I have an 85 El Camino that I'm deleting the A/C and installing a heat only box because of installing a BBC motor. I want to install a 78-81 dash. My question is, will it bolt right in? I want to eliminate the center vents and keep the end vents. I know the ductwork is different for heat only. Is it different for the different style dashes? I'm going to get either, a) new dash from OPGI or b) get an old core and have it restored. Thanks for any help or information.
Dash swap info
- Thread starter SS Elco
- Start date
Yes, it will physically bolt it, but you will likely encounter differences in the wiring harness.
The factory non-a/c set up uses only the center vents, deleting the outers, so if you wish to reverse that you're going to have quite the project on your hands of making your own ducts...
The factory non-a/c set up uses only the center vents, deleting the outers, so if you wish to reverse that you're going to have quite the project on your hands of making your own ducts...
The heat only dash will still use the center vents while the outside vents will be eliminated as Blake442 stated above. I had put an 86 El Camino A/c dash using my heat only ducting into my 79 Monte Carlo. Again the heat only dash uses the center vents with block off plates where the A/C vents would route through at the ends. The glove box back pocket is specific for a/c or heat only.
Heat only dash in 79 Monte Carlo.
Swapped in 86 El Camino a/c dash converted to heat only in my first 79 Monte Carlo.
I have a black plastic block off behind the vent at the end of the dash filler panel on the passenger side as I could not locate a heat only burl wood panel.
Heat only dash in 79 Monte Carlo.
Swapped in 86 El Camino a/c dash converted to heat only in my first 79 Monte Carlo.
I have a black plastic block off behind the vent at the end of the dash filler panel on the passenger side as I could not locate a heat only burl wood panel.
Why swap the dash it self? The '81 dash is the same as the '82-'85 with the exception of the '81 only in dash wiper switch. '86-'88 uses different trim/faceplates with the pad itself having a slightly opened up radio hole for the 1.5 din radios. The '78-'80 is only different by exterior pad apearance. All '78-'88 dash pads mount the same to include heater & heater-A/C set up behind it. The gauge pod fits all year too. Now the heat only will only have the center vents, no out board vents. With a BBC install, the heater-A/C box will allow the swap but stock type valve covers are needed. I'll have to dig out the '88 Hot Rod issue that covers G body BBC swaps to see if they are standard car units or the Camaro with a notched clearance corner.
Back when I did have a functioning heat only box in my Monte I had a notch in both the main case and the fan housing to clear tall valve covers with a stud girdle. I later removed the heating aspect but kept the main case and fiberglassed the hole where the fan entered.
In the May '88 issue is where the late Marlin Davis did the write up & noted stock height valve covers clear the heater-A/C box.
Thanks to everyone who replied to my post. The info given is what I was hoping for. First off, the reasons for the swap are, I don't care for the appearance of the 81-87 dash with the trim plate, I like the 78-80 better and the motor I'm installing has tall valve covers (stud girdles). I'm not running A/C so I opted to not modify the original box. I started out with an aftermarket A/C delete kit to keep all the underdash components but the kit requires extensive modifications and the directions left me with more questions than answers. The supplied fan and heater core didn't fit right and fit & finish were not what I expected. Halfway through I got frustrated and turned to the complete heat only swap. I liked the fact that the A/C fan itself is 1/3 bigger than the heat only but I also like that the heat only controls are all mechanical, no vacuum lines or pods to worry about. I'm hoping the clearance gained is worth it all in the end. Again, thanks for all the input. It is greatly appreciated.
When I had the fan housing on I was running Hooker 2241 headers which cleared the case, so the notch was just for the valve cover clearance.
The Lemons Headers that are on there now are much bigger and I installed those after removing the fan housing and glassing over the hole in the main case.
What issues did you encounter with the ductwork? Did you have to change all the ducting or was some of it the same? My car is sitting in storage at the body shop so I don't have access to see what mine looks like, plus the dash is still installed. I just received a complete heat only set-up so I have that ducting to look at. Thanks for your help, Rod
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