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Is anyone reproducing the Cardboard Heater Plenium Chamber? this the cardboard thingy under the dash the distributes the heated air.

The one in my Clipper is dry rotted. I guess if I cant find one, perhaps I can make a new one using some of the foil backed cardboard ducting.

There was a fellow in SF area that made glovebox repros and I think he also did the heater if requested. Used to advertise in Hemmings but don't know if still does. Is yours gone so far that it couldn't be used as a pattern or as a mold for fiberglass.

Fiberglass! Perfect idea. My Plenium is pretty fragile, but I think I could tape it back together enough to hold it's shape to apply the fiberglass mats and resin. I also have 3/4 quart of resin and a bunch of mat left over from another project. So that might be perfect. It might end up a tad bit larger in size then the card board one, but for sure will be stronger! and moisture resistant.

That fellow would be Ron Carpenter: Carpenter's Classic Cars, 925-933-1486 tel, 925-939-6904 fax, rcarp1940@aol.com e-mail, 20 Los Ranchitos, Alamo, CA 94507. I hope he can help. John

Thanks for the info. I will drop him an email right now and report back.

You can also try David Moe at Packard Seattle Company. 425-334-7754 or dmoeenterprises@cs.com

I will give David an email also. I wasnt aware that he was making those. I didnt see any at his booth in Feb at the PI Meet.

I heard back from Ron Carpenter, he only makes the Glove Box liner. I will try David.

If you really want to be a "hero" you could make a mold off your cardboard plenum and make new fibreglass replicas.

It's not that hard. You would have to take the plenum out, "restore" it to like new shape even using tape, plaster, plasticene or whatever so long as it has the right shape and appearance. Then, cover it with hydrocal plaster reinforced with burlap bags - this is about the cheapest way to make a mold.

Carefully take out the old plenum, now you have a mold that can be used to make all the plenums you want. Use mold release agent (kitchen pan spray will do) and don't knock it about, and you should be able to make dozens of plenums before it wears out.

Reply from David Moe:

"Kevin. We do not make new ones but have good used ones available. They are $90 each plus shipping. David Moe"

I dont really want to spend $90 on used card board, but it's nice to know the option is available is nothing else works out.

I need to get the entire box out from under the dash, and then once I so I will figure out the best plan of attack. The cheap route for me would be to tape back together from the inside, and the coat the exterior with fiberglass resin and mat as suggested. I already have the fiberglass resin and mats, so no added expense, and I should be able to do all of that in a couple of hours. The only down side is that it's exterior size will grow a bit, and I would have to see if that could cause fitment issues.

The other thing would be to pull all the staples out of it, and then unfold it, and use that as a template to make a new cardboard one. I was thinking of using that thin, foilbacked cardboard they use for some house-hold heater ducts. I will no more once I can get the entire thing out from under the dash.