What did you do to your Car today?

[64 kiwi boni]

6 hours ago, Frosty said:

I see the resemblance.

My goal for this weekend is to finish ripping the interior out of Lucy and see if the heater core is actually leaking. Carpet is ruined for sure - hence the need to yank everything out in the first place.

I'm thinking of swapping out radios. I have a rebuilt Delco AM/FM unit n Lucy now - tied to a CD changer. I am thinking of going to either a Custom Autosound or a Retrosound unit. I want to be able to play tunes from my cell and go hands free with the phone. Just wondering if anyone has had good or bad experience with either. I definitely am not looking to cut up the dash and I want as near-stock appearing as I can. Thoughts anyone?

Hay Frosty, i bought a custom autosound from ecklers a few years back for one of my 57 chevys, work ok, just seamed a little cheap in its finish with the chrome 

 but i did like its usb port it had, think it was on the rear too so you can hook it to your cd player. and hide the wire

i like old school and have tape players in all but one of my toys, wife goes off at me for playing all my old 70 and 80's stuff ! haha🙄

[Last Indian]

15 hours ago, 64 kiwi boni said:

Justa, how the hell did you get a picture of my shower !!,, and what happen to my jim beam???

the mind boggles with what you will create with this simple slab of metal Last Indian 👍 

Well when I built the valve covers for the 3800 on the Indian I had the right stock, but when I built the plenum cover I didn’t! So I made do with what I had. So now I will design and build a new arrangement! Not sure what it will look like yet, but it will be different.

The valve covers have a deep fin, a more traditional look.

the plenum cover is very shallow. Not the same kind of look!

Edited May 15, 2020 by Last Indian

[64 kiwi boni]

👍

[Stewy]

21 hours ago, Frosty said:

I'm thinking of swapping out radios. I have a rebuilt Delco AM/FM unit n Lucy now - tied to a CD changer. I am thinking of going to either a Custom Autosound or a Retrosound unit. I want to be able to play tunes from my cell and go hands free with the phone. Just wondering if anyone has had good or bad experience with either.

One of the auto mechanics I follow on YouTube (met the guy IRL a few years  back - his shop is literally next door to Kings Island in OH) rebuilt his dad's hand-me-down '90's Silverado and he put a Retrosound unit in the truck. If interested, here's a video he did about the unit - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnTdEagU7VE.

[Frosty]

On 5/15/2020 at 10:02 AM, Frosty said:

My goal for this weekend is to finish ripping the interior out of Lucy and see if the heater core is actually leaking. Carpet is ruined for sure - hence the need to yank everything out in the first place.

Well guys, I torn into Lucy with a tad bit of vengence today. The boy help me immensely too. I got the back seat and front passenger seat out last fall. Today, I got all the front seat belts out, the driver's seat, the fire extinguisher, the console. I had to loosen the shifter long enough to get the carpet out from underneath it. I bagged and tagged all the screws and small parts like I always do. Finally up came the carpet. It was still damp! WTF?

Here is how I started the day:

Next out came the carpet.

I found a mixture of transmission fluid (used for the convertible top and I've had a leak for awhile now) and antifreeze in the passenger side foot wells. This was not going well.

Jacob and I decided to cut out the Dynomat on the passenger side to see what shape the floor board was in. All the videos you see of this stuff are of installation. Putting it down is easy. No one ever shows you what a bitch it is to remove. I was lucky that most of the rubberized backing didn't turn to tar (some of it did but that is another story for another day). You need to wear gloves removing this stuff (as I found out the hard way). The aluminum/tin foil backing can cut you like a bad paper cut! I have the cut up hands to prove it.

So this is what I found under the Dynomat.

Nasty green stuff under the Dynomat. Oh boy.....

These floor boards are nasty.

This was not looking good. I suspect that the heater core was shot and leaking. Only one way to tell. I put the driver's seat back in the car, bolted it down, grabbed the shifter knob and went for a test drive. The video tells it all.

IMG_4919.MOV

Well crap. That means the heater has got to come out. To do that, a good chunk of the dash has to come apart, the AC unit has to be completely disassembled under the hood. At a minimnuim, the passenger side inner fender has to come off in order to get to all the bolts. This is going to be an ugly job. I'm not sure I want to do this one. I'm going to talk to a buddy of mine and see who he might recommend. 

Since the sun was setting, Jacob and I removed the AC ducting, the glove box door, glove box, CD changer (it was mounted in the glovebox), and radio. Now there's decent access to firewall and heater core cover. More of the dash may have to come off. I'm going to consult my shop manual later and see. I think we got a good start on disassembly. I just wish I didn't need to do this. Rats.

All the wires you see hanging out of the glove box are speaker wires. I have dual 6x9s in back, kick panel speakers and a dual speaker under the dash. So it is a crap load of speaker wires.

I plan to replace the radio at this point with something bluetooth compatible/hands free and allow me to play music from my iPhone. Right now Custom Autosound and Retrosound look to have to interesting units but Retrosound seems a little more pricey. It is not clearly to me why yet.

Stewy - I did watch your guy's truck video installation this morning on YouTube. Thank you for the referral. I would have liked to see him actually road test it and all. Any idea how much he likes it? Sounds like he was a lot "meh" after it was installed.

I will keep you guys posted as Lucy progresses.

 

Edited May 17, 2020 by Frosty

[Stewy]

10 hours ago, Frosty said:

Stewy - I did watch your guy's truck video installation this morning on YouTube. Thank you for the referral. I would have liked to see him actually road test it and all. Any idea how much he likes it? Sounds like he was a lot "meh" after it was installed.

 

Hey, @Frosty - happy to help (even if it is only a little). I have done some searching on EricTheCarGuy's website as well as his YouTube channel however I have not been able to find a video / post where he gives the pros and cons of the radio and if he would recommend the Retorsound over, say, the Autosound brand.

 

That said, I did send Eric an email asking if he did, in fact, provide his thoughts after using the radio for a while and, if not, if he would reply back to the email with his pros / cons / etc. (I'll keep you posted if / when he replies). I have also found, on his website, a video he did of installing the radio and starting around the 29:11 time stamp, you see the radio power up and he goes on to give some likes / dislikes of the radio (however nothing in depth). To see that video (and I apologize for not being able to link directly to it but the way it's embedded in his website made it fairly difficult), follow this link and click on the video I have highlighted below:

Edited May 17, 2020 by Stewy

[64 kiwi boni]

Yip Frosty, that core is leaking bad mate !

[Frosty]

1 hour ago, 64 kiwi boni said:

Yip Frosty, that core is leaking bad mate !

I know Kiwi. What irks me the most is I asked the shop I had it towed to last fall when the belt first came off to look at it and see it if was leaking. They didn’t. They just fixed the belt and didn’t look at the puddles in the passenger foot wells. This is the same shop that doesn’t know how to fix a convertible top.

[Last Indian]

I feel for you buddy! Been there do that, only in a stone driveway and no convertible! You are right, it's ugly!

How old is the core? & Quick question, what kind of anti-freeze do you use?

[Frosty]

1 hour ago, Last Indian said:

I feel for you buddy! Been there do that, only in a stone driveway and no convertible! You are right, it's ugly!

How old is the core? & Quick question, what kind of anti-freeze do you use?

As far as I know, it's the original heater core - so its about 48 years old.

I use a 50/50 mix of Prestone and water (green stuff).

[Stewy]

Hey @Frosty - I received a response from Eric (see below). When he says "radios" (plural) he has two units - one in a Ford Fairmont build he did and the other in the Chevrolet truck build.

 

Quote

A review on those radios would be a nice addition. I just need to find the time to shoot it. 

 

I’ll summarize it like this. My experience hasn’t been that great. It hasn’t been bad either. I like they way both radios look, but the sound is just adequate. If you really want it to sound good hook it up to an amp and run a sub. I also don’t like the controls. It takes a bit to get into the menus to make adjustments. Because of the limited buttons this can be problematic at times. 

 

I hope that’s helpful. 

 

Eric

 

Hopefully that lends at least a little help / insight into making your decision.

[Last Indian]

13 hours ago, Frosty said:

As far as I know, it's the original heater core - so its about 48 years old.

I use a 50/50 mix of Prestone and water (green stuff).

Well, I’d say you got your money’s worth out of it! I figured you didn’t use Dex-cool, but you never know! That s- - t is bad stuff!

[Frosty]

2 hours ago, Last Indian said:

Well, I’d say you got your money’s worth out of it! I figured you didn’t use Dex-cool, but you never know! That s- - t is bad stuff!

Yeah, it doesn’t owe me anything Last Indian. However if (big if I know) it is fixable I’d prefer to do that than buy a new one. I’m told the quality of the metal of the original is far superior to any of the reproductions. 
 

I’m not a Dex-Cool fan. I’d only use it if that is what is recommended for the car. I’ve seen and read too many problems to switch at this point.

[64 kiwi boni]

22 hours ago, Frosty said:

I know Kiwi. What irks me the most is I asked the shop I had it towed to last fall when the belt first came off to look at it and see it if was leaking. They didn’t. They just fixed the belt and didn’t look at the puddles in the passenger foot wells. This is the same shop that doesn’t know how to fix a convertible top.

well best thing to do.... fix it your self and then you Know its right 😄

 they clearly put it in the "too hard basket"

[Frosty]

I'm toying with the idea of fixing it myself. I'm just wondering how huge a headache it will be for me - time wise. First thing I need to do is plug up the two engine hoses to/from the engine so I don't continue to lose more coolant. Then I can get serious about disassembly everything else. Of course I can only work on it on decent days too.

[64 kiwi boni]

9 hours ago, Frosty said:

I'm toying with the idea of fixing it myself. I'm just wondering how huge a headache it will be for me - time wise. First thing I need to do is plug up the two engine hoses to/from the engine so I don't continue to lose more coolant. Then I can get serious about disassembly everything else. Of course I can only work on it on decent days too.

easy mate, just loop the hose on the engine(by pass the heater element)

[64 kiwi boni]

Then you have gone this far, so hunt down the best deal on a good quality replacement core.

Here in nz i have my radiator man that knows his brands.

 if it was me...

take it to someone you know

he will tell you.. its stuffed,

say get me a new one with a good warranty or i will make you take it back out when it shits its self at your cost and the damage it does to my car 😄

i went through this with a tiny heater core for the mk1 cortina and i had to pay good money for a good... brand new core from a company that warranty its product.

 i am sure you can do that, i would not try to have your unit patched, it will have chemical and erosion corrosion from all the years  of flow through it.

 am a plumber mate, copper just doesn't last 😜 

[Frosty]

9 hours ago, 64 kiwi boni said:

easy mate, just loop the hose on the engine(by pass the heater element)

I've thought of that. I just need to use some sort of tube to connect the two ends and clamp them down. I just haven't spent anytime noodling how big a diameter tube I need. I admit I'm lazy at times.

[JUSTA6]

8 hours ago, Frosty said:

I've thought of that. I just need to use some sort of tube to connect the two ends and clamp them down. I just haven't spent anytime noodling how big a diameter tube I need. I admit I'm lazy at times.

[Ringo64]

1 minute ago, JUSTA6 said:

[64 kiwi boni]

14 hours ago, Frosty said:

I've thought of that. I just need to use some sort of tube to connect the two ends and clamp them down. I just haven't spent anytime noodling how big a diameter tube I need. I admit I'm lazy at times.

ah frosty just take the hose from the water pump and hook it to the intake manifold👍 no joiner need mate, i bet its 3/4 tube which will completly by pass the heater element mate 

[JUSTA6]

6 hours ago, 64 kiwi boni said:

ah frosty just take the hose from the water pump and hook it to the intake manifold👍 no joiner need mate, i bet its 3/4 tube which will completly by pass the heater element mate 

   Now that's tellin the answerman!!  

[Frosty]

Well I worked on Lucy again today. First thing I did was disconnect the hoses going to and from the heater core. Wouldn't you know that they are different input and output hoses. Input from the cylinder heat to the heater core is 3/8" and output to the water pump is 5/16".  The output hose was absolute bear to get loose. I ended up cutting it at the firewall/nozzle. I then disconnected the entire input hose from the firewall and cylinder head and routed the output hose to the cylinder - as Kiwi suggested. This simple swap took almost 45 minutes fighting with those two damn hoses.

Nice and snug trying to get your hand in between the hood, the AC cover, and on the hoses. Greeeeaaaat piece of engineering.

The AC / heater core unit from under the dash. Surprising only three nuts and one screw hold this sucker to the firewall.

The shop manual tells you to mark three cable positions when removing the cable that goes to the dash so you can re-align it later.

IMG_4935.MOV

 

Welll - the damn thing is out. I didn't even have to remove the fender or the inner fender.

Could they have made this any more f*cking complicated? I spent over an hour trying to figure out how to remove the heater core from the box. Nothing in the shop manual about it. I am on the verge of breaking the fiberglass housing! You know that bracket that I marked with the 3 alignment settings, turns out it's three mount screws secures the heater core to the housing shell, so that how thing on top has to come. Sonofa....

Yes, this mofo is apart!  Happy dance time!

Here is what the heater core looks like.......

Now the most interesting thing to me was.....this was NOT an original Harrison Radiator unit! There is no name on this thing at all. This means the heater core has been replaced before! Now I am thinking I should seriously overall the HVAC system on this car since I have it torn apart this far.

The AC has never worked on this car since I bought it over 25 years - but hey it's a convertible - who needs air? You need AC in bumper-to-bumper traffic on I-75 waiting out accident with 95+ degree heat and rain outside CIncinnati with 6 more hours to go. Not often, but when your family is in the car....and you don't have air - you are a walking dead man. Just saying.....

Since this is not original, I think I will just purchase a new core rather than have it rebuilt. If it rains Sunday or Tuesday, I might be making a road trip to National Parts Depot.

I ordered new carpet, and some interior parts from Legendary Auto Interiors. It said it would be 3-6 weeks before I get it.

 

Edited May 24, 2020 by Frosty

[64 kiwi boni]

4 hours ago, Frosty said:

Well I worked on Lucy again today. First thing I did was disconnect the hoses going to and from the heater core. Wouldn't you know that they are different input and output hoses. Input from the cylinder heat to the heater core is 3/8" and output to the water pump is 5/16".  The output hose was absolute bear to get loose. I ended up cutting it at the firewall/nozzle. I then disconnected the entire input hose from the firewall and cylinder head and routed the output hose to the cylinder - as Kiwi suggested. This simple swap took almost 45 minutes fighting with those two damn hoses.

Nice and snug trying to get your hand in between the hood, the AC cover, and on the hoses. Greeeeaaaat piece of engineering.

The AC / heater core unit from under the dash. Surprising only three nuts and one screw hold this sucker to the firewall.

The shop manual tells you to mark three cable positions when removing the cable that goes to the dash so you can re-align it later.

IMG_4935.MOV 76.54 MB · 1 download

 

Welll - the damn thing is out. I didn't even have to remove the fender or the inner fender.

Could they have made this any more f*cking complicated? I spent over an hour trying to figure out how to remove the heater core from the box. Nothing in the shop manual about it. I am on the verge of breaking the fiberglass housing! You know that bracket that I marked with the 3 alignment settings, turns out it's three mount screws secures the heater core to the housing shell, so that how thing on top has to come. Sonofa....

Yes, this mofo is apart!  Happy dance time!

Here is what the heater core looks like.......

Now the most interesting thing to me was.....this was NOT an original Harrison Radiator unit! There is no name on this thing at all. This means the heater core has been replaced before! Now I am thinking I should seriously overall the HVAC system on this car since I have it torn apart this far.

The AC has never worked on this car since I bought it over 25 years - but hey it's a convertible - who needs air? You need AC in bumper-to-bumper traffic on I-75 waiting out accident with 95+ degree heat and rain outside CIncinnati with 6 more hours to go. Not often, but when your family is in the car....and you don't have air - you are a walking dead man. Just saying.....

Since this is not original, I think I will just purchase a new core rather than have it rebuilt. If it rains Sunday or Tuesday, I might be making a road trip to National Parts Depot.

I ordered new carpet, and some interior parts from Legendary Auto Interiors. It said it would be 3-6 weeks before I get it.

 

Well done frosty! those hoses are really good at welding them selves to the metal connections and remember what you told me about old fuel hoses?

 i recon same applies to heater hoses too!! replace the lot.

good on you for doing this job your self, if you had a shop do it they would charge you a arm and a leg to do just what you went through  

AND you will know exactly what you have fitted.

i also agree, if you had a original core in hand to take it and have it rebuilt but since its an after market one, just replace it full stop 

4 hours ago, Frosty said:

Well I worked on Lucy again today. First thing I did was disconnect the hoses going to and from the heater core. Wouldn't you know that they are different input and output hoses. Input from the cylinder heat to the heater core is 3/8" and output to the water pump is 5/16".  The output hose was absolute bear to get loose. I ended up cutting it at the firewall/nozzle. I then disconnected the entire input hose from the firewall and cylinder head and routed the output hose to the cylinder - as Kiwi suggested. This simple swap took almost 45 minutes fighting with those two damn hoses.

Nice and snug trying to get your hand in between the hood, the AC cover, and on the hoses. Greeeeaaaat piece of engineering.

The AC / heater core unit from under the dash. Surprising only three nuts and one screw hold this sucker to the firewall.

The shop manual tells you to mark three cable positions when removing the cable that goes to the dash so you can re-align it later.

IMG_4935.MOV 76.54 MB · 1 download

 

Welll - the damn thing is out. I didn't even have to remove the fender or the inner fender.

Could they have made this any more f*cking complicated? I spent over an hour trying to figure out how to remove the heater core from the box. Nothing in the shop manual about it. I am on the verge of breaking the fiberglass housing! You know that bracket that I marked with the 3 alignment settings, turns out it's three mount screws secures the heater core to the housing shell, so that how thing on top has to come. Sonofa....

Yes, this mofo is apart!  Happy dance time!

Here is what the heater core looks like.......

Now the most interesting thing to me was.....this was NOT an original Harrison Radiator unit! There is no name on this thing at all. This means the heater core has been replaced before! Now I am thinking I should seriously overall the HVAC system on this car since I have it torn apart this far.

The AC has never worked on this car since I bought it over 25 years - but hey it's a convertible - who needs air? You need AC in bumper-to-bumper traffic on I-75 waiting out accident with 95+ degree heat and rain outside CIncinnati with 6 more hours to go. Not often, but when your family is in the car....and you don't have air - you are a walking dead man. Just saying.....

Since this is not original, I think I will just purchase a new core rather than have it rebuilt. If it rains Sunday or Tuesday, I might be making a road trip to National Parts Depot.

I ordered new carpet, and some interior parts from Legendary Auto Interiors. It said it would be 3-6 weeks before I get it.

 

i wonder why the different pipe sizes to the core???? 

to reduce flow rate and allow for more heat absorption ????

[Frosty]

1 hour ago, 64 kiwi boni said:

Well done frosty! those hoses are really good at welding them selves to the metal connections and remember what you told me about old fuel hoses?

 i recon same applies to heater hoses too!! replace the lot.

good on you for doing this job your self, if you had a shop do it they would charge you a arm and a leg to do just what you went through  

AND you will know exactly what you have fitted.

i also agree, if you had a original core in hand to take it and have it rebuilt but since its an after market one, just replace it full stop 

i wonder why the different pipe sizes to the core???? 

to reduce flow rate and allow for more heat absorption ????

Replacing the hoses is probably not a bad idea. My only reluctance in replacing the output hose to the water pump. It means I have the added hassle of having to drain the radiator and the water pump and the opportunity to make a bigger mess of the driveway. I ended up putting almost a gallon of antifreeze into Lucy last night after I was done. I knew I was low (obviously) but not that low. 

Your theory on the different hose sizes are as good as any I can think of.

Today is suppose to be nice, so I think I will drag out the Roadmonster, exercise her, and work in it some more. Monday is a holiday, so I will do my parts run on Tuesday since it is suppose to rain then.