I'm trying to help out my ole' bud Tom who lives about 25 miles north of the middle of nowhere in New Mexico. He is the proud owner of a 1967 Big Block roadster. He is having trouble with a leaking heater core. I'll quote you from his post card. "I spent the better part of the afternoon yesterday in an attempt to remove one each heater coil from one each 67' Corvette, HELP!!! If you would be so kind as to get some knowledgable assistance from the Internet on such an operation I'll be forever indebted. Chilton's says's 1, 2, 3 and you're done - Yeah Right! It's as you know a 67' Big Block, no A/C." Apparently the Chilton's is for the 327. Now ole' Tome being no slouch in the mechanicin' department, it must be some kind of a bear. Any of you Big Block gurus have and thoughts on this one? Thanks Willy Allen
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Re: 67 Big Block Heater Core
I have not done a 67, but have removed and replaced the heater core in my 70 and 85. Some people think that a heater core is removed from the engine side of the the firewall, on the 70 and 85 the core is removed from inside the car. Its not so hard, but you just have to remove so much "stuff" to get them out. -
Re: 67 Big Block Heater Core
Jim----
On 63-67s the heater core is removed from inside of the car, too. While there are a few things that need to be done underhood as part of the procedure, I don't understand why heater core replacement on a big block block-equipped car should be very much different from a small block car. Taking all of the inside components out, as you mentioned, is the biggest part of the chore.In Appreciation of John HinckleyComment
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Re: 67 Big Block Heater Core *TL*
There was a story, with photos, in The Corvette Restorer Vol. 26, #2 Fall 1999 pages 8 to 11. I am sure the subject car was a 1965 non AC car, but I can not imagine it being too different unless AC is involved. Back issues of The Restorer are available form the membership & sales office through the home page of NCRS.
Terry
TerryComment
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Re: Heater core removal (Long)
Willy,
For the most part, removal of the heater core is pretty straight-forward. Jim is correct, the proper service procedure and instructions for the removal of the core is from the interior side. The amount of disassembly involved may seem overwhelming but the level of difficulty is not high. I'm sure there's a little less room on the engine compartment side when having to work around the big block engine, but the biggest difference is whether or not the car has air conditioning. That's really the only thing that will further complicate the matter.
For better access, disassembly will include removing the expansion tank, battery, possibly the battery tray if needed. From the interior side, the glove box compartment and panels on both sides of the console should be removed. Control cables will need to be disconnected from the console as well as wires from the wiring harness going to the heater box cover. Once the blower and inlet assembly is removed from the engine compartment, the heater box and core can be removed from the interior side.
Tom should have a complete gasket set for the re-installation. If the heater core is still the original it's possible to have it rebuilt since it will have a date stamp. Otherwise the replacements are quite a bit less expensive, around $50 or so. It may be easier to have access at the engine compartment from underneath as well, so if Tom would want to, then remove the splash shields and work from below.
Also, the heater core topic comes up periodically and there would more than likely be similar helpful information if you would want to search the Archives. Hope this has helped. TBarr #24014Comment
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