68 with & without air conditioning
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 115
Likes: 1
From: Victor Harbor SA
68 with & without air conditioning
Hi There,
I have a 68 SB that was originally fitted with air con.
The pump, hoses & radiator were removed many years ago by a previous owner.
I have no intention of putting air back into the car.
My question is -
What differences are there between air and no air cars ?
For example: Is there a different air con/heater box in the engine bay ?
Is there different vents in the dash panel ?
I would like to tidy the interior and engine bay over time. So i'm wondering what can and should be replaced to look like there was never any air.
Cheers, Luke.
I have a 68 SB that was originally fitted with air con.
The pump, hoses & radiator were removed many years ago by a previous owner.
I have no intention of putting air back into the car.
My question is -
What differences are there between air and no air cars ?
For example: Is there a different air con/heater box in the engine bay ?
Is there different vents in the dash panel ?
I would like to tidy the interior and engine bay over time. So i'm wondering what can and should be replaced to look like there was never any air.
Cheers, Luke.
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 12,683
Likes: 3,136
From: Shamong, NJ
Yes, the inner and outer heater boxes, as well as the heater cores itself, are different for AC and non AC cars. The non air outer box, will clean up the under hood area, and is basically a bolt in. Though you may have to do some slight firewall work, to use the non air boxes.
The vent in the top center of the gauge bezel, is not used in non air cars. There would be a panel that said "CORVETTE" on it, in place of the vent on non air cars. The duct work for the defroster and heater vents, are unique to non air cars too.
The shifter plate on non AC cars, has two rectangular slots cut in it, for the levers that control the fresh air vents. These slots do not exist, on AC car shift consoles.
The heater control is different on non AC cars too. The lens only says OFF-HEAT-DEFROST, and the non AC has different contacts and vacuum controls.
The vent in the top center of the gauge bezel, is not used in non air cars. There would be a panel that said "CORVETTE" on it, in place of the vent on non air cars. The duct work for the defroster and heater vents, are unique to non air cars too.
The shifter plate on non AC cars, has two rectangular slots cut in it, for the levers that control the fresh air vents. These slots do not exist, on AC car shift consoles.
The heater control is different on non AC cars too. The lens only says OFF-HEAT-DEFROST, and the non AC has different contacts and vacuum controls.
Administrator
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 53,986
Likes: 6,212
From: About 1100 miles from where I call home.
Like gb said, this is a typical non-air interior:
-note just above the gauge center cluster... on your air car you would have an adjustible air vent. There is a block off plate with "Corvette" on it.
-on the shift plate, you can see the 2 round ***** that go on the vent levers. (On a 68, I believe they are more squared/oblong). On an air car, the 2 long slots that the air vent levels travel down are not there. You would need an entire new shift plate.
-note just above the gauge center cluster... on your air car you would have an adjustible air vent. There is a block off plate with "Corvette" on it.
-on the shift plate, you can see the 2 round ***** that go on the vent levers. (On a 68, I believe they are more squared/oblong). On an air car, the 2 long slots that the air vent levels travel down are not there. You would need an entire new shift plate.
Last edited by vettebuyer6369; Sep 18, 2012 at 09:10 PM.
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 115
Likes: 1
From: Victor Harbor SA
I have a new shift plate without the slots.
I have the vent cover plate with "Corvette" on it. (This was already fitted when I purchased the car)
I will need to find a non air heater box to tidy up the engine bay.
Do you know if a 69-70-71-72 are the same ??
I'm sure it will look much better as the current air box is huge.
I have the vent cover plate with "Corvette" on it. (This was already fitted when I purchased the car)
I will need to find a non air heater box to tidy up the engine bay.
Do you know if a 69-70-71-72 are the same ??
I'm sure it will look much better as the current air box is huge.
Last edited by Luke in SA; Sep 18, 2012 at 09:11 PM.
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 12,683
Likes: 3,136
From: Shamong, NJ
I would look for a 68-76 inner and outer box, as the controls are a little different, on the 77-79 heaters. The difference isn't enough that it would be difficult to overcome, but why make extra work for yourself?
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Racer
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 310
Likes: 25
From: Brisbane Australia
Don't mean to be presumptuous but if you ever replace the wiper switch and a/c vent bezel with a non-a/c one I'd really be interested in it. Have been looking for a year an found lots of non a/c bezels but no intact and non broken a/c ones.
Azza
Azza
Team Owner
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 38,923
Likes: 1,482
From: Southbound
Cruise-In II Veteran
Purchase the 68 assembly instruction manual and take a look at the diagrams for the optional factory AC installation. You can compare what the AC required with regular non-AC cars. There are aditional holes drilled in the cowl and the heater core hole was enlarged for AC cars. AIM shows how it was supposed to be cut. Driver's side fresh air vents are sealed. Console and center cluster changes you have already mentioned. HVAC controls in the console are (of course) also different and one year only.
My advice would be to keep the car factory AC and restore what's missing.
My advice would be to keep the car factory AC and restore what's missing.
Last edited by Easy Mike; Sep 19, 2012 at 09:13 AM.
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 115
Likes: 1
From: Victor Harbor SA
That wouldn't have been a problem, but.. My centre gauge bezel is broken in a few places. When I eventually get it all swapped over I will let you know what is good and what is not. Cheers, Luke.
Race Director
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 14,950
Likes: 3,351
From: NYC NY
Purchase the 68 assembly instruction manual and take a look at the diagrams for the optional factory AC installation. You can compare what the AC required with regular non-AC cars. There are aditional holes drilled in the cowl and the heater core hole was enlarged for AC cars. AIM shows how it was supposed to be cut. Driver's side fresh air vents are sealed. Console and center cluster changes you have already mentioned. HVAC controls in the console are (of course) also different and one year only.
My advice would be to keep the car factory AC and restore what's missing.
My advice would be to keep the car factory AC and restore what's missing.
If you're going to put everything back to "stock" this will not be easy or inexpensive no matter what direction you go. If you're going to spend money and time you might as well have a "factory air" car. Now on the other hand if you're building a hot rod that's a different story.
