'69 Charger A/C to Non A/C conversion

[geffen928]

Evening Gents.....I've just returned from the 24th Chrysler Power Show in Indianapolis.  It was awesome!!  After a winter of not working on the car, the show has got me excited about working on her soon.  My plan is to do a 572 Hemi conversion.  My car was originally an A/C car.  We all know that's not gonna work with the Hemi.  My question is regarding the heater box.  Several vendors had the heater only underdash box.   Is it as simple as bolting it to the firewall in place of the A/C box??  Do most people just weld up the extra openings in the firewall or would it be better to get a replacement Non-A/C firewall from AMD and graft it in place?  How about dash controls.  Who knows of a good source for those??  I know, lots of questions.  But I know this forum has the answers.

Best,

Geffen

[cdr]

A/C & Hemi will work, 

[geffen928]

It will work, but It's not what I want to do.

[BLK 68 R/T]

If your wondering if the standard heater box assembly will just bolt in place of an original a/c one, no, it won't. Not without drilling some holes and plugging some others. Controls are different as well.

[WHITE AND RED 69]

The non a/c box won't work with your center and side dash vents either. You can always just keep the stock box in there and run the heater only. Just be sure to cap off the a/c ports.

[70 sublime]

The non a/c box won't work with your center and side dash vents either. You can always just keep the stock box in there and run the heater only. Just be sure to cap off the a/c ports.

Will the fan blower motor that sticks through the firewall clear a Hemi motor when installed in the car ??

[Nacho-RT74]

who says it doesn't work? LOL

[Bronzedodge]

Will the fan blower motor that sticks through the firewall clear a Hemi motor when installed in the car ??

The A/C and Hemi exclusion has more to do with the compressor and air cleaner interference than the firewall by the A/C type fan.  It is close, but it will clear.

[geffen928]

I've noticed that the fan on a heat only car does not enter the engine compartment thru the firewall.  Also,  the vendor at the show was sure that the heater controls were a left to right slide lever.  My A/C car has 5 slides that move toward the dash.  Is that the difference between the controls on a A/C vs Non-A/C car.  Lastly,  How are the dash vents different??  As always......Pictures are good.

Geffen

[green69rt]

I've noticed that the fan on a heat only car does not enter the engine compartment thru the firewall.  Also,  the vendor at the show was sure that the heater controls were a left to right slide lever.  My A/C car has 5 slides that move toward the dash.  Is that the difference between the controls on a A/C vs Non-A/C car.  Lastly,  How are the dash vents different??  As always......Pictures are good.

Geffen

The dash vents shouldn't mean much.  The center opening is just a cutout in the dash metal and a non-AC dash pad will cover it with no problem, trouble is finding a non-AC pad.  The side vents on a Non-ac car don't exist and there is a trim plate that dresses the area up.  You could even leave the dash vents in till you have time and money to fix them.  Just remove all the duct work.  The controls would have to be replaced because they are different. As mentioned, the firewall is the biggest change, but again, just screw down a metal plate over the holes you don't use and fix them later if you don't have time to fix them now..

Now you have to find a non-AC heater box, get the AC unit out and put the non-AC one in.  But that's another project.

Below is a pic of the center vent opening.  This is on my non-AC dash.  It's on all our cars.  Just covered up on a non-AC car.

[geffen928]

Thanks for the picture.  I've got the car down to just a shell.  The interior, steering column, heater-A/C box, all duct work are out of the car.  Just a bare firewall on both the interior and engine compartment sides.   Question....If there are no center or end vents on a non-A/C car....How does the vent air come into the car??  How about a picture of the controls of a non-A/C car.   Also, A picture of the non-A/C ducting would be great as well.  Thanks to those that have answered so far....This is a great forum.

Geffen

[BLK 68 R/T]

There is no non a/c ducting to speak of. Two "boxes" mount on each side under the cowl and vent outside air in via push/pull cables mounted to the dash frame. Heater controls are super simple, same setup as a/c just with less, meaning - the slider across is off/heat/def. left slider is hot/cold. Right slider is fan control.

[green69rt]

There is no non a/c ducting to speak of. Two "boxes" mount on each side under the cowl and vent outside air in via push/pull cables mounted to the dash frame. Heater controls are super simple, same setup as a/c just with less, meaning - the slider across is off/heat/def. left slider is hot/cold. Right slider is fan control.

Here is a thread on a non-AC heater box with a lot of pictures,  As mentioned there is no duct under the dash except for the defrost vents in the top of the dash.  The thread also shows one of the outside air vents for fresh air.  This thread should answer a lot of your questions.

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,59526.0.html

[VegasCharger]

Hello and Welcome! 

Is your Charger a 68/69/70? Your A/C control should have 7 slider controls that move towards the dash and back.

Anyway I do have a really nice '68 NON A/C heater control. 1969/70 is different. But a '68 control would work on a 69/70 heater box but not correct appearance.

I also have a non A/C firewall if you're considering grafting.

[green69rt]

Thanks for the picture.  I've got the car down to just a shell.  The interior, steering column, heater-A/C box, all duct work are out of the car.  Just a bare firewall on both the interior and engine compartment sides.   Question....If there are no center or end vents on a non-A/C car....How does the vent air come into the car??  How about a picture of the controls of a non-A/C car.   Also, A picture of the non-A/C ducting would be great as well.  Thanks to those that have answered so far....This is a great forum.

Geffen

I forgot to say, SAVE THAT AC CENTER DASH PAD!  Those things are not reproduced and don't come up for sale often.  Most guys are converting to AC, not deleting it, so that thing is worth some coin!

[WHITE AND RED 69]

Rather than go through all the trouble of sourcing a standard heater box and assorted dash parts, I'd just weld up the holes in the firewall and get a Vintage Air unit and plug the a/c connections. For $800 you get the box, vent adapters, controls, wiring, ducting, and a firewall block off plate. This way you can use the vents already in the car and have a clean firewall. And if one day you decide to add a/c later on you'll be all set minus the engine bay parts.

[gtx6970]

Yes a hemi valve cover will clear the heater blower motor.

It it were me, and I wanted to delete the AC stuff.
I would just drill the non ac box mounting points and use it. Make a plate to cover the AC blower motor and water valve holes  in the firewall.