complete removal of ac/heater
complete removal of ac/heater so how hard is it to remove the AC/heater box that is under the hood through the firewall under the dash? About to be removing mine just finished making the plate to fill in the hole in the firewall. Any tips?
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 600
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it would be nice if they start answering this one im in the middle of finishing mine up also.. ive removed just about everything frm under the hood already but need a little help finishing it cleanly... i ended up doing it on mine because of the madman alternator relocation bracket.. which was because i decided to stick with the old school 350 tall valve covers on my 383 set up. so i removed ac and ps... sort of..
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 697
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From: Evansville, IN
You'll have to remove the entire dash. There are many hidden screws that are attached from the back. There is one that is right behind the motor on the firewall. It is just very time consuming.
On The Tree
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 177
Likes: 0
From: Vicksburg, MS
I took a hammer and hacksaw to get it out from the engine bay. I cut the box around the edge of the firewall, then made a template to make the block off plate. I used the bolts that come out from the engine side and a few sheetmetal screws to hold the plate on. I dont have any pictures that show the plate, but it looks good.
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This was achieved after about 2 hours of cutting with a carbon cutoff wheel and grinding down the seams with 2" 3M roloc discs:
If you're not in this for the weight savings but to just free up space under the hood, this way is alot easier than yanking the dash and pulling it all out from the inside.
Billingsley Racing sells a billet aluminum blockoff plate for the hole in the firewall.
If you're not in this for the weight savings but to just free up space under the hood, this way is alot easier than yanking the dash and pulling it all out from the inside.
Billingsley Racing sells a billet aluminum blockoff plate for the hole in the firewall.
well my buddy is a fab. foreman for the correctional facility in my area so he has everything to make anything. I made a template out of my buddies 93 z-28 that has been completely gutted, so he is cutting it out for me. I have already removed everything else out from under the hood as well as the controls in the dash so i figured i would get rid of everything else as well. Does it reduce alot of weight?
Most of the weight is in the heater and evaporator cores, but total it's something in the neighborhood of 17 lbs. The plastic shell and vent tubes weigh next to nothing.
I yanked the dash out of the 94 T/A I wrecked 8 years ago, and that was almost as big of a job as pulling a motor. If you've got the A/C controls and radio, etc. already out then you've put a good sized dent in it. There is a main support beam that runs the width of the dash down on the bottom, that attaches to two studs located behind the kick panels on either side of the cabin. Once those are free, there are 6 or 7 screws that fasten the top of the dash directly to the firewall that are located under the windshield panel. It's been awhile since I did this but those are the main points that I remember dealing with.
Dropping the steering column helped a great deal when it cam time to pull the dash out of the car.
I yanked the dash out of the 94 T/A I wrecked 8 years ago, and that was almost as big of a job as pulling a motor. If you've got the A/C controls and radio, etc. already out then you've put a good sized dent in it. There is a main support beam that runs the width of the dash down on the bottom, that attaches to two studs located behind the kick panels on either side of the cabin. Once those are free, there are 6 or 7 screws that fasten the top of the dash directly to the firewall that are located under the windshield panel. It's been awhile since I did this but those are the main points that I remember dealing with.
Dropping the steering column helped a great deal when it cam time to pull the dash out of the car.
do you have to cut any of the guage wires or any others? If you do then i will just go with the way you did yours. And i am putting an onboard diagnosis monitoring screen right there where the ac controls and radio used to be. One day when money falls down on me haha. but any other tips on that?
I did mine. I pulled the dash. Not as hard as you think if you know how to work on cars. You deff. need a buddy to help. He did the drivers side as i worked on the pass. side and the whole thing came out in like 2 hours and eaiser to put back in. Id do it again now that i know its not that bad. Then it gives you a good place to mount all your electronics or anything for that matter. But then youll end up with this in the meantime...........
I know yours is a T/A but this writeup shows how to remove a 93-96 Camaro dash which has all the bolts that attach it to the body in the same locations:
http://www.bfranker.badz28.com/fbody/dash.html
Hopefully that'll give you an idea of what to look for if you get should happen to get stuck.
http://www.bfranker.badz28.com/fbody/dash.html
Hopefully that'll give you an idea of what to look for if you get should happen to get stuck.
Teching In
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 28
Likes: 0
From: From Texas..live in Southern Maryland
I pulled a/c, heater core, vents and all in my 94 Z28. At some point it will look like taubr's pics, but overall, it's not that bad. If your not scared to dip into your car a little and can put stuff on the way you took it off.....it's pretty straight froward. I got my blankoff plate from Billingsly as well. Now, you could never tell the dash was ever out unless you look into the vents and see all the way forward 
. lol. I kept the controls just to fill the whole for the time being, but i think it may be a good place to put some gauges when my engine rebuild is done..eventually. One thing I would take caution with may be the simplest but its held on by pop fasteners and that is the big plastic dash piece that goes to the windshield....I cracked mine a little trying to pry it up.
. lol. I kept the controls just to fill the whole for the time being, but i think it may be a good place to put some gauges when my engine rebuild is done..eventually. One thing I would take caution with may be the simplest but its held on by pop fasteners and that is the big plastic dash piece that goes to the windshield....I cracked mine a little trying to pry it up. 
yea exactely, i cracked my dash pad too. Its on there REAL good and the plastic is SUPER thin and brittle. But like BIGZ said, if you know how to work on things and not a complete idiot you can do it. And when i put my dash back on i put my wire harness back up and zip tied it tight and i get no rattles or anything. Id say go for it bro.
thanks for all the help. I will be pulling mine all out here in the next few days. If i do i will make sure to post pics up for the guys with the T/A that want to know how to do it