Do you use your vents in kickpanels if you have a/c?

[72farmer]

I am installing a complete OldAir a/c and heater in my 67.My vents in my kick panels a missing the opening handle mechanism and they are just flopping around and the seal is deteriated and worn out.I am wondering if it would be worth the $100 it would take to replace them.Do you use yours?If not how did you block them off?

[72BLUZ]

i bought the block off panels with speakers in them. i got mine from lmc

[Musclerodz]

the factory a/c uses the passenger one with a vaccum pot that controls the recirculation portion through the cables

[coggonobrien]

what about aftermarket a/cs?

[gearys 5600]

I put a vintage air system in mine, and blocked my vents off.

[coggonobrien]

good deal, i live on gravel so the mroe i can seal up the cab the better

[Tom Vogel]

Originally Posted by gearys 5600

i put a vintage air system in mine, and blocked my vents off.

x-2

[57larry]

block off the vents

[travisfraughton]

I wasn't the one who installed the a/c heater system in mine, but it blocked off the vent on the right side only, but the left side still works and i use it in the summertime. I just gotta find a way to put a filter down there so i don't get blasted by leaves every time i open it.

[Sammy]

Wondering how you think it would be $100 to repair yours? I use mine for fresh air often when not on a gravel road. I wouldn't think 20 or $30 at the most for used replacement stuff from the parts board.

[ERIK D]

blocked off

[AusTx68]

Originally Posted by 72BLUZ

i bought the block off panels with speakers in them. i got mine from lmc

Hey do you have a link to the block off panels? I searched LMC and found the kick panels with speakers but not the block off panels.

[coggonobrien]

do you guys ever block them off at the source or just the doors inside the cab?

[ChevLoRay]

If you block them off, which seems to be the thing to do, you might want to make some holes in the bottom so that water doesn't accumulate and cause rust-out. I'd make 'em big enough to flush easily and use a screen on the back of the cowl air intake to keep out leaves, etc.

[Beelzeburb]

There are holes in that area already for water to drain out of. I personally am going to block off my leg vents and make a smooth cowl with no openings. That should keep any and all trash out of that area.

[coggonobrien]

if you smooth the cowl where does the hvac get its air from

[72BLUZ]

Originally Posted by AusTx68

Hey do you have a link to the block off panels? I searched LMC and found the kick panels with speakers but not the block off panels.

you could cut out some block off panels, as far as finding premade blockoffs. i am really not sure

[Beelzeburb]

Originally Posted by coggonobrien

if you smooth the cowl where does the hvac get its air from

The Vintage Air system I'm installing does not use fresh air from outside, it only recirculates.

[AirSpeed]

I rebuilt my vent doors for about $5, all you need is a couple pieces of thin rubber sheet, I bought some at the hardware store for about three dollars. I drilled out the rivits, cleaned the sheet metal up, cut the new rubber using what was left of the old rubber as a rough template and rivited them back together. It takes about 20 minutes per side and they are good as new.
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[ChevLoRay]

AirSpeed, you have hit on the difference between so many of the people in the repair industry today and what we had 40 years ago. It also fits in the concept of "making do", as my dearly-departed 95-yr old mother in law said. I had a pair of uncles, both mechanics, who were born before 1912. They were the kind of mechanics who fixed what didn't work and didn't replace the item unless there was absolutely no other choice. Heck, they'd get a used item and rebuild it before they'd replace it. I learned, during my freshman college days, that you can repair a radiator by pinching-off a damaged tube and silver-soldering the nub. I learned how to use a growler and check an armature and field windings on a starter. Generators were checked the same way. Alternators were in my future.

The way vehicles are built nowadays, the factory efficiency engineers are charged with finding ways to control costs. One way is to have a component that can be connected via a cable and is ready to go. Taking time to adjust it isn't what helps to control costs. Vacuum modules that open/close vents and doors are not new, but they're in hard-to-get-to places that only make sense while the vehicle is on the assembly line.

As long as we (ourselves) are content and flush-enough to buy replacement parts, and not figure out a way to do the job w/o an R&R (remove and replace), then we're going to be at the mercy of the aftermarket or collector market, when it comes to finding pieces.

[coggonobrien]

Originally Posted by Beelzeburb

The Vintage Air system I'm installing does not use fresh air from outside, it only recirculates.

gotcha, are all vintage systems that way?

[AirSpeed]

You got that right chevRoLay! I am surprised how many 20 year olds can't even change a tire these days! I never had a father so I learned how to fix everything at a young age, I don't mind taking things apart if I can fix it myself, I even built a foundry and learned how to cast aluminum so I could fix things myself, I recently fixed the coupling joint between the motor and trans in my washing machine, the manufacturer wanted $35+shipping for a repair kit, I made a mold of the part and cast a new one out of aluminum in about 30 minutes and it is good as new! Cost me about $1 worth of propane to melt down some scrap aluminum! Besides saving time and money it's a lot of fun and feels great knowing I was able to fix it myself! I still buy new parts but if I can fix or make them I will.
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