1967 Ford Mustang Air Conditioning-Heater Box Repair And Restoration – San Diego, California

I recently finished a restoration on an air conditioning – heater box out of a 1967 Ford Mustang Fastback . The car belongs to the youngest son of J. Bittle owner of JBA Performance Center in San Diego, California. It’s been a long Aggie tradition of the Bittle family to restore, and own a Classic Ford Mustang while attending Texas A&M. Beginning with Jay himself, owning a red 1967 Shelby GT500 Fastback, and his oldest son owning a red 1969 Mach 1. Now, his youngest son is restoring a green 1967 Ford Mustang Fastback Bullitt just in time for college at Texas A&M. The AC box had the typical wear and tear from over 43 years of hot and cold operation. The box had to be very carefully disassembled, and all parts sandblasted. I had to repair several cracks, and re-do some previous repairs. Then all the metal parts were repainted, and the case was clear coated to give it a new stock looking finish. These air conditioning units were operated by cables, a series of vacuum pods, and electric switches, so I tested all the components to see what needed to be replaced. Later, the box was reassembled with both new and original parts, and bench tested to make sure everything worked good. Now, this Classic Mustang will look cool on the outside and stay cool on the inside under the hot Texas sun.

Scott Drake Parts List.

• 1967-68 Heater Seal Kit with Factory Air   (Part#  C7ZZ-18500-B)
• 1967-73 Heater Core  (Part# C9ZZ-18476-B)
• 1967-68 A/C Evaporator (Part# C7ZZ-19860-A)
• 67-68 A/C Expansion Valve (Part# C7ZZ-19849)
• 67-73 A/C Vacuum Switch (Part# C7ZZ-18C311)
• Heater Core to Control Valve Hose  (Part# C7ZZ-18472-CVAC)
• Thermostat  (Part# C7ZZ-19A671)

All of these parts can be purchased from JBA Performance Center

Late 1965 – 1966 Ford Mustang Heater Box Repair And Restoration – San Diego, California

I just finished a restoration on a 3 Speed Heater Box out of a 1966 Ford Mustang. The internal metal components had the typical rust from years of moisture and leaking heater cores.  It was also stuffed with leaves. In the past, I even found them packed with nesting material from mice. The case had a lot of small cracks, and most of the metal clip tabs broke when I removed them. The case becomes brittle from being exposed to years of moisture that swells the case material.  After disassembly, I carefully sand blasted all the parts. Then I primed and painted all the internal metal parts with Rustoleum paint. The tedious part was repairing all the cracks and all the clip tabs. Only three tabs were useable. Even as careful as I am, the tabs break very easily, and you have to be equally careful when putting them back on.  After all the repairs were made, I masked and painted the external metal parts, and then painted a clear coat on the entire box. I added extra coats of clear coat to the inside to seal the box from further moisture damage. While everything was drying I cleaned the original 3 speed heater switch, heater resister, and the original heater control cables. I also, cleaned and tested the heater blower motor. After which, I reassembled the heater box with new foam gaskets, new heater core, and a new heater plenum. Each new clip had to be fitted to avoid stressing the heater box case, or break the remaining original tabs.  When everything was back together, I bench tested the heater box, and everything worked like new. The heater box is for sale on eBay.  It will fit a later 1965 Mustang as well.  Late 1965 Mustangs came with 3 speed heater motors, so this box will fit. There are two ways to determine if your Mustang has a 3 speed heater. The first one is that a 2 speed switch has two positions, and shuts off in the middle position. The 3 speed switch has three positions, and shuts off at the far left position. The quicker way is to simple look at the face of the heater box. If you see wires plugged into the face of it, then it is a 3 speed heater box.

Parts List.

• 64-68 Heater Box Case Clamps             Part # C0DF-19A779-A
• 64-68 Heater Core (without A/C)        Part # C5DZ-18476-A
• 64-68 Heater Gaskets                                Part # C5ZZ-18500-A
• 64-68 Heater Plenum                                Part # C5ZZ-18471-A

All of these parts are available from Scott Drake Restoration Parts

FOR SALE on eBay