Wow, thats such a great idea! I was going to weld it, but now I'm thinking of doing what you did! Did you bolt it in just for a temporary? Or are you gonna leave it like that?

 

Just temporary while I work on rebuilding the factory air. This way I can take my time and do it right without feeling like I have to rush to get the truck back up running.

 

Took the box apart today.
Heater core was pretty rusty inside. Lucky it wasn't leaking yet.
The rubber gasket around the core was in fairly decent shape.
Had to be pretty careful with it as not to rip it.
All the foam has to be replaced. I know a shop that has lots of different rubber products in sheets.
All in all not to bad.

 

Bought some rubbers sheets in different thicknesses and densities in order to replace the old seals and gaskets in the evaporator box.
Have messed with making new heater core surround gasket and replacing the old foam on the temp control door.
Also painting all the interior metal parts in order to keep rust at bay as long as possible.

 

Excellent work Marc!
How hard was it to take the box out of the truck? I think I have a bearing going out on the blower becuase its starting to make noise.

 

It's a bit of a bitch as you would expect doing it with the front clip on.
You need to make all the room you can. In my case that meant taking the valve cover off on that side as well as the normal clearing of hoses etc. Don't forget to take the drain tube off on the bottom of the box.
Under the dash was not to bad, just don't force anything.
I'm glad I have a factory manual for reconnecting the vacuum lines. There's a very nice diagram.

 

Got a little time to start putting the box back together.
Ended up making a frankenstein gasket to go around the heater core.
Made a new top and bottom (because the new core is shaped differently) and one side (on the mix door plenum side). Used the old angled outside piece and used contact cement (Weldwood) to bond them together.
Actually worked better than I thought it would. In order to aid fitting the whole set up back into the box I used a little white grease to help the foam rubber slide into the shell. It's a pretty damn tight fit.
I thought about finding an exact copy of the old heater core so I wouldn't have to make new gaskets but that old adventurous feeling got the better of me.
So I'll be a guinea pig.
Also straightened out the evaporator core with a blade and a fin rake purchased from Eastwood. Works pretty well.
I'll take it over and have it pressure checked before finishing up.

 

Nice work Marc... Hope the heat won't kill ya without your A/C with 105 predicted for this coming week.... Looking at your photo's one thought came to mind..."Who wants Pudding?" keep it up..hugs to Nancy for me!

 

Had to come inside a couple hours ago. It's damn hot out there. I've got the F-350 if it gets to bad. I'm considering it another excuse to have a nice cold beer.
Will do on the Nanc' hugs.

 

I here ya Champ that Valleys is just to Hot for me... I want to hit the pool, but I just did a Chlorine shock treatment yesterday, and can't jump in until tomorrow... Of course I will be working... Can't a sucker get an even break? Well suck down a few cool ones while you catch the games....

 

Well I finally had some time to get the AC/heater box finished.
I took the condenser and evaporator over to a guy I have been doing business with since high school. He has a little radiator and a/c shop and loves working on the older stuff that we all like. He doesn't mind applying new technology when it works better than the old stuff such as replacing old radiator cores with newer and more efficient fin/coil structure. But he says he is amazed at how well built many of the old parts are. Case in point is the condenser and evaporator off of my '74. He ordered in a couple of replacement pieces to look at them, then sent them back. In his opinion ( which I value ) it would be silly to replace pieces that are built so much better and already fit perfectly. Exactly what I wanted to hear. So he cleaned them out ( they were filthy inside ) pressure checked them, painted the condenser, and gave 'em back to me. Also picked me up a new dryer and expansion valve. Final bill $200.
So I got the parts home and put the box back together. Everything fits like a glove.
Checked the motor to make sure it's turning the right way.
BTW I set it up so that I can take it out at any time without pulling the box again.
And yes some will notice I am a chrome wh_re.
As a matter of fact the blower cover is being chromed also. I figured it will make a hell of a nice mirror over a brand new engine. I would have it on but the chromer polished the wrong side so he is redoing it.
Cutting out the new gaskets was pretty easy. A pair of scissors and a white pencil is all you need. I left them a little wide so that I could trim them when installed.
I probably need to put a filler gasket around the steel tray that mounts the deicer relay and motor wires as it has become a bit porous with time.

 

Looks real good Marc .

 

awesome truck. Every time i see pictures of the mountains and scenery it makes me want to move to California, Two of my cousins moved to California last year from our flat Michigan home.

 

Well as you guys know. We are always looking for parts.
When you find them, you have to buy them or be pissed that someone else did. I was heading up north for Thanksgiving and as it turns out I found some parts.
To make it all work I had to do a bit of driving and time arranging but everything worked out.
First, I found a great place for parts.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...oney-hole.html
But they didn't have the part that I needed to make my whole upgrade plan work. An NP 435 Four wheel drive version to mate to the NP 205 I already have.
However the truck gods were smiling down on me and one popped up on my Ebay search. Hot dog.
So this ended up being an expensive weekend but at least I have all my parts.
Had to drive all over NorCal but it was worth it. The 435 is perfect (at least at first check).
Picked up
A NP 435 4 wheel version
An entire '79 front end
Two bumpers and brackets
steering gear
all the cross members and mounts for the tranny/205
Two more drive shafts
many other little parts
Life is good

 

Nice score Marc. My jealousy meter just pegged .