ImBatman

Purest may want to kill me for considering this. :smash: but I pulled the A\C box of of the firewall this morning since I am definately deleting the A\C. It was a good thing I did remove it to. You wouldn't believe the leaves twigs bugs and other crap that came out of the fan area. :eek: Anyway I was looking at what needed to be done to change to a non A\C car and I got to thinking why do I need the heat anyway? The car is a convertible it will only see good weather driving. It was not #'s matching when I bought it so resale is not a concearn. I switched from a sb to a bb so the interior temps will probably go up anyway. I live in a fair weather climate so heat is not a must. I figured if I did ever want to put air back in I would just go with a vintage air unit.

What do you guys think?
Has anyone done this?
What did you use to cover the hole in the firewall?
Did you remove the under dash ducts and box as well?
What did you do to eliminate the hole in the shift plate? Aluminum cover?
Any other comments?

79VetteMike

I agree, but I am keeping the heat when I want to cruise when it's cool outside. I like taking the tops off even when it's 50 degrees out, but you'll easily freeze your nuts off if you don't at least have some heat blowing on your feet .

Richard Cooper

I to removed all my AC stuff. I left the heat alone because I never go out in the bad weather, but I once got caught in the rain and needed the defroster. None of my AC worked when I got the car and it cost to much to fix so I just removed everything and it made it a lot easier to work on. I left the box in place but removed the compressor, dryer, hoses and all brackets on my 81.

Paul Borowski

I answered this topic once :lol: , unfortunately due to working 16 & 12hr shifts the last three weeks I have'nt progressed any farther than my last answer :lolg: Pics forth coming(yeah right :_dupe: )

ImBatman

Paul,

you didn't get rid of your heat altogether though did you? I knew that you were eliminating your a\c nd going back with a non a\c firewall box. What mademe star thinking about eliminating the heat as well is how clean everything looks without it. :yesnod:

Also does anyone know if the old AC Cobra cars had heat in them? This is another thing that got me thinking about deleting all the climate stuff.

Thanks
Wade

Jughead

I didn't do it but Bubba before me did. No AC and no heat. No heat isn't so bad unless we're out driving below 30deg. That doesn't happen very often.

killervette666

You can't get rid of the heater box completly w/o tearing apart the dash, i myself have removed the A/C and the A/C box on the outside of the firewall, but its nearly impossible to get the whole heaterbox out w/o tearing apart half the car. :chevy

ImBatman

Aparently you aren't familiar with project Black Rat :yesnod: Everything is already torn apart. I am entering the reassembly phase so I need to make the tough decisions. At this point I can go in about any direction. :yesnod: Thanks for the reply though. :thumbs:

Wade

ImBatman

Wanted to see if I could get anymore specific answers to the questions.

Thanks
Wade

467-Ratman

BlackRat, I did the same thing to my car 2 years ago when we did the conversion to the BB. I wanted to make the engine compartment cleaner looking and also save on the weight. I had a aluminum plate made to fit over the hole and sealed it against moisture and dirt. I did not remove anything on the inside of the car. Living in Michigan it could be a problem w\o heat but I have not had any problems and don't plan on driving in cold weather. I did save all of the parts so if someday I sell the car it could be put back together.

Fevre

Only problem I see is that once in a blue moon when you need to defog the windsheild.

no_radio

You can remove the AC box and entire heating assembly without tearing apart the dash, you just have to remove the passenger side lower dash panel, no big deal.
I removed both the AC and heat from my '74 last year. I only drive it in good weather, and in Houston the heater is rarely needed. I agree that the defroster would be useful if you ever drive in the rain, but I try to avoid that.
I made a plate out of aluminum sheet to block off the opening, it looks pretty good, don't have any pictures though. I left the control unit on the console just to fill the space, and so the interior appears totally stock.
I also saved all the parts "just in case"

GrandSportC3

I removed my heater assembly.. Didn't need it anyway here in Florida... :D

mox 77

I also have removed the AC, but reinstalled the big box. If anyone has photos of a fabricated (aluminum?) replacement plate, I, and I'm sure others,
would be appreciative. When the box was off, I spent much time, and beer, trying to figure how to construct such a plate but, because the firewall is not flat at that area, gave up.
Thanks

mainelaker

Has anyone removed the AC box & kept their heat? I've been considering doing this myself, who needs AC with the tops off :D


[Modified by mainelaker, 7:50 PM 2/23/2004]

no_radio

Maybe the box is different on a '77, but for my '74 I just cut a rectangle plate of sheet aluminum, bolted it in place using factory mounting holes, and sealed the edges from the inside with caulk, no problems. The thing to remember with an AC car is that the hole where the fan was mounted does not connect to your interior, that was the suction side of the fan, therefore you don't need to block it off. I'll try to get a picture posted, but this was a really quick and easy block off on my '74.
Jeff

ImBatman

I just can't decide. :confused: I am leaning towards taking it out all together and then fabricating a plate to cover the hole like others have suggested. The only thing that makes me think twice is the defrost thing. But still not sure. If any of you can post some pics of a fabricated plate I would really appreciate it.

Thanks
Wade :cheers:

Paul Borowski

Wade, no, I'm making mine like a factory "correct" non-A/C car with all the correct non-A/C parts. I pretty much drive my '75 year round as long as the roads are dry & salt-free. :yesnod: Even when it's under 30* :lol:

Scooter70

See my sig!! There's a big hole where the heater box/core used to be. I have a template for a sheet of aluminum that I'm going to cut out and bolt over the hole. It'll give me a nice flat spot to mount my PCM, fuses, and relays for the LS1. I want to see if I can get that stuff mounted on the inside, it just depends on if the wiring harness is long enough. I removed everything from under the dash, but I'm going to leave the controls intact, so that the interior looks original. I'm not a big fan of customizing interiors with metal plates and the like.

Edit: Woo hoo... post #900.... (I don't post 20x a day, so that's why it's taken 2+ years to get this many)


[Modified by Scooter70, 9:43 PM 2/24/2004]