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Un-race-car-ing the 68 Chevelle

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  • #91
    +1 on the HF helmet. Take your scraps with you and praise some before you start on the car.
    http://www.bangshift.com/forum/forum...-consolidation
    1.54, 7.31 @ 94.14, 11.43 @ 118.95

    PB 60' 1.49
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    • #92
      Originally posted by Huskinhano View Post
      When it sounds like sizzling bacon, you got it. I also have a HF helmet. I like it.
      Met 2 guys with the HF ones.. Both hate them, one keeps getting arc flash burnt eyes..
      But you guys on here like your's....
      Must be newer? (2-5 years old?)
      My kid was telling me recently the HF ones improved.. We talked of getting one and transfering the auto darkening to the Jacksons We have 4 Jacksons. 2 darker lens for large rods (1apiece) and 2 for the wire feec (110v)

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      • #93
        I've had 2 HFs. Both dimmed OK but the old one had a crappy suspension - wouldn't hold head size, etc. and finally the screen got pretty spattered. I finally got POed and bought the Jackson. I was working with Dick (Volvo owner) to develop his skills so I bought the new HF for him to use and it seems OK. It was cheap on sale and with a coupon though I don't remember what I paid - maybe $35 with the discounts. Dick still isn't much of a welder!

        Dan

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        • #94
          Originally posted by SuperBuickGuy View Post
          also you don't have to completely remove the inner fender - take the bolts out and drop it to the tire.... reduces the risk of scratching. It's been a long time since I did the heater core in the Skylark - but I thought you only had to get the three nuts off the firewall, then remove the box from the inside to replace the core (which with a long socket and swivel was possible without dropping the inner fender)? faulty memory?
          Have the week off, decided to do this today. Replace the heater core.

          Got the inner fender out, no problem. Got the box off the firewall. Disappointed, because I missed the part I bolded above.
          Go inside and wiggle the box off - after removing the part the connects the heater to the vents....
          ...and the backside of the box has a piece of steel screwed to it, holding the heater core in. Dammit.
          I'm trying to NOT disconnect the heater control cables, so the box is still inside the car and I'm working upside down.
          I get the 1/4" headed screws out...and the heater core wiggles, but the steel backing plate doesn't seem like it wants to come off.

          ...Afraid I may have to disconnect the heater / flapper door control cables, and that my vents will never work properly again. :/

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          • #95
            ...and I can't find a youtube video of a Chevelle, gto, etc doing a heater core replacement.

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            • #96
              There's a trick where you drill a hole in the inner fender instead of removing it but it sounds like you're past that. Buick even provided a template for the hole positioning. They recommended leaving that nut out when you reassembled the system. But it sounds like you are at the "wrestle the parts" stage. Been probably 45 years +/- since I did one so my memory is pretty foggy.

              Dan

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              • #97
                Originally posted by yellomalibu View Post
                ...Afraid I may have to disconnect the heater / flapper door control cables, and that my vents will never work properly again. :/
                Your fear is warranted. Those control "cables" are actually wire, and that wire is really stiff. Unfortunately, it is also fairly brittle from the stiffening process - I broke one on my '66 Buick years ago, even with being fairly gentle with it. Not super cautious, but not going all gorilla on it either.

                Being cheap, I simply rerouted the cable to where I could reach it from the driver seat, fastening it to the bottom of the dash. Still functional, just not with the actual control levers.

                Good luck!
                Of all the paths you take in life - make sure a few of them are dirt.

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                • #98
                  there is a stuff called cable-lube - basically it's aerosolized lock-spray that contains graphite.

                  that said, you don't have to remove the cables... plus the only really sticky one is the heater-valve controller (that allows fluid through the radiator).
                  Doing it all wrong since 1966

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                  • #99
                    I went from memory of this thread, and started by jacking up the front end, removing the passenger side front tire, and removing the inner fender. It really isn't that much more work to remove it than it is to drop it down "out of the way" which would still have been in my way.
                    Once that was done, I removed the screws and nuts that held on the heater box, and disconnected any wiring that was attached to it... then pulled it out. I was disappointed to see that I could not remove the heater core from here.




                    I did have to remove the inner box, so I started carefully messing with it. I always go slowly when doing something like this that I have never done before. I removed my door sill plate so I could remove my kick panel cover - because it looked like it would be in the way. At this point, I'm really glad the roll bar wasn't there anymore. Laying on the floor of the car and looking up, I see that a smaller heater box is bolted to the face of the big heater box, connecting it to duct work, so I removed that. Then I went to wiggling the big heater box, and got it part-way out. It's still attached by those heater / flapper door control wires on top.




                    Stick my head around the back side of that box, to see how to remove the heater core, and I see there's a metal backing to this fiberglass box. It seems to be held on with several 1/4" headed screws. You can see one of them in the lower left portion of this pic.




                    The thing still isn't coming apart, so I realize that I do, indeed, have to remove at least that one control wire from the flapper arm - which was simply done by twisting back and forth on the "push nut" (for lack of the proper nomenclature), carefully sliding the wire off the actuator shaft, then unscrewing the 3 screws that hold it on. There were also a couple rubber or foam gaskets that had to be removed.




                    After getting it all out, I realized a minor mistake I made. You only need to remove 4 of the 8 screws to get the metal backing separated from the heater box. These are the 3 on the far right: top, middle and bottom - and the one on the left I showed earlier below the heater core nipples.
                    The OTHER 4 screws are what hold the heater core to the metal backing via steel straps. (sorry, I didn't get pics of that) It would have been easier to deal with if the 4 screws holding the heater core to the metal backing were left in place until the core/backing were removed from the car. Those 4 screws are 2 inside the flapper door, and the other two that are somewhat recessed in the backing.





                    Putting it back together went much faster, just reverse the order of disassembly. The only snag I ran into was getting the heater core nipples through the holes in the firewall while also getting the studs that hold the heater box on through the holes in the firewall. A helper would have been handy, but I didn't have one - so I put a couple socket extensions in the nipples and put them through first, then got the studs through.

                    Note: I did have to slightly bend the nipples to get the heater core mounted to the backing plate. Minor variations in manufacturing specs. Be very careful and try to support them so as not to bend them where they are welded to the core - weakening or cracking could occur.

                    Another note: 68 heater core is its own 1 year only part. This is an A/C car. If the AC was still hooked up, removing the outer box would have been more difficult... but in hindsight, the outer box doesn't have to be "removed", only the screws and nuts that hold it on need to be removed. They essentially clamp the outer and inner box together with the firewall between them.

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                    • This car does not have a heater valve controller that allows fluid through the heater core. It always flows through the core, flapper doors allow the heat in the cabin - or not.

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                      • I think '67 or so is when pretty much all car makers got away from the Ranco (water control) valve. They figured out it wasn't necessary if you ducted the air right and it effectively added radiator area to the cooling system. I suppose there are some cars that dropped it sooner and some that kept it longer but it was around that point in time.

                        Thanks for the walk down memory lane. I've been trying to forget that torture!

                        Dan

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                        • Originally posted by yellomalibu View Post
                          This car does not have a heater valve controller that allows fluid through the heater core. It always flows through the core, flapper doors allow the heat in the cabin - or not.
                          I don't want it going through the core all the time on some of my stuff, especially the ones where the AC is dysfunctional. Dodge Dakota first gen 4 cylinder should have a valve that will let you bypass the core or not for less than 20.00. Only problem I see with it is it's vacuum operated.
                          Last edited by Beagle; December 30, 2015, 08:43 AM.
                          Flying south, with a flock of bird dogs.

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                          • Originally posted by DanStokes View Post
                            I think '67 or so is when pretty much all car makers got away from the Ranco (water control) valve. They figured out it wasn't necessary if you ducted the air right and it effectively added radiator area to the cooling system. I suppose there are some cars that dropped it sooner and some that kept it longer but it was around that point in time.

                            Thanks for the walk down memory lane. I've been trying to forget that torture!

                            Dan
                            Buick was still using them in the G-bodies. I have one off of an '87 Regal in my Riviera since the old cable valves (probably what they got away from) were rubbish. Newer stuff seems to be vacuum operated and tends to fail in the "heat" position so you can do what your talking about with the air ducting and have a working defroster at a min.
                            Central TEXAS Sleeper
                            USAF Physicist

                            ROA# 9790

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                            • You can buy in inline valve for one of your heater hoses if you don't want coolant running through your heater core all the time. I actually did this on my C10 to try to get the AC a few degrees cooler. You just have to replace it every few years... they don't seem to last long.

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                              • Or use a quarter turn ball valve .
                                Looks hokey but with cluttered underhoods, might be able to hide it...
                                Probably not under the hood of a sparsely loaded area like the chevelle?

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