Heater core maybe?

Discussion in 'Wet behind the ears??' started by 7Duece, Sep 30, 2020.

  1. 7Duece

    7Duece Well-Known Member

    The saga continues with weird things happening to this newly acquired 72 skylark.

    We have had this for a few months, as you have seen many posts by me trying to get this car reliable and up to snuff. The wife sent me a picture yesterday of some antifreeze on the passenger floorboard, which I thought was strange.

    The PO put the 455 from a 70 gs in the car and removed all the AC equipment. There is no blower and the thermostat does not work due to his disconnecting everything. Now upon inspection, the two lines go from the engine bay, into the firewall. When I look from the inside, of the car, I can see where something is leaking up at the firewall, but there seems to be a large cover over everything.

    I assume that is where the heater core is and that he removed everything but the heater core. I just wanted to make sure that all i need to do is to remove the big (looks like a bubble cover) and I am curious as to what i will find behind that. I am thinking that it will be the heater core and i can replace that and we will be fine.

    Second part to my question is, does anyone know, while i am at it, what it would take to add a blower motor and allow me to have heat and a fan in the car? I guess I havent looked, but I now wonder as i am typing this, if he removed all of the vent ducting as well..........I am thinking that he did.

    I can post pictures when i am home if this doesnt make sense to anyone.

    Thanks again for everyone's patience and helping me out to learn this vehicle. It has been fun to learn and work on!!!
     
  2. flynbuick

    flynbuick Guest

    Yes, that is consistent with a defective heater core.

    The blower motor mounts on the passenger side of the firewall in the engine compartment.
     
  3. 7Duece

    7Duece Well-Known Member

    Alright, my next question is looking online, I see heater cores with and without AC. Right now i do not have AC, but in the future (not sure how far in the future), I plan to put in the AC again. What are the differences in the heater core and can I get the one for an AC skylark for now, since i anticipate in the future doing it?

    finally, do i get a heater core for the 72 skylark, or for the 70 GS since that is the motor in it?
     
  4. flynbuick

    flynbuick Guest

    A good bet is that the original heater core is still in place. It is not attached to the engine and is not dependent on engine size. Ask Todd to have one drop shipped to you.
     
  5. 12lives

    12lives Control the controllable, let the rest go

    The box inside the engine bay is completely different for AC or w/o AC. The blower is under the passenger fender behind the inner fender, very hard to get to. Heater cores for 70 to 72 are the same.
    Some info on the ducts inside the car are in this post: http://www.v8buick.com/index.php?th...-for-ac-heater-duct-work.346879/#post-2946475.
    Post some pictures of your engine bay and under the dash and we can answer your questions better.
     
  6. Brett Slater

    Brett Slater Super Moderator Staff Member

    70 - 72 heater cores are the same, the difference is AC and non-AC.

    The tubes that come out of the firewall are longer for the AC cars and there's a bracket that holds them together. 20191030_172251.jpg

    Above is an AC heater core.

    Below is a non-air core. Both of these are OEM Harrisons that I had re-cored locally, as the aftermarket units are prone to leak

    20190516_144035.jpg

    Be prepared to set aside a weekend for this job, maybe less if you have another set of hands. Also, just know there's the ever elusive bolt behind the inner fender that many people have come up with creative ways of tackling.

    I didn't want to drill or cut anything on my car, so I decided this ratchet wrench was the best course of action. It worked well both during removal and install.

    20200519_182826.jpg

    Also, be prepared to clean out that heater box and replace the (50 year old and cracked) foam on both sides of the divider door. That was fun, too.

    New foam and some black 3M goop striping and you'll be ready for installation.
    20190807_174032.jpg 20190807_211720.jpg 20190807_211256.jpg 20190807_210537.jpg

    And with a little goop on your fingers, you can get that difficult nut started and then use the aforementioned tool to secure it back on.

    20190819_104742.jpg
     
    bostoncat68 and FLGS400 like this.
  7. 7Duece

    7Duece Well-Known Member

    Man, the pictures are appreciated. I will see when i have time to tackle this. One would assume that I need to drain the coolant before doing this? does it matter which hose goes to which pipe coming from the heater core?
     
  8. 7Duece

    7Duece Well-Known Member

    Thank you, I believe all the ducting is gone. Looks like the heater fan is sitting in there behind the hood hinge bracket, but is just laying there. I can pick it up and it is attached to a bracket or something that seems to have been broke off or maybe cut. Sorry for the crap picture.
     

    Attached Files:

  9. STAGE III

    STAGE III Lost Experimental 455-4 Bolt Main Block.

    Great info Brett : )
     
    Brett Slater likes this.
  10. 12lives

    12lives Control the controllable, let the rest go

    The box that should be in the engine bay is cut off and missing. Interesting. Does the dash heater control have AC on it? The hoses are different sizes so it does make a difference. Even with the ducting gone you should have heat in the car. Do you plan to drive it when it is cold outside? Can you add a picture as to what is under the dash in the passenger footwell? Also a shot of the entire engine bay?
     
  11. 12lives

    12lives Control the controllable, let the rest go

    Brett - where did you find that wrench? Who makes it? I know I need another tool!
     
    Brett Slater likes this.
  12. Brett Slater

    Brett Slater Super Moderator Staff Member

    Yes, it does. One is 3/4 and one is 5/8.
     
  13. 7Duece

    7Duece Well-Known Member

    Here is the engine bay. It was a full AC car. The PO took out the AC when he put the 455 from a 70 GS in. Eventually, i plan to add AC back into the car. The dash heater does have the AC control on it.
     

    Attached Files:

  14. Brett Slater

    Brett Slater Super Moderator Staff Member

    FLGS400 likes this.
  15. Brett Slater

    Brett Slater Super Moderator Staff Member

    You can do one of two things going forward: block off/bypass the heater core (in the engine bay) with some caps, then clamp the hoses back on. That's your temporary fix.

    Orrrr....you can ad the AC box back in and install the correct heater core once.

    Trust me when I tell you: you do not wanna do this job twice
     
  16. FLGS400

    FLGS400 Gold Level Contributor

    Brett Slater likes this.
  17. 12lives

    12lives Control the controllable, let the rest go

    The hoses are close enough in size that you can loop the 3/4 back and hook it to the 5/8 outlet in the block. That's what I did for many years. You can post on this site the parts you need (AC box, compressor, brackets, lines etc) and hopefully someone will have what you need so you can start collecting parts.
     
  18. 7Duece

    7Duece Well-Known Member

    At this point, i have no idea what i need or anything about the AC unit. with what you see, are you saying that the heater core for the AC that i have on its way will not work without the AC box?

    Any list of parts and pictures of what i need so i can assess that is there and what is not?
     
  19. Brett Slater

    Brett Slater Super Moderator Staff Member

    Look at the difference in the 2 cores in my first post.
     
  20. 7Duece

    7Duece Well-Known Member

    So technically, i can take the hoses off the core on the engine side and connect them together to bypass the core for now, till I figure out what all i need?
     

Share This Page