Kick Panel Question

[Tire Guy]

My truck has had both interior kick panels removed and a carpet tacked up to cover the hole. How difficult is it to replace them? How are they attached to the cab, from the inside or outside under the fender? The part's dimension is much larger than the inside hole. Thanks for the advice.

[OrrieG]

They are metal screwed to the door jamb and cab side. Mine had been cut up for speakers, I replaced them with one made of 1/4" plywood in the same shape but with fiberglass speaker pods, ac outlet and courtesy light. Here is a picture of the panel and where it installed. I used push clips to avoid screws.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Yikes! That looks goood, Orrie. Now you've done it though, we need the details on the source for the vent, light, etc. if it's in your build thread can you point us to the post numbers?

[Tire Guy]

Originally Posted by OrrieG

They are metal screwed to the door jamb and cab side. Mine had been cut up for speakers, I replaced them with one made of 1/4" plywood in the same shape but with fiberglass speaker pods, ac outlet and courtesy light. Here is a picture of the panel and where it installed. I used push clips to avoid screws.

Looks great. However I am missing the vents on both sides too. So there is a large gap on each side. I will post pictures Thursday.
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[OrrieG]

Post 255 starts the kick panel fabrication. Post 889 and 905 deal with the vent and light.

The vent is from a 09 Mustang, F150 pickups use the same one. They come in paint finish (like mine) or full chrome. There are lots on Ebay. There is just enough room for a 2 inch flex hose to run from under the dash into the kick panel location.

The light is a 64 Olds Starfire sail panel light, Impala and Buicks has similar. I picked it up at a local swap meet.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by OrrieG

...The vent is from a 09 Mustang, F150 pickups use the same one....

You used FURD parts in our beloved Chevy truck?! I'm telling!

Does look great though. "I'm copying!"

[_Ogre]

if you don' have the vents water can get in your cab from the cowl vent
shave the cowl vent it keeps water from rusting your truck from the inside out
then you can also cover the kick area with anything you want

and for dan:

don't tell anyone, but truk has:
chrysler trunk, ford mustII front end, 03 ford mustang hydroboost, nissan remote brake reservoir, 07 ford fusion seats, dodge dakota power windows and a bunch of cheap off shore parts
pretty much covers the spectrum

[Tire Guy]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

if you don' have the vents water can get in your cab from the cowl vent
shave the cowl vent it keeps water from rusting your truck from the inside out
then you can also cover the kick area with anything you want

and for dan:

don't tell anyone, but truk has:
chrysler trunk, ford mustII front end, 03 ford mustang hydroboost, nissan remote brake reservoir, 07 ford fusion seats, dodge dakota power windows and a bunch of cheap off shore parts
pretty much covers the spectrum

Already happening. Can you post a picture?
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[Speedbumpauto]

Not sure what you're looking for but I used a fiberglass cowl vent from a vendor here to solve the water problem and used the vent area inside for the fuse panel on the DS and the needed space for the Vintage air unit on the pass side. My panels are aluminum and then upholstered but ideas, as shown, are almost endless.

[_Ogre]

speedbump???? where did you find that gem? that is sweet
post a link if you can



i did it the hard way, obviously. do it the speedbump way

[_Ogre]

i cut my kick vents out and put speakers in the holes

[OrrieG]

Speedbump, good idea on the fuse panel. I still like the air flow from the vents, figured it didn't rust out in 55 years so I will let the next guy worry about it 25 or so down the line....

[Tire Guy]

I was mistaken, the vents are in place, however, the levers to open and close the vents are no longer attached. Here is the picture. I see I can do all kinds of things to the kick plates. How do I control the vents?

[Tire Guy]

Related question:

This fall I am going to have installed a Vintage Air AC/Heat/Defrost system. Will they need the kick panel area to do the install. Do I need to keep that into account before I buy some replacement kick panels?

[Speedbumpauto]

If you have the stock firewall, the Vintage unit won't need that space like mine did. I set the firewall back 5" for the location I wanted for the big block so I absolutely had to use that space, even for the smallest VA unit. That's the reason I used the solid cowl vent and used the space on the other side. Plus, I couldn't find new doors/seals for the vents and IMO, sooner or later they leak and become noisy and I didn't need any hot AZ air competing with the AC unit.

[Tire Guy]

Originally Posted by Speedbumpauto

If you have the stock firewall, the Vintage unit won't need that space like mine did. I set the firewall back 5" for the location I wanted for the big block so I absolutely had to use that space, even for the smallest VA unit. That's the reason I used the solid cowl vent and used the space on the other side. Plus, I couldn't find new doors/seals for the vents and IMO, sooner or later they leak and become noisy and I didn't need any hot AZ air competing with the AC unit.

Makes sense. Thanks.

[_Ogre]

speedbump: do you have a link for the cowl vent cover?

[OrrieG]

Originally Posted by Tire Guy

Related question:

This fall I am going to have installed a Vintage Air AC/Heat/Defrost system. Will they need the kick panel area to do the install. Do I need to keep that into account before I buy some replacement kick panels?

VA Surefit systems do not go into the kick area.

[Russell Ashley]

I think you will be sorry if you eliminate the cowl vents. You can get all the parts you need to make them operational and it's not difficult to replace the seals on the doors. The VA unit doesn't have an outside air function and the vents provide good flow through ventilation for those times when you don't need the ac.

[Tire Guy]

Originally Posted by Russell Ashley

I think you will be sorry if you eliminate the cowl vents. You can get all the parts you need to make them operational and it's not difficult to replace the seals on the doors. The VA unit doesn't have an outside air function and the vents provide good flow through ventilation for those times when you don't need the ac.

I agree. I need to figure out how it all works. I can buy the cable but I am not sure how it all works. Everything has been removed.

Anybody have pictures or a diagram as to how the cable operates the vents?

You can see from the picture above that the vent is intact and I opened and closed to make sure they would.

[OrrieG]

I removed the stock cables a long time ago and just replaced them with wires at the grille. I will take a pic and post. My cables did not work when I got the truck in 76.

[_Ogre]

i like music better than fresh air

[Daze57]

tire guy

the ''push pull cables '' for the vents are pretty easy to hook up . i suggest you find a used set of cables. reason ? old cables are just better built and they already have the eye on the wire to hook to your vent . cable should run along firewall to vent you will see a hole that the cable goes thru and it hooks on to the vent rod . then you need a small tension fastner to put on top of the vent rod to holds cable eye in place ,
As far as replacing the vent seals - i recommend using an old tire tube as a template .reason? the ''new'' seals are in my opinion are crap and tear v v easily . if you take the vent door out - and there is a full section of the old seal left - use it as a template and make a while new one out of tire tube - much better ! also you will need to pry open the vent just a bit to fit the seal in then lightly tap it back together , if you still are not sure
pm me and i;ll do my best to help ya out ,
samsday57

[Speedbumpauto]

Ogre, That part came from No Limit Engineering, but I can't find it on their website anymore. You might call their tech dept. I posted the part number a couple of years ago on the "what did you do with your truck today" version 1 but I can't find that either. Someone still has to have the mold.

[_Ogre]

thanks speedbump. i'd probably do mine the same way as before, the nature of the ogre

i'll look to see if i still have my cables
if i do they're yours for shipping