It just so happens that I've just completed the heater restoration on my '54 3100 "Recirculating" heater. My box only needed a good cleaning and painting. I didn't remove the shaft for the Defroster deflector, however, the fastner looked to me like a HomeDepot trip (hardware aisle). It's one of those press-on smooth shaft deals.
My interest in this post was the comment about the defroster hoses. A quick trip to the gararge to double check my rememberance and on my '54 the larger duct (2") goes to the drivers side and the smaller duct (1.75") on passenger side. I assumed it was a volume/distance thing. Anyhow, I'm in the process of ordering new duct hose, and came to realize "restoration" parts consist of a length of 2" duct and 2 collars (reducers) to 1.75". You get to cut the hose. I can get the 2" hose at NAPA @ $2/ft, 6ft lengths, but I'd have to find/makeshift a couple of collars. But it appears someone already has accomplished that. The kit in the catalogues is $12.95, seems like a simple solution to me.
