1972 GS Skylark drivers side vent. Don't kill me for asking but is it as simple as prying out old and placing in new?? Someone put the wrong sided vent in before I got car and I want it done right. Do I have to buy the whole assembly or can someone tell me where to just get the vent part to "pop" in? See attached picture
Hard to tell what they did from the pic. The vent is unit that has a retainer bracket and 4 screws that hold it in place. Unless you have tiny hands I think you will need to pull the dash cluster in order to get behind it to change it. I have a used unit if thats the way you go. Not a simple pop out, pop in job. Fred
Well if your able to look close enough behind that vent you'll see the original vent bracket there with the "on/off" printed on it. Is it possible to take out just the plastic vent portion on your and see if it pops in and out? This would help me find out if that's possible instead of pulling the dash apart.
I found mine to be in a peculiar position as well; the connection on the louvered vent for the hose actually points up somewhat. Id think it should be down to meet up with the plastic cross-over pipe. Its almost impossible to get the hose on and bend in this position. Hmmm... To get at it, is to pull the dash pad off (not too bad) then pull the cluster out. That sux. Theres a lot of plastic studs for the switches and AC controls that are extrememly brittle; that is unless they are already broke off. The vent itself is assembled to the dash cluster panel with a steel retainer ring with 2 screws. Disconnect the battery first! Don't forget to replace any rings with black wires back onto the switches; those are switch grounds and the lights and wipers will act really weird without them! If some one has a "FOR SURE" drivers side vent I too would be interested in one! I think mine is from the passenger side of another car. It doesn't have an ON/OFF wheel on it... ws
I rolled Lances' pic to the right orientation. Looking at it, it seems someone retrofitted a louver from a different model. Hmmmm... Now I feel like the big dummy... The one in my 72 XGS with air, has no on/off control and sure as heck almost points up to wards the dash speaker on top. Ive already split several hose pieces open trying to make the bend back down and clear all the dash bracing and wires etc. to get it "CLOSE" to the plastic cross-over pipe as stated above. Fred... can you PUHLLEEZE post a pic of the one you've got?? I would be very interested if its correct and functional. Finish is secondary as I have my new chrome markers! Of course as per the custom, Lance has first dibs. Don't want the chief librarian screaming at me LOL...Thanks... ws
Theoretically, yes, the vent will pop out. But you probably would of only have gotten away with that in 1972 when the plastic was new with more give/ flexibility . In 2017, the plastic is now 45 years old, brittle and has zero flexibility. So you'll probably break the vent insert before you bend the top and bottom enough for it to pop out. Even if my some miracle you could pull this off, you would likely mar up the plastic with the screwdriver or whatever tool you were using. So, yeah...the cluster needs to come out
