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I removed all the AC components from the firewall recently to gain access to certain areas of the engine compartment. Now that I have them out I really don't want them back in the car (I will never run the AC). Is there a cover plate available that will mount over the area that looks professional (like it belongs there)?
I called a Corvette junk yard and he had a non a/c cover. The heater hoses go in at a slightly different spot so a dremel made that right. It is only about 4 inches thick instead of 14 inches or so.Made of the same plastic/glass as original. Looked like a factory piece and wasn't hard to put on. They are pretty hard to find but non a/c cars are out there. I forget where the Junk yard was since it was 10 years ago. Cost me about 80 dollars.
Why not use a stock non-AC heater core housing. There must be thousands out there.
...if he wants to retain the "heat side" a non-A/C engine side cover AND cabin inner heater box are two different animals. The heater core on a C3 Corvette with A/C is mounted vertically. The non A/C core mounts horizontally. The cores themselves, the inner heater boxes, the controls, etc. are all different. I made my Silver '75 coupe an A/C delete car 6yrs ago and it's amazing the difference in an A/C C3 vs one without A/C. I fabricated my own plate that covered the excess opening left in the firewall from removing the A/C housing(engine side), then mounting a non A/C heatercore cover. I also purchased a non A/C inner heater box, heater controller and non A/C engine compartment wiring harness to the blower motor for a fully functional heater. It came out great. 99% of the people out there couldn't tell what I had done. Only a fairly knowledgable C3 person that knew what the A/C vs non A/C differences are could tell.
I used a non a/c engine side cover in place of my a/c evap box. Only small mods allowed me to silicone it in place. One stud or bolt was not used and small grinding where the heater hoses enter. I have full interior heat capabilities. I think he just wants to plug up the hole and not worry so much about the inside of the car. I saved almost 90 pounds of weight by removing my a/c. A tenth at the track.
I used a non a/c engine side cover in place of my a/c evap box. Only small mods allowed me to silicone it in place. One stud or bolt was not used and small grinding where the heater hoses enter. I have full interior heat capabilities. I think he just wants to plug up the hole and not worry so much about the inside of the car. I saved almost 90 pounds of weight by removing my a/c. A tenth at the track.
...kudos if you did(or could)do it that way. I didn't try fitting the non-A/C engine side cover over the big A/C inner heater box. Can you get the heater core out on the engine side? I know you have to pull half the interior passenger side dash to change out an A/C C3 heatercore.
i just cut a piece of acrylic and painted it black and mounted it under the plate.... the cutout is still there but i might add some switched there later...
Yeah, I don't much have the desire to make this a major project and fix my failed heater controls, etc at this point. This is an A/C car that has not had functional A/C nor heat at least since I've owned it, and from the looks of it they have been out of commission for some time. I don't plan on driving the car in the cold using the heater or in the heat with the A/C so I'm content to just button the whole thing up with a cover plate. Down the line I may fix up the heater core, but would probably leave the A/C deleted.I bet I could fashion one out of sheet metal... sounds like a mini disaster in the making!
Could either of you guys post a pic of what your looks like now?