the head of the bolt on the inside with a washer against the fiberglass, and with nut on the outside but no washer since its backed up by the metal bracket.  Ground down the head of the bolt a little, and deburred;  then shortened the bolts extra length on the outside to miss the arm swing.  Works well.  I also used the DMT kit

[burdar]

Good job with that.

How easily can you see that area with the dash inplace? 

[femtnmax]

How easily can you see that area with the dash inplace?

I don't know, but here's a pic of the finished product, but no dash. 

[Topcat]

So many heater boxes are broken where the red arrow is pointed.

If you are lucky enough to get a hold of a broken heater box front half;  use a part of the donor half (yellow area) to re build the lip edge at the arrow.

I did it to mine and it was barely noticable it had a repair done on it afterwards.