Heater Ducting

[meadowbrook]

Hi folks, I was wondering if anyone has had to replace or repair their car's duct between the heater core, located under the hood near the radiator and the firewall. At least that's how it is in my '50 D34.

 

Mine is very grungy and had a couple of holes. I did a search on ebay and found a rather poorly made 'reproduction' for way north of $100.

 

I would pay that much if it was a well made replacement, but found nothing else out there.

 

Another option would be to try to repair mine. Are there any tips for that? I though maybe using some heavy duty black vinyl tape and wrapping the thing with it, inside and out.

 

Thanks

[greg g]

I think a couple of folks repaired the with fiberglass cloth and resin, or you could perhaps use that black material they use for forming speaker enclosures and resin.  That would be thinner and easier to work with an the stretchy quality might work in your favor also.  Just be careful as once that original material starts to go it gets quite brittle.

[Joe Flanagan]

I repaired the defroster duct under the dash of my 49 Plymouth using fiberglass cloth and resin. The problem was the duct was already partially collapsed and I couldn't force it back out again because the material was so fragile. But the end product is very sturdy. In your case, I'd clean it real well and take a shot at it. If it doesn't work, the ones on e-bay are a perfect fit. I got the under-hood duct for my car on e-bay and painted it with shellac to waterproof it. You might be able to make a new one yourself but I think the angles are pretty tricky.

[Joe Flanagan]

Here's a picture of the duct I got from E-bay:

 

 

Here's the repaired defroster duct. It doesn't look like much but it's very tough:

 

[48mirage]

+1 on the fiberglass.  On mine, the end at the radiator core was breaking down pretty bad.  I took a piece of 2x4 and cut it down to the size of the heater core connection, wrapped it in saran wrap slipped it inside of the duct work and started to fiberglass.  I had cleaned up the original as best I could with a wire brush and then only did 2 sides at a time.  After it was completed I cleaned up the rough spots/ loose fiberglass with sandpaper and painted it flat black.  The 2x4 slipped right out of the duct because the glass wouldn't stick to the saran wrap.

[RobertKB]

Did you check here? I have no connection to the seller but came across this when looking for parts.  http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Duct-New-Mopar-Complete-with-Bracket-49-50-51-52-Plymouth-DODGE-DeSoto-Chrysler-/271352214030?pt=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3f2dda320e&vxp=mtr#ht_1107wt_1213