Charger Center A/C Dash Vent Resto How-To

[bill440rt]

Seems these little projects never end. I decided to do a little something with my dash on my '69, and want to get rid of the aftermarket under-dash vents and put the stock ones in the dash. I got an A/C center dash pad from a great friend     , and also found a center vent locally. However the vent was not in the greatest of shape & required a bit of repair.

So, I'm writing another little how-to thread here, on how to restore these things quite simply. Luckily, all the vanes were intact. There is a little metal strip that ties them together so they move in unison. They were attached to the vanes originally by little plastic posts on the vanes that are melted or swedged over. Over time, from moving these vanes side to side the swedges wear out, and these vents break. On one side the little metal strip was completely missing, and on the other several of the swedges had broken so it only connected to two of them. Also, one of the mounting tabs was missing.

The repair requires some patience, and if you have some model building skills that is also helpful. Keep some Jim Beam, Jack, wine, or whatever elixir of your preference handy, you'll need it to calm your nerves since this is a fairly tedious job.
The vents are held in place by little pins in the center, and little "spring" type clips and a roll pin on the outer pivots. To disassemble just carefully drive out the roll pins and remove the vents.
Here are some before photos of what I had to start with. You can see one of the metal strips is missing. Also shown is the little spring clip.

[bill440rt]

Here are some more photos of the vanes and the missing metal strip. The vanes are held in place by another long spring-type clip. Just push the vane upward to release tension, and it will pull out. They are fragile, so be careful.

I made a replacement metal strip out of some scrap steel. I repainted both of them black.
Here's where it gets really tedious. I broke out some old modeling tools, and found a teeny jewelers drill set. Using a tiny drill bit, I drilled into the remaining posts. I made replacement pins that fit inside the holes. You can use tiny tack nails for this, or sewing straight pins. I cut the heads off the tack nails leaving just a small post. These went thru the metal strips, and into the drilled holes in the vanes. A tiny drop of 60-second epoxy held them in place, and was strong enough. The trick was only to get the glue in the hole, and not on the metal strip so it would still allow it to pivot from side to side.

Here are some photos, and of a set of repaired vanes put together. I did this for both sides. 

[bill440rt]

Next I tackled the broken tab. The area was first scuffed up with sandpaper. Masking tape was applied as a backing for support for the plastic repair material. I used a plastic repair kit from SEM. I also used a thin metal washer, the same size as the other tabs. This washer became part of the repair, and added strength to the the new mount tab. I won't be seen when installed.

Once dried, it was sanded smooth and a new hole drilled.

[bill440rt]

I then masked the vents and re-sprayed the chrome using Dupli-Color chrome spray paint (doing this on a budget here), and reassembled the vent.
Here it is put back together, and mounted in the A/C dash pad. Total "work" time was about 4 hours.

Now, I gotta figure out how to get the original vents to work with the Classic Auto Air ductwork. 

[tan top]

   looks good

[lasvegas69charg]

nice write up.  i will be using this mod.  btw where did you get the small drill bit?

[CDN72SE]

Very nice, thanks for sharing. 

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Awesome!  Nice write up Bill

[bill440rt]

Hey, thanks! 

nice write up.  i will be using this mod.  btw where did you get the small drill bit?

Vegas, any modeling hobby shop should carry them. The little hand held drill is called a pin vise. I used them a lot in my younger days doing engine wiring on model cars, etc. Of course, back then my eyesight was MUCH better than it is now. 

[Iron Chef]

Great write up.  I'm doing the same thing with my '71 Super Bee that is a non-A/C car.  I'm putting in a Vintage Air system and I want it to appear factory.  I've purchased a new dash frame to accommodate the drivers side vent, and I just purchased all the vents and ducts from an Auto Salvage yard.  Should be interesting when I put it together!