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

1963 Falcon Futura Convertible – Door latches and brake light repair, and LED Tail light installation – San Diego, California

I just finished some restoration repairs on a beautiful 1963 Falcon Futura Convertible. As you can see by the pictures it is fully loaded with all the Futura options including air conditioning and dash mounted tachometer. The engine and transmission were converted to a Ford 5.0 and T5 transmission. I had an opportunity to take it out on a test drive, and it was tight running classic. It only needed a few repairs. The passenger door lock and latch were giving the customer some problems, so I repaired the latch, and lubricated everything to smooth operation. Since the passenger door lock was damaged, I replaced both door locks and ignition key cylinder for a matched set. While I was in the passenger door, I repaired the rear door glass run. I also, replaced rear tail light bezels, and installed LED panels. While testing the operation of the rear tail lights, I noticed the brake lights were not working. It turned out to be a bad brake light switch.

1965 Mustang GT Coupe Restoration Complete – San Diego, California

After a year long restoration, the 1965 Ford Mustang GT Restomod is now complete. The customer was all smiles when he said “it’s fast.”  The freshly restored A -code coupe was entered in it’s first car show, and received 2nd place in the 1965 Modified Class at San Diego Mustangs by the Bay. I believe it was due to the finger print I forgot to wipe off of the door handle. It was still a great show, and all the hard work from JBA Performance Center, Custom Autobody & Paint, and Ar-Jays Upholstery paid off.

Project Highlights

• Complete Rotisserie Restoration
• JBA built & Tuned 302 Block Stroked to a 331
• 438 HP @ 6300 RMP 400 FTLB @ 4400 RPM at crank
• Tremec TKO 600 five-speed
• Modern Driveline hydraulic clutch kit
• Currie Enterprises 9-inch posi rear end with 3.83 gears
• JBA ceramic-coated headers and Exhaust
• Global West Sub-frame connectors
• Borgeson integral power steering system
• SSBC dual aluminum master cylinder with brake booster
• 4 Wheel Willwood 13″ brakes
• Polished Torque Thrust II 20×8-inch wheels
• Pony Interior Conversion
• Stock appearing AM/FM radio with Focal sound system

The Crew
JBA Restoration Specialist – David Toth
JBA Engine Builder – John Elderhorst
JBA Lead Mechanic – Tim Naylor
JBA Mechanic – Steve Fenn
JBA Exhaust Fabricator – Scott Case

Special Thanks To
Ar-Jay’s Upholstery
Custom Autobody and Paint
Al & Ed’s Stereo

Follow the progress of the restoration:

Restoration Part 1

Restoration Part 2

Restoration Part 3

Custom Instrument Gauges and restoration

Air Conditioning Box Restoration