How do you remove the Squirrel Cage(fan) from the Heater Motor on a 66?

I removed the center nut, possibly, holding the fan but it won't budge. I don't want to pry on it until I know I am doing it right.

Also, is there a way to bench test the motor to see if it works?

Thanks :D

the nut is the only thing holding it in besides the rust that is holding in to the shaft. just gently pry up on the cage. it should come off. to bench test it just put a jumper wire from a 12 volt source and hold it to a ground. the motor should run on high

Great Thanks!!

12 volt source, like straight from my car battery?

Try holding the cage and gently tapping the bolt with a mallet or something, to 'break' the friction-fit of the bolt in the hole. Warning: do not do this with the assembly raised high off the shop floor! ;-) Sometimes it's not on as tight as it seems (good thing it was the old dead motor that I dropped)! A better method is to just loosen the center nut an 1/8" or so then tapping it with a mallet, that pops the bolt free but the nut keeps the motor from dropping right off the cage.

As far as testing, I was able to ground the mounting plate of my motor with a test lead to the negative terminal of the battery (or the chassis), and then running another test lead from +12v to the spade terminal on the heater motor - it should spin.

If you get a new motor installed and it still doesn't spin, check your heater motor 'blower resistor' and/or your switch/wiring/fuse. I found out that my 64's resistor was all broken to hell and had to replace it (mine's located on top of the heater box, behind the glove box - not sure where a 66's is, should be similar though).

mine's located on top of the heater box, behind the glove box - not sure where a 66's is, should be similar though).
same spot:beers:

thank you I got it off. Seems like the motor is shot, but not sure since there is only one tab at the motor, which I assume is power. Not sure where to ground it from.

thank you I got it off. Seems like the motor is shot, but not sure since there is only one tab at the motor, which I assume is power. Not sure where to ground it from.
the one spade is the power end. and any spot on the motor is a ground.

It's grounded thru the case and mounting surfaces via the mounting screws into the heater box itself. The single spade is the positive connection.

Voice of experience - If in doubt, replace it. It is not easily replaced once the front fenders are on the car. Damned near impossible to get to. Example -the GM chassis service manual says to unbolt the inner fender and pry it open with a piece of 2x4 to get to the heater motor. When those cars were new we couldn't believe we had to remove the fender to change a heater motor.

BTW - NAPA has them for half of the cost thru a resto house. They are actually not bad motors. They are capable of turning higher RPMs on the high setting than the old stock motors and put out a good amount of hot air. If you aren't doing a concours resto, use the NAPA motor.

Take a battery like the one in your car. Connect a lead from the battery + to the terminal on the motor. Then take the housing of the motor and touch it to the - terminal right on the battery. You dont need to have the squirell cage off the fan to do this, but if you have it on, just make sure to be prepaired as there is a good amount of torque there and can come out of your hands. Also, keep your hands away from the fan when it comes on.