Heater Motor Resistor

[Ed S.]

Got my heater box / core out for a refresh (64 non AC car). Looking an my (original) motor resistor. It works as designed - but it is 61 years old. This is a great opportunity to replace it. Repro's are not expensive - should I replace it? Are repros any good? Or, should I stick with the original. I understand you can get to it by removing just the glove box. What do you recommend?

Thanks for the advice.

[John W.]

Ed,
I refurbished my 64 (non-ac) heater box and just went ahead and replaced the heater resistor for all the reasons you stated. It’s 61 years old and repro’s are inexpensive. I saved my working original, so if the repro craps out, I will reinstall the original. I just didn’t want to deal with the heater box again in this lifetime.

Regards,
John

[Edward J.]

Ed, I myself have not seen a non a A/C resistor fail, a simple inspection while it out will show excessive heat , when it fails the coils will melt and open. What I would do is look at the electrical connectors they tend to heat up causing an open in that circuit. My take is it’s has lasted 60+ years and with repro parts? Myself I have never used my heater in 17 years of ownership, only during operations check during flight judging.

[Ed S.]

Thanks for the response - I examined the coiled wires on mine carefully - it is uniformly greyish from light surface corrosion but there are no burned or obvious hot spots. I intend to reinstall it. Those resistors may be one of the few parts on C2s that were over-engineered and designed to sustain a direct lightening strike.