New Heater Core Issues

Greetings!

Working on the 73 Charger heater box, took the heater core to be pressure tested and it was leaking beyond repair. I ordered a new one through Summit Racing and at first glance I thought everything looked good.

I finally got the box to the point where I wanted to install the new heater core and it is kind of screwed up. The pipes are turned too far over the heater core, so I can’t get the screw hole to line up. In trying to turn it a little bit, I broke some small pieces out of the hole where the pipes exit the heater box shell.

Secondly, the indented bracket on the opposite side, where it rests on the heater box shell where the halves come together is turned at about a 30 degree angle, so it will not sit down in there like it is supposed to do.

Thirdly, the bracket on the top is not even straight going across the heater core.

Lastly, the small bracket that holds the two pipes together is not parallel with the heater core. So it still would not sit down in there correctly.

I decided to remove the bracket from my old heater core and thought about just swapping it out on the new core, but that still won’t fix all the issues.

What is a person to do? I think Summit orders direct from the factory, so do I get a replacement that is done in the same half-*** manner? Do I take it to a local radiator shop and have them put the old bracket on the new core and have them fix the pipe and bracket issues? Or do I just take a swing at it myself? If I try to fix it, I may still have to pay someone to finish it if I mess something up. I am not confident about the pipes as they would have to be heated up enough to be able to turn them.

Anyway, looking for some feedback. Just irritated about the whole thing.

Pictures below.

Thank you!
Allan

Do yourself a favor and send your original one to Glen ray radiator. I know it costs more but it is worth it. The aftermarket stuff is junk

Yep.
Glen Ray. That core will prob be leaking soon.
http://www.restorationradiators.com/

I read about all the problems with replacement heater cores for my 66 and took everyone’s advice and went to Glen Ray to have mine re-cored. I did have to do a minor tweak on one of my pipes to get it to align completely with the heater box and firewall holes, but it moved pretty easily and at least the pipes are long enough to protrude thru the firewall properly. I would send the old one to Glen Ray. He was pretty quick and even returned it with an invoice to make payment on. How many companies have you seen that lately that will return your rebuilt part and not request payment until you receive it?

Or contact the heater box guy he will give you a good part number of what atually fits like a oem one.

MoparHusker said:

Greetings!

Working on the 73 Charger heater box, took the heater core to be pressure tested and it was leaking beyond repair. I ordered a new one through Summit Racing and at first glance I thought everything looked good.

I finally got the box to the point where I wanted to install the new heater core and it is kind of screwed up. The pipes are turned too far over the heater core, so I can’t get the screw hole to line up. In trying to turn it a little bit, I broke some small pieces out of the hole where the pipes exit the heater box shell.

Secondly, the indented bracket on the opposite side, where it rests on the heater box shell where the halves come together is turned at about a 30 degree angle, so it will not sit down in there like it is supposed to do.

Thirdly, the bracket on the top is not even straight going across the heater core.

Lastly, the small bracket that holds the two pipes together is not parallel with the heater core. So it still would not sit down in there correctly.

I decided to remove the bracket from my old heater core and thought about just swapping it out on the new core, but that still won’t fix all the issues.

What is a person to do? I think Summit orders direct from the factory, so do I get a replacement that is done in the same half-*** manner? Do I take it to a local radiator shop and have them put the old bracket on the new core and have them fix the pipe and bracket issues? Or do I just take a swing at it myself? If I try to fix it, I may still have to pay someone to finish it if I mess something up. I am not confident about the pipes as they would have to be heated up enough to be able to turn them.

Anyway, looking for some feedback. Just irritated about the whole thing.

Pictures below.

Thank you!
Allan

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Welcome to the world of restoration and part replacement…..there are still shops around but good luck finding them….I was hard pressed to find parts to get my car put back together….20 plus years ago no problem…..anyway things are not like they use to be….that’s why I’m selling mine while I can still get a good deal on it….plus the expense of owning them is just absolutely ridiculous….if you have the abilities to work on them yourself it’s cost effective to still own them…..if you can’t do your own work ….Well….better have a money tree in your back yard cause the cost is just simply beyond comprehension taking care of them…..

Steven Bowers said:

Welcome to the world of restoration and part replacement…..there are still shops around but good luck finding them….I was hard pressed to find parts to get my car put back together….20 plus years ago no problem…..anyway things are not like they use to be….that’s why I’m selling mine while I can still get a good deal on it….eventually people that own the muscle cars will be running electric engines in them because the government is going to shut them down…..anyone who thinks times aren’t changing better take a real good look at what’s happening around the world and in the U.S.A……..Anyone who thinks it’s not going to happen is only fooling themselves….plus the expense of owning them is just absolutely ridiculous….if you have the abilities to work on them yourself it’s cost effective to still own them…..if you can’t do your own work ….Well….better have a money tree in your back yard cause the cost is just simply beyond comprehension taking care of them…..

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Resist!
I'm not giving up.
Things will improve after 2022.

Steven Bowers said:

.eventually people that own the muscle cars will be running electric engines in them because the government is going to shut them down…

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There would have to be a specified definition of a "muscle car" in order to pull that off. Would a Pebble Beach Concourse d'Elegance winner be subjected to the same changes or exempt?

Take others recommendations and have it recored. Replacement stuff is usually inferior. ruffcut

Thank you for the feedback!

I think I will contact Glen Ray to see what the pricing is, then will contact the local shop. I will also contact Summit to see what they have to say.

I would question whether or not they all use new core from the same place, so may not be a difference there.

The project:
I have owned the car since 1985. It has not been run or driven since October of 1996. My intention was to not do any work on the car until I was ready to completely go through it. Not having about $30,000 laying around, just didn’t get to that point. I saw an episode of Garage Squad and the owner of the car said we just want to be able to enjoy the car. That struck a chord with me and I told my wife I wanted to spend some money to get the car running. So, not unlimited budget, but something reasonable. I am doing a few upgrades, 8 3/4 rear, back to a stock converter, new carb, new fuel tank, pump, lines, and a new radiator and water pump.

So, not trying to be cheap, but not wanting to do a full rebuild on the heater box at this point. That was going to be down the road when I do the full rebuild.

Hoping things are reasonable, get it done and move on to the next task.

Thank you!
Allan

Agree.
A bad heater core can ruin a weekend. Nothing worse than an oily wet carpet when you're trying to enjoy the car.

Cost me 145.00 our money to get the local guys to do mine. About two years ago.

Well, I ended up taking the old and new heater cores to a local shop and they said it would be as much to fix everything up as it would to just have the old one recored. I called Glen Ray and the Mopar guy was on vacation, so I did not want to wait.

I ended up returning the heater core to Summit Racing and ordered a different one through Oreillys. Got it in and came from the same place, but was at least in a little better shape. I still had to modify the bracket, but I got it done and got the heater box put back together. New kit from DMT and some redneck repair and I am just about ready to put it back in the car.



Please don’t get too excited as this was not intended to be a restoration, just putting in the new heater core and the DMT kit.

I just need to add the shoddy insulation to the firewall and above the heater box or at least a suitable substitute. Just trying to figure out where all it goes. I have seen a couple of pictures, but it seems like there will be places where it is not covered. I may go find some good carpet pad to use instead.

Any other suggestions?