Replacement foam for heater box

[Zerrari GTO]

I have come to the restoration of the heater box portion of this odyssey...oh boy! The box is out and completely disassembled. The heater control valve and thermo-control unit are both shot and all the connecting hoses are rotten. The heater core looks like it may be OK; I'm going to take it to a radiator shop to be tanked and pressure checked.

 

Anyway, all of the insulating foam in the unit has disintegrated. I need to know what to use as a suitable replacement for this foam and what type of glue to use. I did a search but didn't find what I was looking for. Anybody know of a good replacement foam?

 

I can see where the foam was on the door over the heater core and around where it sealed to the dash duct but thats about it. It looks as though there was some foam on either side of the heater core and possibly elsewhere in the box...I'm just not sure where. Does anybody know?

Thanks!

[DavyZ]

Zerrari,

 

I have not pulled my heater core, so I'm not sure what the stuff looks like, but that said, you can usually find what you're looking for at an auto parts store, an automotive paint store, The Eastwood Company (great products BTW), or McMaster Carr (if you know exactly what you need).

 

From what I have seen in torn up Zs at the junkyard (I think this is what you mean), the foam is flimsy stuff, so I don't think you'll have a problem finding a common suitable substitute. A lot fo foam has the sticky on one side anyway given a specific application.

 

Hopefully someone else will chime in that knows something more.

 

Davy

[240hoke]

you can get the foam weatherstripping from lowes or homedepot. it will work just fine. Its used for sealing windows etc. They have it in different densities i used the soft open cell foam stuff worked great.

[vashonz]

I think I used the headliner from one of my parts cars and just used spray adhesive to stick it to the flapper.

[DaleMX]

I did mine this fall and used the real thin open cell foam. It worked just fine. Hey I've got a civic blower over here if you want it. Let me know, maybe we can meet for That Beer!

[Zerrari GTO]

Thanks guys. I'm ready to wrap this up and move on to something fun.

 

Dale, I'm interested in your Civic blower- I'll shoot you an email or give you a call this week.

[mom'sZ]

you can get the foam weatherstripping from lowes or homedepot.

 

I also used some from Home Depot / Lowes to redo mine some years ago. Has sticky on one side. Comes in rolls. cheap. works. done

[ThomaZ]

I just did the same job this winter. What I had problem finding was the foam the where bonded to the “flapping doors†inside the heater box. It’s a foam sheet but it also has a hard thin surface. After some search on the Internet it suddenly struck me that I was looking at the perfect replacement lying next to my computer.

 

Mouse pads!

 

A quick trip to the computer store and they had cheap pads in similar quality as the original foam. Two pads where enough to cover both doors on both sides. I used ordinary contact cement to bond them. So, when you stopped laughing you might give it a try!

[Zerrari GTO]

ThomaZ- great idea, I'll check that out too.