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HybridZ

Rebuilding the heater and vent mechanicals


bjhines

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I am sick and tired of having Z cars that don't have properly functioning heater/vent controls...

 

 

I started with a rusty ol' crusty ol' system... nasty... It smelled like burning hair and sounded like I had rattlesnakes in my glovebox... the core blew out years ago and had not been recently hooked up...

If you went over 100MPH with the vent set on the controls... you would get bug parts, leaves, and various other debris in your face...

 

heaterhousingbeforeinside.jpg

 

 

 

I completely dissaembled every screw... sand blasted and repainted everything inside and out...

 

Heaterhousinginside.jpg

 

 

Heaterhousingback.jpg

 

 

Heaterhousingoutside.jpg

 

 

 

 

I gave the blower housing the same treatment... and I purchased a late model Honda civic blower motor for $25... It is a direct replacement except for the electrical connector...

 

 

Notice the controls are cleaned and reinstalled without gumming everything up with paint...

blowerhousingcontrols.jpg

 

 

I managed to save the blower housing flapper pads... the others will be replaced with cut up mouse-pads...

blowerhousinginside.jpg

 

 

 

Honda motor

blowerhousinghondafanmotor.jpg

 

 

 

It has a little more clearance inside than the original 240Z blower

blowerhousingfanclearance.jpg

 

 

...

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to whom it may concern,

 

i would really love a nice tutorial of heater core and blower restoration, just like this, but steps on things such as:

 

-what type of paint to use

-what year civic the blower came from (or any other possibilities)

-how to re-wire the electricals for a foreign blower

-etc.

 

i'd greatly appreciate a tutorial on this topic, unless one is already out and i was too lazy to find it. thanks to all!

 

-yoog

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I "reconditioned" my system when I had to replace my A/C evaporator a few years ago. It is a pretty big job because it is so tough working under the dash. Thanks for the Honda Blower tip. What year works best? I find that my vacuum actuators are now starting to get lazy. I may have a vacuum leak or the hinges/linkage might need some lube. One of the largest pains in the a$$ was the "snake ball" of heater hoses on the right side of the heater core. They are very hard to reach. Removing the dash might be the answer. My heater control valve is also ON or OFF there is no temperature control. I dont think it can be repaired. Replacements are pretty costly too.

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Hey cygnus. Thanks for posting this information. I'm having a fiberglass dash installed soon and this will be the perfect time to recondition the heater and a/c.

 

I "reconditioned" my system when I had to replace my A/C evaporator a few years ago. It is a pretty big job because it is so tough working under the dash...
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Well... THIS ONLY WORKS FOR 240Zs.... the 280Z housing is DIFFERENT...

 

I can tell you that Honda used the same blower in almost all of thier cars in the early 1990s... I asked the JY for a blower to fit a 1992 Honda Civic... but the JY told me they crossreferenced it and that particular blower came from a 199? Honda CRX...

 

The electrical hookup is easy... Commonly available push on spade connectors fit the Hodan motor socket... I used 6" lengths of 12guage wire to extend the original 240Z harness....

 

 

there are directional marks for positive on the Honda connector...

blowerhousinghondafanmotor.jpg... you can simply switch wires if you get it wrong the first time....

 

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As far as paint is concerned... the system can get wet inside...

 

1. I sandblasted every nook and cranny... You must disassemble and remove all plastic parts FIRST... or they will disentigrate... You can remove the flapper doors from the blower housing.. but the flapper in the heater housing won't come out...

 

2. I used a self etching primer... but a good metal prep primer will do..

 

3. I used laquer paint... black with some metal flakes to make it "different"...

 

4. dont even bother painting anything on the outside umtil you have shot 3 coats on the insides from every angle... that will get all of the nooks and crannies...

 

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I am trying to source all of the various foam seals and flapper pads.. I think a combination of stuff from a vinyl/leather store and some computer mouse pads will lead to success...

 

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I am having my heater core "recored" by a reputable radiator shop...

 

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My control cables are all bent up and gummy... I am using my original SU carby choke cables as replacement stock for my heater control cables...

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John,

 

I found mouse pads to be too thick for the flapper doors. I went to the Scrap Exchange in Durham and found some thinner closed cell foam that seems to work well. I think I have some extra if you want it.

 

Damian (Triangle Z Club)

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I just got back from JoAnn's Fabrics in Cary... I found several grades of headliner material... PERFECT!!!!! it cost me less than 10 dollars... enough to do half a dozen Z-cars...

 

It is headliner material... cloth/foam

 

I added a layer of iron on vinyl sheet to it to make it as close to original as can be had...

 

ventflappadmaterial002.jpg

 

 

thicknesscomparison.jpg

 

 

 

 

....

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I used the headliner material without the added vinyl for the floor heater doors... they close nicely...

 

floorflapperpads.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The doors were in bad shape originally... the hinges had rusted and P.O.s had obviously forced things... I had to put a good deal of effort into this part of the system... I freed them up and cleaned them before I sandblsted.. but they still had a lot of work left...

I had to put a slight Z-bend in one of the door-actuating rods... I had to adjust it about 5 times to get everything working freely with both doors closing completely... I also had to bend the hinge edge of the doors a little to get them to close flat on the opening lip...

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flapper pads look great with that vinyl... pretty much looks better than factory. hopefully i won't have to go through that pain with the floor heater doors, but i'm prepared to do whatever it takes. great information bjhines, appreciate it. i wish i had a sandblaster but it's way out of my budget. SANDPAPER FTW!

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