Mustang Monthly Homepage

1966 Mustang Project: Heater Case Rebuild

CJ Pony Parts Has Everything To Spiff-Up A Heater And Have It Pumping Out Volumes Of 289ci Heated Air

By Mark Houlahan
photographer: Mark Houlahan

http://images.mustangmonthly.com/projectbuild/p89550_image_small.jpg
http://images.mustangmonthly.com/projectbuild/p89554_image_small.jpg
http://images.mustangmonthly.com/projectbuild/p89555_image_small.jpg
http://images.mustangmonthly.com/projectbuild/p89556_image_small.jpg
http://images.mustangmonthly.com/projectbuild/p89557_image_small.jpg
http://images.mustangmonthly.com/projectbuild/p89558_image_small.jpg
http://images.mustangmonthly.com/projectbuild/p89559_image_small.jpg
http://images.mustangmonthly.com/projectbuild/p89560_image_small.jpg
http://images.mustangmonthly.com/projectbuild/p89561_image_small.jpg
http://images.mustangmonthly.com/projectbuild/p89562_image_small.jpg
http://images.mustangmonthly.com/projectbuild/p89563_image_small.jpg
http://images.mustangmonthly.com/projectbuild/p89564_image_small.jpg
http://images.mustangmonthly.com/projectbuild/p89565_image_small.jpg
http://images.mustangmonthly.com/projectbuild/p89566_image_small.jpg
http://images.mustangmonthly.com/projectbuild/p89567_image_small.jpg
http://images.mustangmonthly.com/projectbuild/p89568_image_small.jpg
http://images.mustangmonthly.com/projectbuild/p89569_image_small.jpg
http://images.mustangmonthly.com/projectbuild/p89570_image_small.jpg
http://images.mustangmonthly.com/projectbuild/p89571_image_small.jpg
http://images.mustangmonthly.com/projectbuild/p89572_image_small.jpg
http://images.mustangmonthly.com/projectbuild/p89607_image_small.jpg
http://images.mustangmonthly.com/projectbuild/p89608_image_small.jpg
http://images.mustangmonthly.com/projectbuild/p89609_image_small.jpg
http://images.mustangmonthly.com/projectbuild/p89610_image_small.jpg
http://images.mustangmonthly.com/projectbuild/p89612_image_small.jpg
http://images.mustangmonthly.com/projectbuild/p89613_image_small.jpg
http://images.mustangmonthly.com/projectbuild/p89614_image_small.jpg
http://images.mustangmonthly.com/projectbuild/p89615_image_small.jpg
http://images.mustangmonthly.com/projectbuild/p89616_image_small.jpg
http://images.mustangmonthly.com/projectbuild/p89617_image_small.jpg
http://images.mustangmonthly.com/projectbuild/p89618_image_small.jpg
http://images.mustangmonthly.com/projectbuild/p89620_image_small.jpg
http://images.mustangmonthly.com/projectbuild/p89621_image_small.jpg

It’s mid-August and you’re thinking, Why in the world is this guy rebuilding a heater box? It may be 96 degrees outside right now (actually I wrote this in April, and it was a nice, partly cloudy day and 67 degrees out), but I rebuilt this heater case in the middle of last winter. Let’s just call this preventive maintenance for the upcoming winter months for those of you with running driver Mustangs.

For me, though, it’s a different story. With Project ’66 now painted, suspended, and braked, we can begin work on installing the fresh, black Pony interior (hands down, the favorite part of a restoration). Before we can start laying door-to-door carpet, though, we have to get our firewall in order. This means rebuilding the heater case, new insulation, refurbishing the heater controls, and more. Thus, I froze my butt off (though my fellow staffers claim to not notice the difference) in my garage for three nights, rebuilding the heater case assembly.

For our heater case rebuild, we called on the fine folks at CJ Pony Parts for everything we would need to spiff-up our heater and have it pumping out volumes of 289ci heated air. As you will see, all of our electrical components were in good working condition, but if you need a blower switch or a blower motor, the crew at CJ has ’em on the shelf ready to go. We also enlisted the help of Ssnake-Oyl in insulating our ’66 hardtop from road noise and the elements.

While you will see most of Ssnake-Oyl’s kit in an upcoming issue, we installed the firewall pad now, since it has to go on before the heater case.


FREE, no-hassle price quotes on the new Mustang you’ve been looking for.
 
How To Install a Power Brake Booster
Master Power's Power-Brake Conversion Can Be Used With Stock Drum Brakes, Stock Disc Brakes, Or MP's Disc-Brake Conversion Setup... more
 
1969 Mustang GT SportsRoof - Like Son, Like Father
George Parker Bought His Son's Daily Driver '69 GT Sportsroof And Turned It Into A Black Jade Gem... more
 
1965 Mustang GT Fastback - Hidden Pleasures Photos
Web Exclusive! - We've got more photos that didn't fit in print.... more
 
1965 Mustang GT Fastback - Hidden Pleasures
"I like the thought of opening the hood after dusting someone and saying, 'It's just a little 289.'" --Dominic Greco... more
 
2008 Shelby GT500KR - The Real Deal
With 540 HP, The New '08 1/2 Shelby GT500KR Is A Genuine King Of The Road-Just Like The Original '68 1/2... more
 
1970 Cobra Jet Mach 1 - Grab You Blue
Neil Bell's '70 Cobra Jet Mach 1 Is Decidedly Different With Its Grabber Blue Paint And Q-Code Powerplant... more
 
1966 Mustang Convertible - Island Girl
Nancy Johnson's '66 Convertible Was Built For Show And Go On Lopez Island... more
 
1967 Shelby Mustang GT350 Convertible - Renegade
At Florida State University, Renegade Is The Name Of The Mascot's Horse, So FSU Fan Jeff Billings Feels It's Also A Fitting Name For His '67 Shelby Tribute Convertible... more
 
How To Install Four-Wheel Disc Brakes on a Fox 5.0
Stock or restomod? Vintage or Fox-body? Here are some ideas to build the Mustang of your dreams.... more
 
How to Install Louvered Side-Window Covers
Dominic Greco likes the thought of opening the hood after dusting someone and saying, "It's just a little 289."... more

Mustang Monthly Blogs

 
Distributor for FEs
  Petronix Ford FE 390-428 Billet Distributor   PerTronix claims its new... more
 
Roush for Touring
One of the perks of having the Mustang Monthly offices located across the street from Brandon Ford... more
 
BBK full-length headers
’05-’09 Mustang GT Full Length Headers In a recent post, we showed BBK’s shorty headers for S197... more
 
Pumped-Up 2010 Pony
If you’re curious about what the 2010 Ford Mustang will look like when it debuts next... more

Mustang Monthly Forums

 
Engine trouble
So the other day I get my 66' back from the paint shop. I bring it home, the turn signal doesn't... more
 
Door Glass Alignment
We are restoring an 87 GT with t-tops. We are almost done but are having problems with the power... more
 
1970 mustang
can someone tell me how i can tell if my must. is a grande,t5,or coupe?... more
 
C6 kickdown lever needed?
I am rebuilding my 351c with my c6 tranny. i was wandering if i really need to hook up my kickdown... more