Hi All,
This weekend I replaced the motor in the heater of my '53 3100. I read in
a previous note from someone that nearly ANY heater motor will fit. It
won't!
My motor has two long bolts that run the length of the motor and both hold
the casings together and (with a second set of nuts) hold the motor into
the truck's heater housing. There are no other flanges attached (spot
welded) to the motor.
Most of the newer ones (1972 Novas, camaros, Cadillacs, Oldsmobile, Buick,
other assorted Chevys) all have a large flange as part of the motor
housing. They don't work.
I found a 1962 Buick Skylark that has an adaptable motor. The mounting
bolts are only about 2 1/8 inches apart instead of 2 1/4 inches, but they
are the correct length. I drilled new holes in the flange in my truck's
heater and it fit wonderfully. I used the truck's original squirrel cage
because the Buick's was shaped wrong. The motor shaft for the Buick has a
threaded end and a nut to hold the cage on. I used BOTH the original set
screw in the side and the nut on top. The motor length is a bit shorter
but since it fits through a hole in the firewall, it isn't a problem. The
Buick motor is smaller diameter in general which means there is a bigger
gap between OD of the motor and the ID of the hole in the firewall. It
appears that there used to be something covering the end of the motor
screwed into the firewall from the engine compartment side. Is this true?
Only other change is the connector on the wiring. My originally had two
wires (freyed and shorting) whereas the new motor has only one and the
connector style is different.
The motor was about $9 at my local pick-n-pull. That plus the new
connector on my wire are the only costs. Hope this helps someone else.
Jon '53 3100
jelerath@us.ibm.com
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