Dash Vent Refurb

[RobotMan 264]

Working on refurbing the dash on my sons 69 mach with factory A/C. Any advice on how to disassemble the vents to refurb paint and felt. They appear to be factory staked to the housing trapping the vent and felt in the sperical seat.

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

Rick

[Kris 90]

I did mine and I drilled the rivets off and tapped it to hold a stainless machine screw. I can't remember the size, it was either a 10 or 8. You have to be careful when you drill and when you tap as the metal is soft and will break easily. I replaced the felt with the fuzzy side of Velcro. It was either 3/4" or 1" wide and I cut it in half and put a piece on each side of the two halves. You could probably do one piece but it will be difficult to get it back together and get it to stick correctly. I repainted the chrome with the silver paint markers you can get from hobby lobby or even walmart and they did a fantastic job. You could use rivets to put it back together if you really want to but it would be just as much a pain if you ever had to take it apart again. Using screws takes a little extra time now but if you ever do need to take it apart again it would be fast and easy. 

[RobotMan 264]

Thanks for the pics and info. They look great.

[JayEstes 172]

I rebuilt mine, but BE CAREFUL.  The drill out of the rivets mentioned above was VERY difficult for me.  The reason is, the housing the rivets are in is "pot metal" (forging),  the rivets are clearly steel - or metal that is significantly harder than the housing.  What this did to me, was that my bit would wallow off the hard metal and then begin to drill along side the steel rivet, and the hole was not centered and angled.  I was able to get the job done however.  I also tapped for threaded screws, and put it back together with those, but this was one of the hardest rebuilds I did.  I would up only doing the passenger side since the felt inside on that side badly needed to be replaced (the louver was loose and wallowing in the slot.  My drivers side was ok, so after the pass side issues, I chose not to drill it out.

 

I repainted them both - both the passenger side of the housing and the edges of the louvers.  Be sure you completely clean and re-polish the louver as wel as paint the edges with chrome paint before you reassemble.  I also used "chrome paint" to repaint the edges of the louver.  I used a really small brush and - lesson learned - don't drink beer before hand....  It's a delicate operation....  ;-)

 

If you drill out the rivets, paint the housings before you do the reassembly.  If you want to paint them after put back together, I found a great little masking trick for the louver.  I found that a "red solo cup" cut down to the first ring above the bottom of the cup (~2in or so from the bottom) was the PERFECT mask for the louver.  if you shorten the solocup to that height, you can insert it right around the louver, and there is not so much sticking up that you can't paint the inside of the housing (side towards cabin).  It held itself in there with friction really well, and  was a great tool for masking those louvers where you want to leave the louver in place.

 

Hope some of that helps!

 

Jay

[69volunteer 84]

I did the same operation as described above. I didn’t have as much trouble with the rivets as Jay did but yes, you have to be careful. I didn’t tap mine but used a very small machine screw and it worked perfect—the metal in the housing is pretty soft.

 

I was fortunate that the back side chrome edges of my vent balls was in pretty great shape and just cleaned them and flipped them over. I bought a .99 square of felt from Michaels and cut it to length and width.

[JayEstes 172]

I did the same operation as described above. I didn’t have as much trouble with the rivets as Jay did but yes, you have to be careful. I didn’t tap mine but used a very small machine screw and it worked perfect—the metal in the housing is pretty soft.

 

I was fortunate that the back side chrome edges of my vent balls was in pretty great shape and just cleaned them and flipped them over. I bought a .99 square of felt from Michaels and cut it to length and width.

 

For replacing the louvre pad/felt, I bought a short piece of sticky back velcro.  I use only the "loop side" of the velcro.  I had to rip teh 3/4in width lengthwise to get it to fit, but I just peeled and stuck the ripped piece where the old worn out felt was.  It seemed to provide a nice snug fit to the ball and allowed acceptable rotation.

 

Jay

[smh00n 87]

I guess by this thread, there are no repro vents available?

 

Mine are swinging int he breeze and need fixing

[LiLMike 42]

I refurbished mine as described above. I used the felt side of the Velcro. I just cut it to fit. Only problem I had was when  assembled them, the felt was too tight. I used an old beard trimmer and shaved the felt down after installing it in the vent. Placed the balls back in and it works great. Nice tight fit but you can still move them with little effort.

[JayEstes 172]

I guess by this thread, there are no repro vents available?

 

Mine are swinging int he breeze and need fixing

 

I think there are repro vents available - at least in the US - but my recollection is they are pricey.  Most issues are just rotted out or missing felt in the slots (and lots of cleaning).

[LiLMike 42]

I think there are repro vents available - at least in the US - but my recollection is they are pricey.  Most issues are just rotted out or missing felt in the slots (and lots of cleaning).

CJ Pony has repop vents. I ordered a set and sent them back. They are cheap lightweight Chinese crap with just silver paint instead of plastic chrome plating. That is why I decided to rebuild mine. 

[Vicfreg 771]

I drilled my out also, and used some small (very small) self tapping screws.  I also did the Velcro to replace the felt.  It worked great.  

 

I tried several techniques to replicate the silver highlights on the vent edges, including paint pens, a silver Sharpie, etc.  I was not happy with the result, so in the end, I left my vents all black.