cowl vents

[jedomfl]

Hello everyone,

Can anyone confirm if the cowl on a factory a/c car has one or two openings in the cowl? In other words should a factory a/c car come with a fresh air vent on the driver side?

 

[RacerX]

71-73 factory equipped a/c car only has one hole in the cowl, passenger side above the a/c airbox.

nothing on the driver side. If it has a fresh air vent on the left side, it's not a factory a/c car.

 

[jedomfl]

71-73 factory equipped a/c car only has one hole in the cowl, passenger side above the a/c airbox.

nothing on the driver side. If it has a fresh air vent on the left side, it's not a factory a/c car.

I replaced the cowl several years ago and am just starting to assemble the car. I feel better now about capping it and moving on since it did have ac originally and is going back in.

Thanks!

 

[Jeff73Mach1]

I capped mine yesterday. Sure frees up some space under the dash to get rid of that vent. (Converted to air a few years ago)

Used a generous bead of gutter sealer around it.

I made the plate out of a piece of aluminum, that was a stop sign 30+ years ago, with a radial arm saw, a vice, a flap wheel on a grinder and a unibit. in about 10 minutes (and remember I am a lawyer by profession) so please don't laugh too much.

 

[jedomfl]

I capped mine yesterday. Sure frees up some space under the dash to get rid of that vent. (Converted to air a few years ago)

Used a generous bead of gutter sealer around it.

I made the plate out of a piece of aluminum, that was a stop sign 30+ years ago, with a radial arm saw, a vice, a flap wheel on a grinder and a unibit. in about 10 minutes (and remember I am a lawyer by profession) so please don't laugh too much.

Hi Jeff, I say quite the law firm and work on mustangs full time. Nice work. Did you have to add any brackets to mount the ac and was it factory air or one of the new complete systems?

Jesse

 

[Jeff73Mach1]

I used a Classic Auto Air system. There is one small opening you cut into the firewall. Not a big deal. I think it is a better value than trying to piece together an old style system, as all parts are sized for modern refrigerants and it cools great.

Vintage Air (Old Air Products) sells a similar system that I believe requires no cutting and is a bit less expensive.

I am happy with mine, but could tell you a few minor issues that the install instructions miss. Nothing major, but they are a little vague in a couple of spots.

Compressors, lines and coils and condensors really do add up in cost. If you are doing a Concours restoration, then by all means go with the correct parts for dealer add on air, but the modern Sanden compressors use less horsepower. tolerate higher RPM's and are potimized for modern refrigerants (and they weigh a lot less too!)

As to quitting the job - no thanks, If I worked on cars it would be work. Besides, my job affords me the time and the means to do what I feel like and farm out the other stuff. I do enough to not feel like a poser and farm out enough not to get bogged down in always working on my car., though the balance isn't always just right. Thanks for the complement though.