Swapping A/C to a non A/C car... and vise-versa
Believe it or not, there's different firewalls for A/C & non-A/C! My car was originally an A/C car and I deleted it when I restored it. That's when I learned about the firewalls.....
My car was back from being painted and I realized the difference. I wasn't about to re-install the A/C at this point as I had the evaporator opening welded up before it was painted, so I had to get creative.
This is what a non-A/C heater box looks like against an A/C firewall. I was able to use the J hook to hang the box inside the vent opening, but only 1 stud aligned with the existing opening. Plus the blower motor opening is a bit large....
What I did was take the stock blower motor retainer from the non-A/C set-up and reverse it and used it as a mounting plate for the blower motor behind the firewall. The plate on the right is a piece of 3/16" aluminum plate I cut into a new retainer that is large enough to cover the larger A/C style opening in the firewall. Between the inner original plate and the new one sandwiching the firewall, you have a nice, solid mount. I also cut a new gasket from a sheet of thin white foam like the factory material.
Once it's all bolted in it's not very obvious things aren't stock. BTW: This is one of the few pictures I have where you can see the actual color of my car. In every other picture the Turquoise looks more blue than green.
Stick an engine in there and who would know? 8)
As for converting from non-A/C to A/C, break out the sawzall....and maybe the welder.
Believe it or not, there's different firewalls for A/C & non-A/C! My car was originally an A/C car and I deleted it when I restored it. That's when I learned about the firewalls.....
My car was back from being painted and I realized the difference. I wasn't about to re-install the A/C at this point as I had the evaporator opening welded up before it was painted, so I had to get creative.
This is what a non-A/C heater box looks like against an A/C firewall. I was able to use the J hook to hang the box inside the vent opening, but only 1 stud aligned with the existing opening. Plus the blower motor opening is a bit large....
What I did was take the stock blower motor retainer from the non-A/C set-up and reverse it and used it as a mounting plate for the blower motor behind the firewall. The plate on the right is a piece of 3/16" aluminum plate I cut into a new retainer that is large enough to cover the larger A/C style opening in the firewall. Between the inner original plate and the new one sandwiching the firewall, you have a nice, solid mount. I also cut a new gasket from a sheet of thin white foam like the factory material.
Once it's all bolted in it's not very obvious things aren't stock. BTW: This is one of the few pictures I have where you can see the actual color of my car. In every other picture the Turquoise looks more blue than green.
Stick an engine in there and who would know? 8)
As for converting from non-A/C to A/C, break out the sawzall....and maybe the welder.
