What heater core did you buy??
 

Hey all,

I've got a '72 Chevy C-10 with no A.C., and I've been looking around a bit. I've seen Spectra Premium, Vista Pro, and a no namer that one of the truck suppliers sent me (Brand name was removed, I suspect, to keep people from buying the same thing for less than half as much...looked like Vista Pro to me:( )All of these were aluminum. Also talked to another place through 800-RADIATOR that has a copper core, but haven't actually seen it... $97 delivered...ouch!

What kind of luck has anyone had with the less expensive Spectra's and Vista Pro's?

AutoZone has a lifetime warrantee on their Spectra, but to me, the issue is not just a free replacement, it is also not having to do the work all over again in a few years. At $29.95 the price is great, and it looked a whole lot better than the other two I've seen (these things are easily damaged!), but I just wonder if it will hold up. Is the quality only 1/3 that of the originals??

Any thoughts, suggestions, and/or experiences greatly 'preciated. Thanks.

Re: What heater core did you buy??
 

Don't have any info for comparison. I needed one, and bought it at O'Reilly's. That was in 2000. It's still in there....or not. The HVAC system has been removed and is currently as intact as removed components can be during restoration. In fact, the new cab is a non-air cab so I won't even be using the old stuff.

This didn't help but I did run that other system for 9 years before the tear-down.

Re: What heater core did you buy??
 

CLR,

No, it does help...thanks. I spoke with O'rielly's , but never got down there to take a look at theirs, sounded much like the others, but now you've said you got 9 years out of yours and it was still going...that's a good start. Thanks again.

Re: What heater core did you buy??
 

Ive purchased a few gas tanks from Spectra Premium.
Fit fine, no issues. Believe they are made in Canada.

Re: What heater core did you buy??
 

whats g.m. get for one.. ;)

Re: What heater core did you buy??
 

That's a lot closer to home than the heater cores, most aftermarkets seem to come from good 'ol China.

Re: What heater core did you buy??
 

That's a good question, I don't know. I'm so used to the dealer (is that what you mean?) being overpriced, that I never consider them anymore...Even though they were the only one who had a decent starter for me about 20 years ago....hmmm.

Thanks for lead!

Re: What heater core did you buy??
 

I got a new g.m. core for my chevelle..
price was like 65 bucks

Re: What heater core did you buy??
 

We sell high quality heater cores that fit. $49.95 plus shipping. By the way they are discontinued from GM and I couldn't find any on my locators. WES

Re: What heater core did you buy??
 

OK Wes, thanks for the response...

Re: What heater core did you buy??
 

I got one at NAPA and it was an aluminum and didn't fit quite right, so I put it in anyway and it leaked from a screw dimpling it.:banghead: That was even after I had to cut some of the screws shorter. So, I go to O'reilly's, and for $29.95 got a copper and brass one just like the original. And it fit just like the original and the screws didn't touch it anywhere. So yeah, get the original brass and copper style.

Re: What heater core did you buy??
 

Hate to be partial but i work at autozone bought my heater core in 01 long before working for them still going strong after 10 yrs

Re: What heater core did you buy??
 

please state wether u went ALUMINUM OR COPPER!!!

Re: What heater core did you buy??
 

Copper,about 5-6 years ago.The original lasted 35 or so years,so I doubt I'll have to do another.

Re: What heater core did you buy??
 

Been busy last couple days (not on heater core unfortunately!).

I ordered a copper and brass one from Wes at Classic Heartbeat (see post above). Haven't received it yet, but he guarantees it will fit properly (an issue I had really not considered), and that it is OE quality or better.

In everything I buy (for truck or not) I want value. I don't need top-of-the line, and I certainly don't want bottom of the barrel. Nothing burns my hide more than paying a premium price for poor or average quality (see my 1st post on this). Conversely, nothing makes me happier than finding great quality for a reasonable price. So in Classic Heartbeat I think I've found that. Wes doesn't have the lowest price (on this item anyway), nor the highest. But the quality is very important to me on this item in particular, because of all the work involved, and he's guaranteed me I wont be disappointed.

Thanks for all your responses, and I'll report back on the core, and the install as I can.

Re: What heater core did you buy??
 

I had mine recored. None of the aftermarket ones were thick enough & didnt fit right.

Re: What heater core did you buy??
 

I love None AC trucks I've done 4 of them Have not done the AC yet but look foreword to it.
WWW.truckandcarshop.com best prices best service there here in Calif.and there's is Copper and brass.Remember to buy all the gaskets and Buy some apostasy spay from 3MM cus it helps when you want to attach they gaskets Remember to clean and sand down and metal parts and paint them.

One last thing you might want to think of Is to change your heater controller do to the age and the cables being a little rust after 35 years you might want to change your head unit and cables.

Now i have a Idea for ya i'm looking to do it to my 1968 3 door suburban cus i just broke thye leaver off on the fan leaver

I'm going to buy the AC controller so i wont have the problem with the fan switch any more and if i do i can remove it easyer and replace it.

Now It might cost a little more but in the long run it works I have to buy the AC head and cables and wire harness for the AC controller and a relay and install it But so far from my 1971 that has AC the blower motor blows harder and my cab heats up faster

Re: What heater core did you buy??
 

All,

Well, it's taken a while to get it all done, but in my defense, a heater core replacement morphed into a completely new cooling system! I knew the core was bad and bypassed it for a while. I thought my radiator cap was shot (it was) so I put a new one on. My system began to pressurize like it should, and guess what?...leak behind water pump on the backing plate!! Once I had all these parts I began looking at the radiator and knew that it would start leaking a short time after the pump and core were replaced...so I had it recored.

The heater core from Wes at Classic Heartbeat works great. I did have to heat and flatten one of the brackets to get it to fit between the nipple and the core. Also, the core is about 1 row shorter than the original (I think he might have told me this), but it had no effect on fitment. It all went together well. The two toughest things about this job for me was getting the inner fender-well bolted back in place, and reattaching the heat control cable to the diverter door inside the heater box. Here's the pics:

Re: What heater core did you buy??
 

And some after:

Re: What heater core did you buy??
 

Man i loved doing my heater core i even fry my self every time i click on my heater its the way to go But i'm now using the Heater controller from my A/C truck the Fan switch is so much easyer to replace then the other one

Re: What heater core did you buy??
 

I bought a new heater core from wes after reading this post a couple weeks ago. My dad was in the area so i had him swing by and save me on the shipping. I just got around to removing the old one today. Theres no way i was going to remove the inner fender to remove 1 bolt from the air handler. I got out the unibit and made an access hole for the socket. I had to remove the hood hinge. Removing the cable bracket by the fire wall on the inside gave me plenty of room to pull the air handler out enough to remove the clip that holds the cable on the shaft. The hardest part was removing the hood by myself. I have a bar of duct seal to make new gaskets with. Ill post some pics tomorrow.

Re: What heater core did you buy??
 

Guess I was lucky. I pulled the inner fender, but got away with just loosening the hood hinge, so no hood removal.

Went with the NAPA (only thing available at the time). Same fitment issue with one of the straps not fitting around the core properly. Had to do a bit of filing.

Re: What heater core did you buy??
 

I installed one many years ago from Autozone (back when they were about $20 bucks!) It's still going strong. I don't recall the brand name.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy a cheapy again.

Re: What heater core did you buy??
 

I guess it just comes down to which route you think might be the simplest when you're working solo. I thought the fender well would be way simpler solo than trying to remove the hood/hinge. I never had to touch my hood hinge.

But hey, in the end, it really doesn't matter "how", as long as the "how" doesn't keep you from doin what's gotta be done!;)

Re: What heater core did you buy??
 

mustard,

I don't know how thick that material is that you're going to make the gaskets from, but I hope it's substantial. Double or triple it if you need to. There are a lot of irregularities on the firewall and you're going to want a good seal.

I went with the 3M Strip Caulk...black sticky stuff. I put about three courses of the stuff around the heated/metal part of the box. My heater cranks as well as it ever did...without the vapor and odor antifreeze!