Bring the Heat

The heater doesn't work, which isn't surprising.  Time to dig in while I wait for other stuff to happen.

After sitting for so long, the cables for the heater valve and the air vent are both frozen.  The heater valve works - which is great.  Replacing the cable was trivial, and with a cleaned up control switch it works fine (though actually having heat will have to wait until the car runs again).

Unfortunately, replacing the cable for the air vent is not trivial.  You have to remove the box as a unit to get to the other end of the cable.  Getting the box out was definitely not fun - I doubt it had ever been removed, as evidenced by the fact it was practically glued in by the gaskets between the body and the box.  Getting the box in and out is a treat in itself - there is a specific maneuver to get the box out, by tipping it up and twisting to the left to get the part that pokes down into the cabin.  But it did come out.

It is clear that there's a reason why the cable didn't move.  It wasn't the cable; it was the box.  Since the MGB has a BIG HOLE in the body that lets air in (and water, too) this is prime to rust to pieces.  Take a look.

But once again, Our Lady of Disassembly came to my rescue.  The mechanism did work free after some penetrant and a good wire brushing.  All that crappy felt and the body seal turned to dust and goo as I removed it.

The inside isn't much better.

But cleaning makes a world of difference!

The heater flap cleaned up well with a lick of paint, and some 3/16" felt ($12 on Amazon).  It's got a nice sticky side that should keep it in place for a long time.  And since I don't ever expect this car to see rain again, it should last, well, forever.

Some touchup paint makes the box look good and ready for reinstallation.  It isn't perfect - bit I am not going for a show quality job on this car.  It looks about like it should.  I did not repaint the front of the box, but just did a little touchup.

I tested the motor and it's fine.  I didn't disassemble it, because it doesn't come apart easily.  I gave it a squirt of lube just in case.  I installed the cable and it's working great - now, it waits until I paint the car.  (Future episode...)