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MGB New MGB owner seeking Heater advice

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blacknite3

blacknite3

Freshman Member
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This is my first post and I have a couple of good questions about working with the Heater Assembly in an MGB. My stepfather gave me this car and it is in incredible shape for its age, but has been neglected for a few years. I was replacing the hoses and thought it would be a good idea to recondition the heater while I was at it. It looked sooooo easy just sitting there against the firewall.

Boy was I wrong! After spending about three weekends fighting with the box, checking the internet and repair manuals for tips, and trying again, I finally got the box out. I took the heater core to a radiator shop and had it flushed, ordered most of the gadkets from Moss, and repainted the box itself. Now it looked all nice and pretty.

If I thought removing the box was a pain, it doesn't compare to putting it back in, especially since it was all nice at pretty. After two weeknds of fighting it is now scratched up and still won't budge. I thought it might have been the insulating I used around the Heater Core since it was kind of thick and dense. It made the box bulge just a bit. Fixed that but still no luck.

Now I think it has more to do with the large rubber seal that fits between the air control flap box and the bulk head of the car. This is also the piece that the defrost tubes fit into. Here is my concern, I know that a new gasket should be more stiff and dense than the old one, but this piece is made of solid rubber, not any kind of foam rubber like the old one. I don't think it will compress at all. I actually cut into both to try and investigate the difference and there is no doubt in my mind that the new one is solid rubber. I ordered it from Moss but am afraid to order it from somewhere else without confirming that it is in fact foam rubber, not solid rubber.

I guess my real question here is what tips and tricks are there to get the heater installed? Is it the rubber seal that stopping me? Are there any alternatives that I could pick up locally (and cheaply) from a hardware store or auto parts store? Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. My knuckles can't handle another brawl with the MGB /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 
I'm not sure about the "newer" MGB heater units, but IIRC they're the same as the rest. If you've pulled the defroster vent tube plate behind the console, and have all the bits in the box itself reconditioned the thing ~should~ nearly *fall* in place. Is there ANY way you can post some photos of the bits in question so's we can SEE what you're fighting?
 
Welcome to the forum. I hope your project goes better than what you've experienced so far. The only thing I've seen guys complain about more than the heater box is re-installing the windshield frame.
 
The one thing I'm leaving in the '79 shell when it goes to the crusher is the heater box!
 
Hi Patrick,
Welcome to the forum. Is the screw bracket on the very top of the box hitting the metal fuel lines or part of the body of the car? If so, you can bend the bracket down as far as needed and rebend it back to screw it back in. Its never taken me more than 20 minutes to remove or reinstall mine. Do your original gaskets work? I once used a thin home door jam gasket to do my Midget.
Good Luck
Rick
 
Rick has it. I've even used bicycle innertubes cut up into strips and a thin film of RTV for the purpose.
 
You need to always remember....man built it in the first place! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/angel.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/devilgrin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/angel.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
You need to always remember....man built it in the first place! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/angel.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/devilgrin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/angel.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, but not necessarily cognisant man.
 
The top tab does hit the lip of the body, but I did bend it quite a bit to try and get it in, but that didn't help.

normal_Wagan_Turbo_MG%20040.jpg



But here is the heater-to-bulkhead gasket that I think may be the problem. The picture isn't that great but you canc see that it is solid rubber. While it is flexible it doesn't compress very much at all! Yeah, I cut the edge of it off.

normal_Wagan_Turbo_MG%20026.jpg


I do still have the old foam seal that looks like it might have some life left in it. It's another bad picture, but what do you think? Should I reuse to old foam seal or try to find a new one? Is there a way to recondition the foam gasket?

normal_Wagan_Turbo_MG%20029.jpg


Thanks for all of the help so far. My first post and I already feel welcome! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
I am not a B person, but that gasket must be foam for sure.
 
Patrick, the bottom rubber block you bought from Moss will fit . It just takes a lot of patience. I slicked mine with soap to help it slide down. Also I had to remove everything I could from the control cable as it was hanging up. Also make sure nothing is sticking through the holes in the body and that the area in side the body is clean of all old sealing material. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hammer.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gifPJ
 
Now don't take this the wrong way, as it's just one opinion but: BIN that gasket and use a thin film of RTV around the ends of the defroster tubes after install. That will seal it well enough. The older cars don't have a gasket there at all. If you're REALLY set on a seal, go to the local "Big Box" and get a pool noodle (kiddie swimming pool toy), slice a couple pieces off the end like a loaf of bread, hog out the I.D. to snugly fit the tubes and fit those rings in after the box is in place, again with a bit of RTV.

HTH!
 
Thanks everyone for the help and especially the encouragement! I decided to reuse the old foam gasket (but considered the pool noodle route). After prepping it again on the work bench I got the heater box to slide right in within 5-10 minutes. It was so very nice! No I'm going to touch up the scratched paint and make it look nice and clean again.

I'll post some pictures on the board of my MGB as soon as I get a chance to wash it. Thanks again for all of the help.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/savewave.gif
 
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