Removing the MGB GT heater box PART 2

In Removing the MGB GT heater box PART 1 I removed the interior heater vent pipes and the control knob and cable. That was a good celebratory beer wasn’t it? Now back to work!

Since we have disconnected the interior parts of the 1967 MGB GT heater box we can tackle removing the heater from the engine compartment.

MGB GT engine compartment with heater box and beer can

There are five screws holding the heater box to the MG. Four of these are readily accessible but the one on the left can be a real nuisance. I managed to remove the left one with a pair of vice grips. One of the accessible screws was so rusty that I had to drill it out, much like all the peddle box screws. I found an aircraft extension drill did a great job to drill these out.

A few notes here, I’ve already disconnected the coolant hoses as can be seen in the photos. They were very hard and had to be cut off but they will be getting replaced anyway. Also remember to either unplug or cut the two wires to the heater motor. It won’t come out while attached, I tried!

The actual removal was quite simple. While I could wiggle the box it was well glued down with a 50 year old gasket. I slid a chisel under the lip and it came up easily. Next, lean the heater towards you a little and lift while rotating a little to the left. As soon as it’s free you can pull it towards you to pull the control cable through the firewall. Easy stuff and not as bad as many make it out to be. No blood, no cursing and only one beer.

Here’s our ugly heater box with the spring clips removed. At this point we can open it and see what type of disaster we have.

I have always heard about foam surrounding the matrix but in this case there is nothing. Was someone in here before or is this just lousy quality control? This matrix really doesn’t look bad and I’ll likely reuse it. A newer higher capacity matrix might come in the future if I end up using the GT in cool weather.

Here we can see where the heater box came from. While it took me perhaps an hour to get the heater out it sure will make painting the engine compartment easier and I’ll likely get better results. A few more tidbits to remove, warm weather and painting happens.

Looking down into the heater mounting area. Nothing too ugly here, just surface rust. The two roundish holes are where the tubes lead into the passenger area.