Chilly, tired of no heater...

[babywag]

Haven't had a heater in years, and it's starting to bother me.
All the underhood and all the behind the dash ductwork removed long ago.

However there is LOTS of room behind the dash, so started whipping one up.
Got the pieces cut out for the blower housing today.
NOT willing to pay $150+ for one.

The blower will be from a GW AC unit, heater core haven't decided on yet.
Possibly a heater core from a 5.0 Mustang, as I have one already.
That's if it doesn't leak...more to come.

[tgreese]

Some inspiration?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hR1nU9IJsoM

[babywag]

Some inspiration?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hR1nU9IJsoM

Yeah, pretty cool shows. I don't have all the fancy tools they do.
No ability to weld aluminum, or bend sheetmetal (well).
Mine will be a little more basic.
Being in SoCal it's only really needed on mornings for a few months, and on the rare occasions that it rains.

Cool thing about my center console is it has provisions for rear seat heat.
The most demanding area, because my 7yr. old gives me a hard time in the morning lol.
There are two adjustable vents in console, and a channel in the bottom center that runs to front. So it should be pretty easy to send heat back there.

[tgreese]

The CJ guys use the aftermarket heaters a lot. The factory heater from a pre-72 CJ is usually known as the "placebo heater" and the heater/defroster from Mojave or Summit is vastly better. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-991102-1 Not terribly expensive either.

Lots of installation discussion https://www.bing.com/search?q=site%3...+summit+heater

[babywag]

The CJ guys use the aftermarket heaters a lot. The factory heater from a pre-72 CJ is usually known as the "placebo heater" and the heater/defroster from Mojave or Summit is vastly better. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-991102-1 Not terribly expensive either.

Lots of installation discussion https://www.bing.com/search?q=site%3...+summit+heater

NOT willing to pay $150+ for one.

I prefer to roll my own.

[SJTD]

I've got everything you need for the stock system except the dash vents. You can have it if you want to drive to Sunland or for the cost of shipping.

[tgreese]

Supposedly the rear heater from an Astro van is fairly modular. Just FYI. Building an enclosure will likely be very time consuming, especially lacking extensive sheet metal forming equipment.

[babywag]

I've got everything you need for the stock system except the dash vents. You can have it if you want to drive to Sunland or for the cost of shipping.

Appreciate that, but I have a custom/relocated battery/tray. The stock heater stuff will no longer work for me.
My battery now occupies the stock underhood heater box area.

[SJTD]

I'm wondering why I didn't do that.

I modded both inner fenders for one on each side up near the grill support.

[babywag]

Blower housing welded up. That's for today, my back can only take so much. Need to decide on a heater core, then move on to an enclosure for that.

[bwwhaler]

Good call on using the A/C blower.... I often wonder why they didn't use the same blower for both units.... Looks good, following, I know I sure would love to have a unit that did both and would not steam up all the windows when it rained.

[babywag]

Woulda made sense to use same blower motor, but ???

I'd also love to grab an aftermarket unit(AC+HEAT), but no $$$ right now.
Had $$$ saved up, but kiddos come first, so Jeep fund ALWAYS goes bye-bye.

Haven't done much since welding up housing. I did make a template to bend up the main portion of heater core enclosure.
Decided on a core from a '68 Mustang (also had one), it's a good size.
The enclosure will be ~6.5" x 9.5" x 3"
Overall approx. dimensions of heater will be ~12"L x 9.5"W x 9"H



Blower housing finished, need to work on heater core enclosure



Some progress, not much time to work on it...



Cover bent/hammered out...



It's ~10" x 11", now I just need to decide how many holes and what size for ducts.
Thinking 4? 2 for dash defrost, 1 for rear heat, and 1 for front heat.

Yes, I also realize it is fugly, but don't care, not spending a lot of time on it, and nobody is going to see it.
Estimated cost so far is ~$20, a new core will be another $25...far better than $150 for one IMHO.

[babywag]

So test fit...luckily my guess-timates were ok...fits very well behind dash.





Ironic, today it is in the 80's...

[DarkMonohue]

If you get tired of 'sperimenting, there's a factory heater for sale here:

http://www.ifsja.org/forums/vb/showthread.php?t=184394

[rang-a-stang]

Awesome. Subscribed to see this finish out.