Another project on My 55 Chevy Bel Air restoration I’ve been wanting to do was the Deluxe heater control switch and levers. The majority of them were there but they were broke and rusted. o I pulled the controls out of the dash and started the disassembly of them. A wire brush, bench grinder and some WD-40 and we’re on our way.
I got it all taken apart except for once screw holding the chrome bezel on. That screw would not budge. I tried lubes, impact tools and eventually resorted to drilling the screw out. And let me tell you, that was not an easy task either! That had to be one of the stubbornest screws I have ever met (and the hardest). I drilled on it for over 30 minutes and used a half dozen drill bits. Finally, without damage, the bezel was off and the screw came out.
Now to clean and reassemble the unit. This is one of those times I’m glad I picked up something I didn’t need at the time. I’m referring to the box of 55 parts this guy said he was going to throw away if no one wanted them. It just so happened to have another deluxe heater assembly in it. Enough for me to piece together a whole working one for my car! Considering that rebuilt units like this go for $200-$300, I figured I made out pretty good.
