[McMurphy]

So....
My weekend was, and was not....

Thursday I met a fellow for a 1985 GMC Sierra and we settled on a price. I pick it up on the 1st and it will be a donor rig for my 66. Kinda sad to part out such a good looking truck, but I am willing to bet there are more of them around than there are 66s.

Then the rest of the Thanksgiving day was spent putzing around with my heater box.

Pic #1 is my heater core retainer bracket. It had been wrapped with duct tape, which padded the core, but also retained water and rusted the snot out of my retainers. This photo is after I had wire wheeled it down to shiney metal, primer, and painted.

#2 is my adaptation to provide the cushioning, but not trap so much moisture. I hope this works better. It is vacuum/wiper fluid hose with a slit down the side and then just seated on the bracket. If you do this, remember to cut the hose along the outside of the natural curl of the hose or it will fight you to seat right.

#3 is all my heater parts after I had tinkered with them. Who knew that a ATV battery was perfect for testing electrical stuff like the blower motor? I cut gaskets for the cold air intake and heater box assembly, as well as one for the blower to the bottom of the heater box. I have to check for either some 1/8" thick gasket materiel, or some smaller hose to make seating gaskets for the fresh/recirculation vent flapper so that they sit tight and diminish as much cold air infiltration as possible.

#4 is all assembled. I will have to tear it all apart again to do the second set of gaskets I mentioned above, and to replace the delux heater core. Not sure if I broke it, or if I just made an existing leak more noticable...none the less it leaks now where the large pipe meets the heater core body. So far prices seem to range between $75 and $110 for replacements.