Heater box refurb

[deltabronco]

Anyone refurb their heater box? Not talking about just doing seals, but also repainting. What would work best to restore the finish?

 

[duffymahoney]

I drilled out all the rivets and had the metal powder coated, then used some truck bed liner on the fiberglass (or whatever it is). I then changed the rivets and nuts and bolts out to stainless.

Wasn't super bad, I also upgraded the fan size while I was doing it.

 

[dave67fd]

Here's the rebuild in the tech section as well.
http://classicbroncos.com/tech/heater-box-rebuild

 

[nickgp]

Super simple job. Elbow grease, new seals and some flat or semi gloss black and you are good to go.

 

[deltabronco]

The paint was the main thing I was wondering about. Thanks for the info guys.

 

[deltabronco]

Damn Duffy. That looks nice.

 

[Joker11]

That looks cleaaaaaaan.

 

[redwards69]

I drilled out all the rivets and had the metal powder coated, then used some truck bed liner on the fiberglass (or whatever it is). I then changed the rivets and nuts and bolts out to stainless.

Wasn't super bad, I also upgraded the fan size while I was doing it.

Outstanding results!

 

[duffymahoney]

Thanks, it's definitely over the top.

 

[bsquared]

Not quite as nice as Duffy's, but Rustoleum gloss black worked well for me. Easy job, just takes time. Cheers, B2

 

[deltabronco]

I see people mention using the fusion paint. The box is pretty rigid so I would think standard paint would work.. Right?

 

[duffymahoney]

Not quite as nice as Duffy's, but Rustoleum gloss black worked well for me. Easy job, just takes time. Cheers, B2

Looks awesome! Powdercoating is awesome, but gets expensive quick.

 

[Gwunited2]

I am in the process of rebuilding my heater box. Did you all use a spray adhesive to attach the foam insulation to the two diverter flaps (if that's what they are called)?

Also, be careful with the fiberglass housing. Mine cracked when removing the pop rivets. Had to do an epoxy repair. Looking good so far though. I'm also upgrading the motor and squirrel cage.

 

[BroncoJimbo]

I did mine years ago and it still looks fine. But, on my son's CJ5 the fiberglass portion looked old and faded. We used spray on rubberized undercoating and it really cleaned it up nicely.

 

[BluebroncoNC]

Might want to replace the coil while you're at it, had mine all nice and put together, 4 months later sprung a leak. Had to tear it all apart again.

 

[Gwunited2]

Put it all back together this evening. Everything is new or refinished, new heater core too. I'm going to reinstall it and try it out this weekend.

 

[Gwunited2]

Here is what I have done so far.

 

[.94 OR]

Here is what I have done so far.

Nice job.

Quick question, are you starting with the heater and building the bronco around it?

 

[Gwunited2]

Nice job.



Quick question, are you starting with the heater and building the bronco around it?

Thanks. This bronco is not a restoration. I was just replacing the cowl because it was rusted out. While the cowl was off, I decided to rebuild the heater box. The old heater core was shot so it needed attention.

Now that the box is rebuilt I can put the cowl back on and then mount the windshield frame. This is just a hunting/fishing rig that I want to get roadworthy. It would be nice to have heat in the winter when driving around camp.

Maybe in a few years I will rebuild it. Of course I will need a second one to drive around while this one gets restored.

 

[Gwunited2]

I drilled out all the rivets and had the metal powder coated, then used some truck bed liner on the fiberglass (or whatever it is). I then changed the rivets and nuts and bolts out to stainless.

Wasn't super bad, I also upgraded the fan size while I was doing it.

DuffMahoney, in your third picture does it matter which tab the red wired connector and orange wired connector attach too? I disconnected mine and can't remember which one was attached where.

Thank you,