Freeing '79 heater blower motor

[qposner]

Hello all,
Just wanted to introduce myself and say I look forward to interacting on this board. I had a 79 Spider from when I was 16-22. I am 30 now and just got it back. Therefore, I am going to be replacing a few things on it and had a question.

I am about to drain my radiator and remove the heater core in order to replace the blower motor. However, if someone can tell me how to attempt to free the motor w/o pulling the core, I would appreciate it.

On the other hand, my interior is out in order to replace it and I should probably have the radiator and heater core pressure tested. Thoughts?

Thanks,
Quinn

[Roadtrip]

Quinn - If the interior is out anyway, just pull the whole dashboard and then the entire heater box. The dash is only held on by four bolts and is really very easy to remove. That will also give you a chance to easily clean everything underneath and especially the electrical connections which are, no doubt, corroded. There are several existing threads on heater box refurbishment and on R&R'ing the dashboard.

Removing the bottom section of the heater box by itself is a very tight fit, and you won't be able to refasten the middle front spring clip. I think it's a lot easier just to remove the dash where you can clean and test everything on the bench.