Bluemalibu Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 I need some schooling here guys... The one down-side that the Classic Auto Air A/C units have, is that they have no fresh-air mixing... therefore, I purchased manual kick-panel vents that came on non-A/C Chevelles. After removing the sheet-metal block-off panel from the driver's side, the inside looks to be boxed in. Is there some fresh-air access from above, like through the cowl area, or do I need to punch a vent hole through the under-fender firewall? Thanks! Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72-CLASSIC_RIDE Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Hey Doug. Not 100% on this but, I took a water hose and sprayed down into the cowl vents below windshield and ended up with a pretty good amount of water on passenger cabin floor. Isn't Astro Ventilation fresh air flowing into cabin? Or are you looking for a more forceful flow of fresh air? Again, the relationship of water into cabin area I assumed was because of asto ventilation. Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluemalibu Posted March 17, 2015 Author Share Posted March 17, 2015 Thanks Doug. That's exactly what I was wondering... I knew there had to be a source to the Astro/V, so I felt up inside the kick panel sheet-metal enclosure as far as I could reach, and it seems to lead into the cowl area. My '67 has the manual vent in the kick-panel, and it really blasts the cabin if your doing over thirty. I wanted to add that feature to the Monte. I believe I'll wait until the spouse is asleep and appropriate her hair-dryer, to see if a blast of air from the vent will exit the cowl. --- On a side note, have you had any work done by JB's there in Portland? My grill was re-chromed before I purchased the car, but the egg-crate area inside the chromed surround is bubbling up badly due to the oxidation of the pot-metal. I just purchased another '72 grill off of flea-bay that is nearly blemish-free in the egg-crate portion, but the chrome on it is original... still nice, but it's lost a lot of the dazzle that it had forty years ago. Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72-CLASSIC_RIDE Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 No, haven't had any experience with them. Not many outfits here in Portland that can handle large projects. I checked around and came up with only one outfit locally that could re chrome a 1st Gen rear bumper and that surprised me. Good idea to blow something thru the vent and see what happens. I can see having that additional ventilation handy at times. Your going to really confuse folks when they see A/C and the kick panel vents too! I spent a whole lot of time trying to polish the grit/oxidization off of the grill grates. I finally (from another members suggestion) used a razor blade and gently cleaned the residue off the chrome grate edges. It worked really well but also showing bubbles in spots. Regardless, was a really nice improvement and I am satisfied. All the best on your improvements. Looks like your putting a lot of energy into her. Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monte70car Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 You will get air from the cowl to that vent, when I changed my 70 over for air to non-air I removed that same plate and then was shocked to see a pool of water on the floor mat. On a true non-air car there is another hole in the cowl to have air come out the dash vents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluemalibu Posted March 18, 2015 Author Share Posted March 18, 2015 Thanks guys... yes indeed, each side of the cowl dumps over into the upright kick-panel ductwork. And now, a second question... my car is currently suspended on a lift, so I can't get access to the cowl from above, what purpose does the vacuum actuator serve that is just under the cowl grill on the passenger side? Is that for the dash fresh air source that you mentioned Robert? Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monte70car Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Doug I believe the vacuum pod in the cowl opens when the factory 4 season control panel is in vent I'm not 100% sure on that. I was trying to post a picture of the tubes for a non-air car but for some reason copy and paste does not work from my laptop for work. On my 70 I took that vacuum pod out since I changed over to a non-air system, my 72 still have that vacuum pod which needs to be removed since it doesn't have air or heat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluemalibu Posted March 18, 2015 Author Share Posted March 18, 2015 Perfect... thanks so much, Robert! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monte70car Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Doug as promised here is the picture of the 70 El Camino where the upper vent ties to again this is a factory non-air car. And here is a 71 Monte with factory a/c car which doesn't have the tubes coming from the cowl area like the El Camion I can say I've worked all of the first gen Monte 70-72 and each one has been different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72Ragtop Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 I put kick panel vents in when removed the O.E. AC...air flow is great. Also removed the Re-circulation flapper on the rite side cowl and plugged the unused vacuum hoses. I have a methoud to cut the kick panel butterfly valve, from the kick panel fascia so that both pieces mount separately. The butterfly valve should "heavy sealant" on it where it mounts into the air-hole or it will leak water in. and if you ever have to remove the kick panel, is a P.I.T.A. to remove as one big piece, especially on the drivers side. You cannot tell that the kick panel is two pieces and the vent grill fits as normal. If there is some way to attach a drawing that doesn't require a degree in computer gibberish, I'd be glad to provide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluemalibu Posted March 18, 2015 Author Share Posted March 18, 2015 Thanks so much, Robert... And 72R-T, that would be great ! What I was thinking of doing was to cut the vacuum bracket from off of the old vent, and cut the flap/chute off of the new panel. That way, the old butterfly flap would be mounted and sealed as original, and the new panel would lie right on top with a few new screws placed in-between the existing ones that mount the original piece. The new cable would then actuate the old vacuum flap. It makes me cringe to be slicing up two perfectly good pieces, but that's what car-crafting is all about. Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72Ragtop Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 I added "dig out kick panel drawing" to my S.T.D. list. I'll scan it and try and post it ASAP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stangeba Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Here are pics of my 71 NO A/C car vents. BTW, I replaced all 4 knobs and levers and 3 of 4 broke already. Normal aftermarket junk! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72Ragtop Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 This is my 4ht #$%& attempt...getting some &%$# "URL thingie-block" and site locks up...........Finally found the "Brouse thingie" (like Craig's List) buried in "Options"........"Add to post" @ bottom rite and "Attach this File" @ bottom left does nothing, #$%@. I give up. Give me a regular E-mail and I can "Click & Drag" attachment. @#$% ! 20150320052244003.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72Ragtop Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 Well I'll be....looks like it worked Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluemalibu Posted March 21, 2015 Author Share Posted March 21, 2015 Great job 72R-t... I ended up doing something very similar; I cut out the full circumference of the vent in a puzzle-like pattern, making it a 2-piece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72jrfan88 Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 Here are pics of my 71 NO A/C car vents. BTW, I replaced all 4 knobs and levers and 3 of 4 broke already. Normal aftermarket junk! I also have a factory non ac car.every spring I lubricate the vent cable. Less noisy and less resistance. The cable seems so thin on our cars!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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