That's vent balls... now get your mind out of the gutter... :)

Hopefully someone can tell me what I am missing on my A/C vent balls. I suspect there should be some felt or something in the housings or on the balls because as they are they just flop around. Oh, '66 SS.

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Paul
'66 Red SS 396 360HP L34

Same thing happening on my 69. Maybe someone will know what we are missing.

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jodysss396 (or Jody)
1969 Chevelle SS396
Fathom Green
Numbers Matching
TC member #921
A.C.E.S. #4348
Jody's 69 SS396 (http://chevelles.com/showroom/69jodysss3962.jpg)

I'm not sure if the 66 has essentially the same setup as the 69, but I can speak from experience on the 69's. There are two felt strips that provide tension on the vent balls; one in front of it, and one behind. Once you take the assembly apart, it will be very obvious where they're supposed to go. They are reproduced, so availability is no problem.

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Bill Pritchard
69 SS396 Convertible
"Life is short; eat dessert first." - Ogden Nash
My low tech web page (http://home.att.net/~bpritchard/index.html)

My 66 has those felt strips too.

Pay attention to the year when buying repro bezels. I found that theae (not the balls) are offered as 66 - 69, but they DO NOT fit the 66 dash! Also be aware of the fact that there is a LH and a RH part. I have not determined the differences yet.

Rob

Do the felt strips go all the way around the housing or are they small pieces. I think I see where they are suppose to go if they are strips that go around the entire circumference. It appears they would be ~1/8" thick and 1/2" wide. Am I correct.

I would guess the difference is in the direction the housing points on the back side. Mine appear to be generic with multiple mounting locations. I can install the housings so that one points left (for passenger side) and one points right. It appears someone has replaced these before and didn't know what to do with that darn felt......
Thanks for the response all!

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Paul
'66 Red SS 396 360HP L34

Paul,

Yes, your size approximation is very close, and they do go all the way around.

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Bill Pritchard
69 SS396 Convertible
"Life is short; eat dessert first." - Ogden Nash
My low tech web page (http://home.att.net/~bpritchard/index.html)

Thanks Bill!!

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Paul
'66 Red SS 396 360HP L34

The felt strips you refer to are available at any local hardware store. The one's you purchase from a vendor, such as OPGI, literally are the same exact thing. The felt should fit into the grove, and would go all the way around making a complete seal.

As for compatiblity with 66, they'll fit, but would require some TLC in some instances. This is also true for 67. I do not have an EXACT answer yet, but I am leaning towards the "Factory" installed A/C being different from the "Dealer" installed A/C. Who knows, but they'll work. You may just need a tad thicker felt http://www.chevelles.com/forum/smile.gif

Good luck!

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-Andrew
through.theloophole@gte.net