| 04-06-2012 |
I absolutely hate all the choices that are available for air conditioning vents from aftermarket companies. They never match the original style of the car and always look out of place. I see so many people spend thousands of dollars and so much time on their cars and then just throw some vents under the dash. I wanted to find something that would come close to matching the original style of the car. Something with a bit of arc deco style.
At first I had considered completely making my own vents and having them resemble a small antique fan and have the vents blowing into that, which would allow it to be directional. I also considered a pop-down vent that would be similar to what you find on some 50s Packards with factory air conditioning. These vents were a lid on top of the dash that would pop open to reveal an air outlet.
To me, air conditioning vents make or break the interior of a car. In my opinion, I typically don't like things added to interiors of older cars because they never seem to match the original style. Any time someone ads a console it always looks like someone from the late 90s threw a console under a carefully designed and themed dash. I spent a lot of time searching for different options and looking at tons upon tons of ashtrays. I finally found a 53 Packard ashtray that had a roll top on it like an old roll top desk. These were OK but they weren't exactly flat on the back. I later found that the ashtray that mounted on the back of the front seat of a 4 door 1948 Cadillac also had a chrome roll top styled door on it. I found one on ebay for $12.00. With something like this you really can't fully tell if it will work without holding it in your hand. I liked it enough that I took a chance and bought it.
It was a bit wider than I had thought just from looking at the pictures, but I really liked the look of this and I think once the interior is together and finished this will integrate as nicely as anything else into the look of the car. I suppose the only way to know for sure is to see it once it is finished. I intend to modify the interior of the ashtray, gut it of everything in the way and install the vent tube into the back of it. I'm also going to have to fabricate some type of directional vents inside to allow for the airflow to be directional. After seeing the cigarette lighter there, I'm now torn between leaving it and installing a new cigarette lighter and leaving the vent to the left or to cut it all out and make the entire thing a vent. Both have their pros and cons.
April and I disassembled the ashtray into its separate components. This involved drilling out tiny rivets and bending several tabs to get all the components apart. Who knew an ashtray could have so many intricate parts.
I plan to mount one under each side of the dash, which means if I get this one built like I want I'll have to find another and build it to match. This is the general idea of where it should end up.
