I had a local company blast the heater box, and it turned out great. I then got some rattle can etch primer (stinky stuff!), and it's all primed up in 2 coats. I'll let it dry overnight and hit it with some black gloss tomorrow. It's turning out great, I'll post up some pics when it's all done, then I can do a before/after montage.

As for the heater control valve, that thing is a right pig to pull apart to replace the inner seal. There is a gentleman in California that rebuilds them... I might give him a call and see what he can do, if anything. I might just bypass the heater control valve for now to at least get the car drivable.

If it's only just primed...then don't do it gloss black. Get some semi-gloss, it'll look better that way. Is there anyone local that does powder coating? I used new stainless screws and some black automotive caulking to seal the unit. I had my heater box coated - awesome results. Put a new heater control valve in and it'll be good for another 20 years. You have to do that before buttoning it all up.

Do you have any recommendations on popular brands to use? I was looking at the Eastwood products (Satin chassis black or satin underhood), but instead of ordering from Ontario or Saskatoon, it would be nice if I could get something a bit more local. I don't know of any recommended powder coaters in town.... too many mixed reviews. Thanks!

There's really no need to buy most things from Eastwood - go scope out your local body shop supply place. I pop in from time to time and find what I need at reasonable prices and I don't have to pay shipping. They can also suggest proper techniques etc. Today I picked up some mixing cups, strainers, tack clothes and they colour matched some paint for me to paint my engine.

If you have a gun/compressor then they can mix you up some proper automotive black paint in any colour and sheen you like. I've had them do gloss/semi/flat black when needed over the years. Not particularly expensive given how much you get.

My advice on the powder coaters is to look past the odd bad review. You have to work with these guys to get what you want. For example, my first batch of parts that I sent to Top Gun in Calgary - the valve cover wasn't up to my standard. Dale had picked it up - I'm in Lethbridge, I just called them up and said that it was going on a show car and that it had be be better than what they did. I sent it back and it's perfect. I still take parts there all the time (like thousands of dollars of PC over the years).

We now have a local PC guy - I'll give him a try as it's more convenient. I find when people have things go wrong, they don't talk to the guy, they complain on the internet. Give them the chance to make it right. See samples of their work, don't arrive with your parts, just tell them what you're doing and have a look at what they've done. Some parts won't turn out well, it doesn't matter what they do. I had a rusty Stahl header done for my 242...4 years later is flaking and peeling off. What did I expect - I expected it to flake and fall off...it's a rusty header. I had them do a cast iron manifold (same ceramic coat) and it's 6 years old and still absolutely perfect.

I don't bring them rusty junk and expect miracles...that header was good for longer than it had any right to be. I have found that most suppliers are really willing to help with our crazy projects.

That's terrific advice, Craig, thanks very much! I'll hit up my local autobody paint suppliers and see what they have. I'll start looking into powder coating for some parts I have down the road. I have a Stahl header as well, I will end up sending that to Top Gun for ceramic, methinks. They coated a header for a '68 Dart I had back in the day and it turned out well. My experience is that the finished project is only as good as the prep involved... if the base is good and solid, and if proper procedure is followed, the topcoat will last a long, long time.

Thanks again!

Small update:I got the heater core pressure-tested by a local shop, and they say it's good. I'll go on that advice. I also etch primed the heater box parts, then matte black finished. I ended up using an engine enamel in semi-gloss, Dupli-Color DE1634 (the non ceramic type). They turned out pretty good for a rookie job !

I then decided to fire the engine up, I haven't done that in a while. Brain fart moment, I pulled on the wiper switch while cranking the car over, instead of the choke. Blew the 25 amp fuse again. Damn. I think it's a good opportunity to pull the wiper assembly out, while I have the heater bits off the car. There is certainly a lot more room under the dash at the moment. The fact that the wipers started to move, then the fuse blew, tells me I have an overdraw somewhere. At least that's my thought at the moment. The Swem site has some good info on the workings.

Anyone got any advice on how to remove the wiper arms without ruining them? Thanks!

David

Blasted Parts


In Progress


All painted up

Removing the wiper arms requires a small wiper arm puller...or you can just take the nut off and wiggle them off. I've never used the puller, but also never had trouble getting them off.

I was able to undo the wiper post nut, and gently pry each one off using a flat blade screwdriver. Not sure what the wiper arm end is supposed to consist of yet, but one arm end is empty (female splined end left on post), and the other has the female splined end stuck on the post. But nevertheless, they are off. Tomorrow the tearout begins. Thanks Craig!

David

Wiper assembly is out. I took the grey end cap off, the wiring looks really clean, and the brushes look to have lots of life left in them. I'll turn my attention to the gearbox next, to see if that is binding. I am not sure how I am going to get it back in, it's a bit of a contortionist act to get those two bolts out. Friends and beer might be a good plan.

David

Wiper Assembly

Nice work. I gave up trying to get mine right out. My wiper arm was binding on one of the bolts that mount the motor to the bracket. Good luck getting it back in!

To sum up today.... success, with a bit of "now what" thrown in...

I bench tested the wiper assembly today, with good results. The whole reason I did this is because whenever I turned the wipers on, my main 25A fuse would blow after the wipers moved a little bit.

I hooked up a test light to a car battery and tested out the wiper switch contacts, and everything seemed to be okay since the test light lit up at the right place on switch position. So the switch looks good as a result.

Now to bench test the whole thing. I thought this was an okay way to do it....
- I wired up a wire with a 10A inline fuse, and that went from the battery to the switch.
- I then wired up the switch in the proper configuration, from the motor to the switch.
- I connected a ground wire from the battery and grounded it against the frame of the wiper assembly.

I then pulled the switch to the first "Low" position. Lo and behold, the wipers work smoothly. Then the second position "High", they go faster as expected. The last position pulled was the "wash' function. I didn't have the pump hooked up, so that was benign, but at least the wipers still moved on High. I changed the 10A fuse for a 5A, and it still worked. So in no way from what I can tell, is it drawing a ton of power to the motor.

The cables and lobes were cleaned, and given a new smear of grease. That seemed to quiet them down, and made it move a bit smoother. Or, maybe it was just in my head The posts seemed to move nice and easy on their shafts as well. I didn't take anything else apart, why wreck it when it's working.

I did take a short 40 second video of the wipers moving, but I don't think I can post videos here, or I don't know how. Not that important, people know what wipers look like.

So, it appears that I have an underhood short somewhere. I will have to see what I can find when the wipers go back in. I didn't see any arcing or marking on the wires themselves and the sleeving looks fine tfrom the motor to the switch (no pinches or anything). I have a feeling something is touching where the switch resides, but that is yet to be seen.

Wiper assembly is back in the car. I've boiled it down to a few steps:
1) swear a lot trying to get it back in myself
2) enlist wife to help
3) get wipers in and tighten them all up
4) thank wife by reminding myself to buy her something nice

On the bench, I decided to put a bit of drag on them to see if I could make the fuse blow. No dice, everything worked fine.

I then tried the wipers again by wiring them up and trying them out. Low and high speed worked fine, the washer setting blew the fuse. I am not too surprised, the wiring to the washer pump looks very suspect (the marettes(!) on the washer pump wiring gave it away). New fuse installed, I'll actually mount the switch and try again to isolate.

As for the heater box, new heater valve is on the way. I need to speed things up, and buying a part is worth it in the long run instead of trying to fix it.

Might be time to chase down a harness for parts and start tearing yours out to give it a look-see. If you were popping 25a fuses before and you aren't now, without really doing anything to fix it, the problem is probably only a small twist of the wires away.

Car is very clean. Looks great!

Thanks very much, Hub!