I like the Fratzog. The blue to match the interior is a great idea.
I’m not very goid at editing a photo, so something like this:
65 Dart Wagon Conversion to a Sedan Delivery
- Thread starter 65 Dartman
- Start date
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I’m not very goid at editing a photo, so something like this:
Those DMT seals are excellent. Agree with you Don!
Looks great! Where to place it?
I’m thinking on both upper panels that replaced the rear quarter windows. They would likely be decals.
That would look awesome! Are you making the sticky or magnetic?
I haven’t made any firm decision but would lean towards a permanent decal. What would be great if I could fabricate a dimensional logo that would show some depth!
Kinda 3D thing!
My bodyman friend said he might be able to swing by this coming week to help install and align the doors and fenders. So in the meantime, I decided to tear apart one of the 3 AC units I have as it’s the next assembly to go on the inside firewall. I will say the 65 AC supplement is a must have to remove the evaporator without damaging anything.
Removed the blower motor (which tested good). After removing the evaporator chamber cover (sort of grayish color middle And left side)
It is was covered with plenty of insulation - the factory wanted to make sure this chamber was well insulated!
Fought with and finally got the evaporator out but it was obvious someone had been inside this unit as the some of the fins on the top of the evaporator were bent down, like someone had to really push down on it to get it back in the case. Plus the seal between the cover and main case wasn’t sealed like it should have been.
Decided to pass on this one and open up a second unit, which went great. Beside a huge old mouse nest behind the evaporator, it just plain smelled of old OEM insulation. I suspect condensation wasn't draining too good as the drain from the drain pan was partially closed. Got it sort of round so as to remove the pan - will have to replace the drain on this pan.
I guess I could have used the one from the first unit, but that pan was pretty cruddy. I’ll use this one from the 2nd one I opened up even though I have to replace the drain
.
So I spent a good part of the day scrapping the old stinking OEM insulation and glue from the evaporator chamber. Since the new insulation needs to be glued in, I want to make sure it keeps the insulation in place.
Mostly cleaned up:
Speaking of insulation, this is another great kit from DMT - i test fit the individual pieces and they are a perfect fit. I hope to finish the cleanup and get a coat of paint on the housing tomorrow or the next day
Removed the blower motor (which tested good). After removing the evaporator chamber cover (sort of grayish color middle And left side)
It is was covered with plenty of insulation - the factory wanted to make sure this chamber was well insulated!
Fought with and finally got the evaporator out but it was obvious someone had been inside this unit as the some of the fins on the top of the evaporator were bent down, like someone had to really push down on it to get it back in the case. Plus the seal between the cover and main case wasn’t sealed like it should have been.
Decided to pass on this one and open up a second unit, which went great. Beside a huge old mouse nest behind the evaporator, it just plain smelled of old OEM insulation. I suspect condensation wasn't draining too good as the drain from the drain pan was partially closed. Got it sort of round so as to remove the pan - will have to replace the drain on this pan.
I guess I could have used the one from the first unit, but that pan was pretty cruddy. I’ll use this one from the 2nd one I opened up even though I have to replace the drain
.
So I spent a good part of the day scrapping the old stinking OEM insulation and glue from the evaporator chamber. Since the new insulation needs to be glued in, I want to make sure it keeps the insulation in place.
Mostly cleaned up:
Speaking of insulation, this is another great kit from DMT - i test fit the individual pieces and they are a perfect fit. I hope to finish the cleanup and get a coat of paint on the housing tomorrow or the next day
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Mt sandblaster guy called and wanted to know if I had any more sandblasting to do in the near future. I decided to bring him in and get him to sandblast at least one of the AC housing, covers and drip tray. That way I’ll know they’ll be clean with no stinking residue inside the evaporator chamber. If it wasn’t gonna cost an arm and a leg, I just might get both done. So i hurried up and got the other one scrapped out.
The drip pan that needed the drain replaced went well, i cut off the old drain, ground it smooth and opened the hole up to accept the 3/8 copper plumbing fitting (a coupler). Got it soldered in place so it looks like it’s never been replaced. Should look nice and round coming through the firewall (unless i ding it up installing the AC housing lol!)
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It's a littlle time consuming, remember from the convertible and the wagon! But it feels great to small things like that gone through! As you know DMT has the isolation but there is a company that sell all the gaskets and o-rings for the compressor too! I'll see if I can find his address for you Don.
Thanks but not necessary! Classic Air has already rebuilt my compressor and restored all the hoses. A fellow member and friend FWDLK Frank was going to a school in Alabama and made a trip to delivery my stuff and his 65 Valiant and 59 Fury AC parts. Saved a bunch on shipping both ways. My compressor and hoses are tucked away ready to be installed
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Ah, sweet.
Classic Air is the company that rebuilt our hard-to-find driers
So much progress today - my sandblaster guy came by as did my bodyman friend. So, first things first - I knew that the chances of the door rubber causing issues with the door alignment was a distinct possibility so i installed it first. I bought it from Restoration Specialties as they were the only ones who had the light blue metallic windlace/door rubber seal. Also I HAD TO see what the repro upper rocker panel trim was going to look like - it is gorgeous with the mounting holes matching the OEM holes in the panel (both from the 4 door and 2 door addition. Many thanks to @65dartcharger who highly recommended this restoration grade part from Layson’s as that’s what he used on his DartCharger as well as their carpet holddowns - which I have on hand.
So we got the passenger door hung and immediately found out that the door rubber was indeed causing issues. I kind of figured that by using a entirely different door (the 2 door sedan door) instead of the original 4 door was gonna cause issues. The final solution was to “adjust” the pinchweld to allow sufficient room between the door and rubber yet still seal the door. Then the next issue on the door was the window frame didn’t align worth a hoot with the upper B pillar. Again, my bodyman guru knew what to do so the door has decent gaps and aligns completely with the B pillar. Next was the passenger fender which went on well other than the hood hydraulic lift interfered a little with the fender. It took a small adjustment on the fender and relocating the bottom mounting point on the lift for no interference.
We got the driver’s door hung and ran into the same door to door rubber interference as the bottom of the door was right up against the original pinchweld. Some “adjustments” on the pinchweld again solved the problem. I’ll leave the doors closed for a week or so and see if the rubber relaxes anymore. I knew this build was not going to be a piece of cake with all the modifications I’ve done and it’s come to pass. Pictures of the passenger side will have to suffice for now.
My ever-so-slow sandblaster guy did not fail me! Before he could even start, he had to empty the hopper as he thought he had water in there. Nope it was condensation in the hose. Them it was refill the hopper and of course sifting the sand again so it wouldn’t clog the nozzle. I swear he milks the time. Well, rant over as I did discuss it with him. So he got all the pieces of the AC part of the system blasted and painted them black for me!
The main Housing - passenger compartment side and firewall side:
Evaporator compartment cover:
And evaporator drip pan - bottom and evaporator side.
I’ll be installing the insulation snd seals in a couple of days
So we got the passenger door hung and immediately found out that the door rubber was indeed causing issues. I kind of figured that by using a entirely different door (the 2 door sedan door) instead of the original 4 door was gonna cause issues. The final solution was to “adjust” the pinchweld to allow sufficient room between the door and rubber yet still seal the door. Then the next issue on the door was the window frame didn’t align worth a hoot with the upper B pillar. Again, my bodyman guru knew what to do so the door has decent gaps and aligns completely with the B pillar. Next was the passenger fender which went on well other than the hood hydraulic lift interfered a little with the fender. It took a small adjustment on the fender and relocating the bottom mounting point on the lift for no interference.
We got the driver’s door hung and ran into the same door to door rubber interference as the bottom of the door was right up against the original pinchweld. Some “adjustments” on the pinchweld again solved the problem. I’ll leave the doors closed for a week or so and see if the rubber relaxes anymore. I knew this build was not going to be a piece of cake with all the modifications I’ve done and it’s come to pass. Pictures of the passenger side will have to suffice for now.
My ever-so-slow sandblaster guy did not fail me! Before he could even start, he had to empty the hopper as he thought he had water in there. Nope it was condensation in the hose. Them it was refill the hopper and of course sifting the sand again so it wouldn’t clog the nozzle. I swear he milks the time. Well, rant over as I did discuss it with him. So he got all the pieces of the AC part of the system blasted and painted them black for me!
The main Housing - passenger compartment side and firewall side:
Evaporator compartment cover:
And evaporator drip pan - bottom and evaporator side.
I’ll be installing the insulation snd seals in a couple of days
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Top notch!
If one gets down on the floor they might see some of the heater and defroster vents at the bottom of the AC housing. At least it’ll be clean and painted. No one will ever see the inside of these units but I’ll KNOW they were cleaned and painted on the inside and have brand new insulation there as well.
Got all the AC evaporator compartment and top cover’s insulator glued in. It was like a large jigsaw puzzle but pretty self explanatory. Next step is to flush the evaporator, cap the hose nipples and install it and the cover and it will be done. Then on to the heater box.
Inside the evaporator compartment (the recess you see on the bottom is for the male part of the drain pan):
And the top cover (all that black is insulation; the white foam protects the top of the evaporator):
Inside the evaporator compartment (the recess you see on the bottom is for the male part of the drain pan):
And the top cover (all that black is insulation; the white foam protects the top of the evaporator):
I have been thinking what’s the best way to do a DIY flush of the evaporator and condenser of any debris, old AC oil - mineral spirits, lacquer thinner or ???? Need to do the evaporator so I can button the AC unit up and get it installed.
moparmat2000
Well-Known Member
Denatured alcohol I would guess.
I was thinking of it since I have some on hand as I’ve used it to flush a brake system
I called several HVAC companies who all basically said don’t bother trying to flush the evaporator clean but just buy a new one. Fat chance of that happening for a 55 year old car that not many had AC anyway. Looks like it’ll be DIY clean and flush.
There are so many other small projects I need to take care of - one of them was to construct rear side panels where the rear doors used to be. I started by using part of some door panel hardboard I had and cutting it to fit right to the wheelwell. This was for the driver’s side. The large hole is for the 6x9 speakers behind each front seat.
I had ordered loose material in the light metallic blue from Legendary to match the rest of the interior. After cutting it somewhat oversize, it was glued in place.
Then I cut some extra carpet to fit at the bottom of the panel at the same height as the door panels - about 4 inches tall - and glued it to the hardboard.
I had saved the trim strip that is installed between the carpet and carpet from my old Dart GT convertible; however, it was not nearly long enough. I found a nasty old painted chrome strip that was on one of the tailgates I have. After cleaning it up, cutting to fit each panel and locating clips to secure it, these panels are ready to install.
There are so many other small projects I need to take care of - one of them was to construct rear side panels where the rear doors used to be. I started by using part of some door panel hardboard I had and cutting it to fit right to the wheelwell. This was for the driver’s side. The large hole is for the 6x9 speakers behind each front seat.
I had ordered loose material in the light metallic blue from Legendary to match the rest of the interior. After cutting it somewhat oversize, it was glued in place.
Then I cut some extra carpet to fit at the bottom of the panel at the same height as the door panels - about 4 inches tall - and glued it to the hardboard.
I had saved the trim strip that is installed between the carpet and carpet from my old Dart GT convertible; however, it was not nearly long enough. I found a nasty old painted chrome strip that was on one of the tailgates I have. After cleaning it up, cutting to fit each panel and locating clips to secure it, these panels are ready to install.
As @65dartcharger has said, it’s the little things that count as well as the big things. I was getting ready to install the tailgate “D O D G E” letters and thought they don’t look all that great even after polishing them with fine steel wool. It was the insides of the letters - really faded black. I bought a pint of gloss black and a fine tip artist’s brush and went to work on them. They look so much better - the little things do make a difference.
Before:
After:
Before:
After:
Awesome Don! That will stand out!
I haven’t forgot my AC/heater rebuild. I removed the nuts holding everything together on the blower motor to send them off to get them cad plated. The blower assembly consists of the motor, squirrel cage, top and bottom plate with a rubber seal sandwiched between the two, nuts and 3 rubber isolators. I noticed that the squirrel cage side of the motor was gloss black from the factory so everything will get gloss black
After wire brushing the motor and two plates clean, they got a coat of etching primer
Then everything got a coat of Krylon Gloss Black
then time to reassemble it. The 2nd ring from the left is the rubber seal that’s including in the DMT early A heater/AC rebuild kit and is identical to the original seal.
And reassembled almost ready to install into the AC part of the housing. I say almost ready as I sent the nuts used to secure the blower housing to the rings to get Cad plated as they were originally - the nuts shown will be replaced with the correct replated nuts
After wire brushing the motor and two plates clean, they got a coat of etching primer
Then everything got a coat of Krylon Gloss Black
then time to reassemble it. The 2nd ring from the left is the rubber seal that’s including in the DMT early A heater/AC rebuild kit and is identical to the original seal.
And reassembled almost ready to install into the AC part of the housing. I say almost ready as I sent the nuts used to secure the blower housing to the rings to get Cad plated as they were originally - the nuts shown will be replaced with the correct replated nuts
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Keith Mopar
Mopar Nut
Wow great work, It's amazing what a good coat of paint will do!
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