Flow-Through Ventilation Question

[EScanlon]

...snip...that the picture was of a car under restoration and was missing a metal support. If this metal support is a piece of sheet metal extending back to the expansion tank, then it all makes sense.

My 1972 had, presumably, dealer-installed air conditioning. I'm not sure why they would block off the rear vents with that option. Generally you'll only be using recirculate when getting into a hot car before switching over to fresh air. And then there's winter.

...snip...

Seriously. You wouldn't believe how the PO had the ventilation controls hooked up.

Chris

The piece of sheet metal is just as you described it:

On the interior sheet metal and directly behind the PLASTIC PANEL is a painted square maybe six inches on the side with an X-shape stamped into it.

(edit mine)

That's what is missing from the picture Chris posted and it would hide that "V" cup he makes reference to, which might explain why it did not look familiar to you.

I only have AC in my DD and rarely have the need for it here in the PacNW and haven't had it in any other vehicle ever, so I'll admit to being a rank amateur regarding it's use. So, just as a point of discussion, when the car is totally hot what I do is first open the windows, run the AC with the Fresh Air Vent OPEN to vent all the hot air, then when it's exhausted the hot air out of the car and the vents, then it's close the windows first, and once the temperature begins to change, THEN I put it on re-circulate. You mention a different procedure, can you elaborate/explain?

Also as far as the ventilation controls, there are only 3 levers and 4 cables/wires, so I'm curious as to what the IPO did that was so bad if only to be able to help others.

FWIW

E

Edited May 9, 2011 by EScanlon

[Jetaway]

The piece of sheet metal is just as you described it:

(edit mine)

That's what is missing from the picture Chris posted and it would hide that "V" cup he makes reference to, which might explain why it did not look familiar to you.

I only have AC in my DD and rarely have the need for it here in the PacNW and haven't had it in any other vehicle ever, so I'll admit to being a rank amateur regarding it's use. So, just as a point of discussion, when the car is totally hot what I do is first open the windows, run the AC with the Fresh Air Vent OPEN to vent all the hot air, then when it's exhausted the hot air out of the car and the vents, then it's close the windows first, and once the temperature begins to change, THEN I put it on re-circulate. You mention a different procedure, can you elaborate/explain?

E

Yeah, that's what I was talking about. It's just some people never open the window, maybe for allergies, maybe for dust, maybe on general principle, I don't know. In my A/C'ed car, I do as you do. Open the windows until the super-heated air is blown out, then roll them up, and if it is summer daytime heat (90s and up) I use recirculate for a few minutes before going to fresh air.

QUOTE=EScanlon;363473]

Also as far as the ventilation controls, there are only 3 levers and 4 cables/wires, so I'm curious as to what the IPO did that was so bad if only to be able to help others.

FWIW

E

Making me relive the horror, the horror, eh? AWWWWGGGGGHHHh

Alright, better now.

I don't remember which of the levers has two cables, but as I remember:

The temperature control was hooked up correctly.

Somehow the PO got the floor vent/ defrost lever (the bottom one) hooked up to the Fresh Air / Heat flap (or the reverse). As a result: 1) The flap controlled by the Vent/Heat lever that determines whether fresh air is forced through the heater core only closed 80% -- 90% of the way. Since the core offers a lot more resistance to the passage of air than open ducts, only a tiny bit of hot air would come out the floor vents (or defroster outlets). Which was quickly overwhelmed by the far greater quantity of unheated outside air pushed through the fresh air vents on the dash and; 2) The floor / defrost controller would only completely seal off one or the other (can't remember which) and would only divert some (half? Hard to tell) of the heated air to the the selected vent.

Relatedly, the foam that helped to seal off the fresh air vents and force the incoming air through the heater core had crumbled to dust over the years. It was truly a pain, but armed with a "lost part picker upper" (I'm sure they have another name -- its a long, flexible tube with a claw at one end to pick up errant parts), a blade, and an OTC medication for the resulting back pain, I stuck pieces of one sticky side household air sealing foam to replace the crumbling foam in the airbox. Made quite a positive difference in both the volume and temperature of air delivered to the floor / defrost vents.

Chris

[EScanlon]

Yikes, that had to be a bit creative to swap the cables that way. They're pretty much sized to fit SPECIFICALLY to their function.

Good job on the heater plenum. Done properly you'll find that you usually only use the first third or so of the "heat" portion, or at least that's been my experience.

E

[Jetaway]

Yikes, that had to be a bit creative to swap the cables that way. They're pretty much sized to fit SPECIFICALLY to their function.

E

As a PO in-training (PO in-waiting? a pre-PO?) I'm sure some future owner will be left scratching her or his head and thinking: "What the heck was the PO thinking?"

Good job on the heater plenum. Done properly you'll find that you usually only use the first third or so of the "heat" portion, or at least that's been my experience.

E

Well, at least for us fortunate ones who live where 'bitter cold' means we may have to scrape a bit of frost off a window in the morning.

Chris

[Richard McDonel]

Fantastic forum.  Seven and a half years after the initial post, this is exactly the info I was looking for. today.  Thanks all.  

With respect to EScanlon's comments (May 6) on speaker-like vent holes in the interior plastic panel, I can't  say for sure what my '71 Series 2 had originally, but the Motorsport Auto panels that are sold as covering all things '70 through '73 do not have any holes aside from the lower-elevation speaker location.   Does anyone have a photo of what the original quarter panels are supposed to look for so I can take a try at replicating them?