Original A/C Vents with Aftermarket A/C System Solution

[bill440rt]

Some members on here mentioned they were wondering how to get original A/C vents to work with their aftermarket A/C systems. I'm finishing this up now, the solution for the side vents turned out to be extremely simple.

I have a Classic Auto Air system in my '69, an original non-A/C car. I found a set of vents, & I also had some original A/C underdash ductwork. Turns out, the original ducts won't really work with the CAA heater/AC box, they are a different diameter & they also have a rectangular end that fits in the back of the vent. You don't really need to scour for original ductwork, they are not needed.

I removed the CAA aftermarket vents from under the dash, & compared them to a set of original side vents. The CAA vents are nearly the same in size as the backside of the original vents. They just needed a little filing to make them just a bit smaller around the edges to get them to fit.
I then disassembled the CAA vents, & drilled out the vane assembly. They now just become "adapters" for the CAA hoses. I also removed the flapper inside the original vent, you no longer need them. The original vents I found were missing knobs and a flapper out of one, so they were good donor candidates. There's a little metal stop tab inside the original vents that also must be ground flush.
The holes in the CAA vents now become the mount holes to attach them inside the original vents, using the small holes that the flapper valve came out of.
I then painted them with SEM Trim Black, & "dry-sprayed" the last few coats to replicate the textured finish they are supposed to have.

[bill440rt]

I attached the old CAA vents, now adapters, inside the original vents using small 6/32" screws and nuts. A small bead of silicone was applied to fill any small gaps.
I cut the holes in the dash already for these original vents. All that is left is to install them & press on the CAA hoses on the backside. Done. Couldn't have been easier.

The center dash vent was done similarly using the backside of the vent adapter that comes in the CAA kit. An original center vent was screwed to it, & just needed some adhesive backed foam to fill in the gaps (found at the hardware store for house windows). Similar to the seals in the heater box, only smaller. The CAA vents were then reconnected.

[b5blue]

Priceless Bill! Thanks, been wondering what I was in for later. 

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Nice work bud!  Any pics installed?

[bill440rt]

Complete piece o' cake, Neal! 
I had everything on hand prior to this just in case & was like, Oh sh*t what am I in for? But once I saw how similar the vent boxes were in size it turned out to be a very simple job after all. It would have been much harder to adapt the original style hoses in.

Nice work bud!  Any pics installed?

I'm letting the silicone dry overnight. Hoping to get them installed either tomorrow or over the weekend. Once they're in, I'll post some pics!! The center vent turned out great!
Although the lower vents they give you in the kit are nice, it is so much better looking with the stock in-dash vents. 

[bill440rt]

OK, got the vents in. Things reassembled smoothly. The CAA tubes reattached to the backside of the original vents just fine. This is an easy solution for anyone installing these in a 2nd gen who doesn't want to use the underdash vents provided in the kit.

[BananaDan]

Looks good!   

[Rolling_Thunder]

doing the same exact thing with my 68 - looks great!

[Iron Chef]

That's a beautiful job.  I'm doing exactly that with my '71, except mine was a non-A/C car, so I've purchased the factory dash plate and duct work.  Mine is also a little more involved as I also had to buy a dash frame with the cutout for the drivers side vent. 

[twodko]

Very nicely done. You da man!

[tylerk]

I have a factory A/C car, but this looks like the way to go to me. What would you guys do? I don't plan on ever getting rid of it, but at the same time don't want to devalue what I have, if keeping my old box, etc, would hurt it. Numbers matching R/T, if the block makes it through testing. Has a crack down the valley.

[tan top]

  .....clever stuff    .nice work 

[bill440rt]

Thanks all! I am so looking forward to spring to test out the A/C with it blowing from the right spot: out of the dash!!

I have a factory A/C car, but this looks like the way to go to me. What would you guys do? I don't plan on ever getting rid of it, but at the same time don't want to devalue what I have, if keeping my old box, etc, would hurt it. Numbers matching R/T, if the block makes it through testing. Has a crack down the valley.

Ultimately it's your car, but I would think most would agree that if you're doing a 100% stock resto, then it would be advisable to keep the A/C system stock. If it's a modified car, then have at it.
There's nothing stock on my '69 and no numbers match, so I don't mind modifying it one bit.

[lasvegas69charg]

That looks good.  Btw, what is on your door panels(black rectangle with charger on it)?  Speaker grill?

[1969chargerrtse]

What's the system look like under the hood?  Is it invasive?

[bill440rt]

That looks good.  Btw, what is on your door panels(black rectangle with charger on it)?  Speaker grill?

Yes, they are speaker grilles. Close up pics are here on pg.6 in this thread:
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,64641.125.html

What's the system look like under the hood?  Is it invasive?

The system uses a Sanden compressor. CAA offers kits for both factory equipped and non-A/C cars.

http://www.classicautoair.com/

My car did not originally have A/C. You need to drill two holes in the firewall, and a few for the support bracket for the A/C-heater box.
Here is a thread from my car showing the heater box install:
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,43059.0.html

The car is modified, underhood is not stock.

[lasvegas69charg]

bill440rt-What size speaker is that in the door?  How did you make those speaker grills?  That looks so nice.  How long did it take you to complete the charger project?

[bill440rt]

The door speakers are 6" Alpine units with crossovers & tweeters in the A-pillars. The very bottom of the square opening in the door frame had to be rounded a bit to clear the speaker chassis.
I can't take credit for making the grilles, they were made by the audio installer but I told him what I wanted & how I wanted it to look.

They are basically black mesh metal speaker grille material, and a reverse stencil was made of the Charger script & painted silver. The frame is cut from brushed stainless steel.

[lasvegas69charg]

Do you have the pic of the tweeter install in the a-pillar?  What size did you install in the rear?  Do you have a amp and aftermarket headunit?

Also, your car is very detailed, how long did it take to complete?

[bill440rt]

You can see the tweeter in the pillar in the photo just a few posts up.

Here's a link to a thread on the build of the whole car, stereo install starts on pg4:
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,64641.75.html

Also, correction, the speakers in the doors are 6-1/2".
6x9's in the package tray, 2 10" subs in the trunk, 2 Alpine amps, and a Secret Audio head unit controls the whole thing.
Lots of links to "how-to" threads on the first page.

Car took about 4 years with me working on it as time allowed.

[green69rt]

Sorry about resurrecting this old thread but I have a question.  I have a non-AC dash.  I want to add A/C and put the A/C vents in the stock position.  Cutting holes in the dash to fit the left and right vents looks fairly easy and the hole is already there for the center vent.  Any other problems to watch out for?  For example, I can see the the center dash pad is different so I'll have to get one. Is there any problem with using non-A/C pads  that butt up against the side vents?   And thanks to bill440rt for showing that this is possible.

[M5Ivan]

I've recently completed my Classic Auto Air install on my factory A/C car. I've only run the A/C with fan on the lowest setting (cold enough for me so far) and have noticed that the majority of the airflow comes out the center vent instead of the side vents. I wonder if leaving the side vents out would even make much of difference (?) Just a thought....

[bill440rt]

Other than the center pad the other surrounding pads are the same. You just need to cut the holes in the dash frame for the side vents.
In hot weather with the fan on higher speed settings the side vents do help.

[green69rt]

Other than the center pad the other surrounding pads are the same. You just need to cut the holes in the dash frame for the side vents.
In hot weather with the fan on higher speed settings the side vents do help.

Thanks, I have an old rusted up frame that I'm cutting up, for the side vents, so I can get a template for my good frame.  If I screw up the old one I won't be in trouble.