MK4 Roadster Vintage Air -Heater/Defrost install Mod.

[Jeff_J.]

A while back I started the installation of the FF supplied; Vintage Air- Heater/Defrost kit. The lower vent mod I made turned out great. I measured and cut the defrost vent holes in the dash, the DS installed correctly the PS did not, the fit is too tight for the metal defrost vent piece. I should have taken more time and read more on the forum about “installation issues” for this kit. It appears the supplied metal defrost vent is too short to get to the cutout overtop of the heater box without heater box interference. Not to be defeated so easy; out came the fabrication tools. I used the supplied metal vent as a guide and drafted/ made my own version which I think is better than the kit supplied piece and it fits! The first picture shows the kit supplied vent to the left and my fabricated pieces on the right, mine is about 2.5” longer.
heater vent mod 2.jpg
heater vent mod 4.jpg

I made a scale paper template and traced it onto .20ga aluminium, it’s what I had and is easy to bend, I used snips to cut the AL out and my brake to make crisp bends. Some of the taper cuts pictured are a bit rough I fixed them before assembly. The lower piece is slightly narrower than the top so it fits easily, but the key to making this piece work under dash is the slight bend at the hose connection end, without this bend the piece is too long to clear the PS upper chassis rail, the length helps with the hose connections. With help from my trusted assistant, fit the piece in place, marked the vent slot and screw holes, cut the slot and drilled the front hole. Last picture is the completed piece tappers replaced with rivets, I’ll drill 2nd mounting hole on final assembly.
heater vent mod 8.jpg

Another item crossed off the list and it’s getting short, should be ready to get some miles on it later in April if the snow is gone by then....

[John Ibele]

Nice work! I'll admit, I got antsy at that point and decided to leave the PS side as a fake defroster, as others have done. You've got a nice solution.

[Norm B]

Very nice work!
My heater came with plastic defrost ducts and I modified the passenger one to fit above the heater box and glove compartment. Added louvres inside to direct the air up onto the windshield. Solving these issues, some of them self generated, was the most enjoyable part of the build for me.

Norm

[Jeff_J.]

I read your post on this when I was wondering how to proceed. Yours was the post that got me started on my redesign.
J.

[Tooth]

I'm planning on just putting one defrost vent in the middle. Having a tough time finding space for the foot box vent on the drivers side though. I have allot of extra stuff going on behind there on my build.

[Jeff_J.]

I didn't like the placement of the lower footbox vents either, this is how I changed it. The bracket swings back to direct air into the footbox as well - I don't have the pieces powder coated yet but it's in the plan. I have a more complete description of the mod in my build thread. Good luck which ever way you proceed.
Heater lower vent 1.jpg
Heater lower vent 2.jpg
Heater lower vent 3.jpg
Heater lower vent 4.jpg
Heater lower vent 7.jpg