Hello I'm new here. Help! defroster vent crumbled!

[Victor Estrella]

Hi all. My teenage daughter just bought a very nice 1973 ford f100! As nice as it is , it's still almost 40 years old. It has some rough spots. Of course, as her dad, it falls on me to make it a fun and safe vehicle for her to drive. I just put in a new heater core and the project has all come to a stand still until I figure out how to replace or fix crumbled defroster ducts.

I can't get the defroster vent out from under the dash because of the under dash wires.

I could not find any reproductions on line.
My local Pick and Pull, does not have any thing like it.
Perhaps there is a way to rebuild the ducts at the screw holes?
I'm stumped as to what to do next.
Please help. Thanks, Vic

 

[Beach66Bum]

Hello, and welcome to FTF's. Check out LMC Truck online. They have a vast parts selection for the early Ford trucks. If you take your time, you can remove the electrical harness's that are in the way. Be sure to code everything, but most plugs only work one way.

 

[Fellro]

I can't say if there is any difference between the defroster vents on an a/c truck vs none, but I have a/c trucks that I can pull one from. Won't be done immediately, but I can get one pulled for you sometime if you have the patience.

 

[Victor Estrella]

Thanks!

I took the old one out of the dash, It was all brittle and crumbling. I took some cardboard and duc tape and reconstructed it. I was able to use three of the original attachment holes with the clamps and recreated the fourth. Once completed,I put it back in. I figure the real old ones were cardboard and ducts were the original use for duct tape. god I hope it works out.

 

[brentleedragon]

Are you talking about the defrost ducts (that blow on top of the dash towards the windshield) or the center duct (that connects to the vents on the center of the dash. )?

The center vent is something that definitely can crumble over time....
The defrost vents are a little sturdier plastic but I suppose they could get bad over time as well.


Are there any other pick and pulls around you? I am pretty sure 73-79 will fit. Do a part finder for junk yards....check craigslist for parts trucks or maybe someone on the forums will have one for sale. Maybe check LMC/Dennis Carpenter or others for the products not sure how expensive they are. When I needed a new center vent duct I just found someone on craigslist parting out a truck for it.

 

[Victor Estrella]

It's was the very top of the defrost ducts that I reconstructed using the cardboard and duct tape. The bottom part was fine because , as you mentioned, it is of a sturdier plastic. The whole thing is now reinstalled. Thank you for the reply. I was pressed for time and decided to customize. We'll just wait and see how it holds up.

 

[Victor Estrella]

Hello, and welcome to FTF's. Check out LMC Truck online. They have a vast parts selection for the early Ford trucks. If you take your time, you can remove the electrical harness's that are in the way. Be sure to code everything, but most plugs only work one way.

Wow! Thanks for the tip about LMC Truck It's like looking through the "sears wish book" at christmas time. (its a baby boomer thing)

 

[DNFXDLI]

Be aware that LMC offers all kinds of cool looking stuff, but most is Chinese knockoffs. Dennis Carpenter Reproductions has the original Ford tooling, more costly product but fit and finish like original.

 

[Victor Estrella]

Be aware that LMC offers all kinds of cool looking stuff, but most is Chinese knockoffs. Dennis Carpenter Reproductions has the original Ford tooling, more costly product but fit and finish like original.

Good to know. The truck looks pretty good right now. Not too much I really need. I might save for the plastic/rubber looking cab floor cover. I'll go see what Dennis has to offer too.

 

[Mil1ion]

Blue oval truck parts also sells DC parts