Heater Restoration

[johnsartain]

Tonight I finished restoring a Mopar Deluxe Model 36 Heater. The paint color is a bit different from the factory beige, but it works better with the interior of my truck. After pressurizing and testing the heater core and motor, the case was painted a Hammertone Dark Silver. The band was seriously lacking in the nickel/chrome finish that came from the factory but there was plenty of brass to brighten up and clear coat.

[johnsartain]

What should I be looking for as far as a heater switch, heat control and defrost control? Pictures would be nice as well as any offers if you have some you would part with.

[Charlie Stephenson]

anyone ever seen a behind the grill fresh air intake flange 1953 or so Dodge/Mopar ? Charlie Stephenson

[johnsartain]

Only in the Illustrations, Charlie. I take that those are hard to find. I suppose you are referring to Intake 1-53-7 in the upper left corner?

 

[BobB]

Here are a couple of photos of the set up. It takes a lot of patience, but all the piece parts came from e-bay. Quite a bit of sanding later, I'm itching to get it installed along with the Model 65 TruckMaster heater that I restored. I was fortunate in that the heater I found on eBay included the controls/pod shown and the defrost vents/hoses (not shown). I also found the 4" clamp for the fresh air hose there. Fortunately, these are made of steel so they clean up and paint nicely.

- Bob

 

 

 

 

[BobB]

Oh, and I did have to replace the screen on the inlet. Got a small roll of 1/4" mesh wire from Tractor Supply Company. When painted black it matches the remaining original screen quite well.

[BobB]

Your  heater resto came out looking VERY nice. I really like the hammered finish. 

Would like to hear more about what you did to restore the band around the casing. My original is pretty worn and beaten.

Thanks -

.       - Bob

[johnsartain]

I removed the paint that was on the band and I could see that the chrome or nickel has been badly worn in most places. The brass was underneath the paint but had tarnished badly. After stripping the paint, I removed the dents and twists. I buffed it with a red scotchbrite, then green scotchbrite. One end had broken off at some point over the years so I reattached it with solder. I then polished it with a cotton buff wheel and the white buffing compound to a bright brass finish. I then cleaned it with acetone, let dry and applied clear coat to preserve the bright brass finish from tarnish.

Edited November 3, 2017 by johnsartain

[BobB]

Just checked ebay. Searched on "52  dodge truck fresh air" and got a couple of hits: 2 of the intake flanges and two air flow control valves. Also some offers for the hoses - defrost and fresh air ...    The prices vary quite a bit the two flanges are a factor of 4 apart.