AC “Blower Relocate” Plenum

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Major System Category: AC & Cooling System
Task: Optional Upgrade for blower motor relocation
Parts:  AC Plenum supplied by Vraptor Speedworks
Prerequisite Tasks: Dismantle the passenger foor well
Additional Costs: Plenum Box ($45)
Time Requirement: 6 - 8 hours
Date Started: August 4, 2012
Date Completed: August 6, 2012
The AC Plenum box is used to relocate the blower motor. The standard location for the blower motor is in the front equipment bay between the radiator aluminum and the beginning of the tunnel. These are the items already living in this section of the car:

1. Battery
2. Steering column
3. Master Cylinders
4. Passenger side front brake line
5. AC Condenser
6. AC Compressor
7. Surge Tank (Moved to rear)
8. AC Blower Motor (Moved to Passenger foot well)
9. Coolant lines (soft and hard)

It seems a tad crowded to me. There are electrical lines to run for the lights, fan motors, radar detectors, signals and probably things I have forgotten about.

This is the triangular piece that fits intot he front wall of the foot well. This needs to be cut so  an opening exists for the  air to flow through to the blower motor. The blower motor will connect tot he this piece.

The new home for the blower motor is the passenger foot well. The basic design connects the blower motor to the evaporator via a rigid plastic sleeve. This pushes the blower motor into this crowded space. The AC plenum relocates the sleeve with a two piece aluminum box, creating two right angles for the air to flow through.

AC Plenum view from the top. I still need to trim the top bracket holding the evaporator unit. The hard coolant lines are visible. This is taken from the top of the car. The top of photo is towards the front of the car.

The front footwell needs to be modified to handle the the AC plenum and the accommodate an opening for the blower motor air flow. These pieces still need to be riveted back into place. However, I would leave the panel between the evaporator and the blower motor off until everything is hooked up and tested. This is going to be a while, because duct work needs to be run into the dash panel.

This is a second shot of the plenum from the other direction. The clamp on the  upper left of the photo holds the plenum tab that needs to be riveted to the chassis cross member.

I made the plenum as air tight as possible. I used plenty of black silicone to fill in an holes/cracks. I also plan to use Eastwood's contour filler as an additional body sealer before I put down the sound proofing.