GTM Blower Motor

<< GTM AC Plenum Relocation                                      Passenger foot well >>

Major System Category: AC & Cooling System
Task: Install AC Blower Motor
Parts: Vintage air Blower Motor
Prerequisite Tasks:
Additional Costs:
Time Requirement: Forever
Date Started: August 10, 2012
Date Completed: August 24, 2012
I didn't work on this task for 2 solid weeks. It is part of the overall Vintage AC installation. The problems I ran into are as follows:

1. I had already completed the passenger side foot well. Bad idea, because I had to take apart most of the foot well to install the evaporator unit.
2. I installed Vraptor's AC Plenum relocation piece, before attaching the hard lines to the evaporator. Another bad idea. I ended up removing this as well. There is absolutely no way to install the hard lines when the evaporator is bolted into place.
3. I decided I wanted the common panel with the evaporator and passenger foot well to be removable. So I developed a rail system to bolt the panel into rather than rivet through the floor pan again. Good idea.
4. I discovered the connector wires from the AC Evaporator to the new location for the AC blower motor were too short. This is because the motor now resides in a more logically place. I spliced in 10 inches into the connectors, drilled a hole through the interior foot well panel and added a wire grommet.  Good idea.
5. I decided I wanted more strength to hold up the AC blower motor, so I reinforced the sheet metal with 1/8 inch aluminum bar. It is a tad tight down there. (i.e. not much room to work).  Good idea.
6. Somewhere along the way, I came across another build site that showed the same AC Blower relocation I was working on. He had a terrific idea to install a 2 inch conduit between the drivers and passenger sides for the ISIS system. I added it to my build. Terrific idea.

Interior foot well panel with 2 inch PVC conduit and wire grommet for  the AC  blower motor hook up. Orientation : Passenger side foot well looking at tunnel wall.

This  a top down view of the 2 inch PVC conduit. AT the top of the photo there are the bolts for the evaporator bracket and the hard lines. At the bottom, is one of the HVAC ducts. Orientation: top of picture toward front.

This photo did not turn out too well. This is the AC blower motor mount. I firmly believe it would have been  challenging to install it off the front of the evaporator unit. I seriously doubt many people would be able to locate the four screw holes. In addition, the blower motor needs to expand into the area above the battery. Orientation: passenger side foot well from cockpit.

The big payoff. The blower motor connected to the mount and the AC plenum relocation piece. This warranted a picture text to my incredibly supportive wife.  Orientation: passenger side foot well from cockpit.

All of this took time. The actual installation of the AC blower involves ten screws/bolts. It is a 15 to 20 minute job. If you do this per the original design, then you will have the ac blower, ac accumulator, battery, surge tank, a gaggle of hoses, brakes lines, clutch lines, engine harness and other wiring all competing for the same spot. Good luck.

AC “Blower Relocate” Plenum

<< GTM AC Evaporator Kit                            GTM Blower Motor  >>

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.

GTM A/C Evaporator Kit

<< Coolant lines                                  Install InVIRONMENT - Circuit 1/3  >>

Major System Category: AC & Cooling System
Task: Mount the evaporator unit
Parts: Vintage Air Evaporator unit. (It is the big thing with a bunch of ducts coming off it)
Prerequisite Tasks:

• Dismantle the passenger foot well
• Disconnect the passenger side front brake line

Additional Costs: N/A
Time Requirement: 60 minutes to bolt this into place. Longer if dismantling is required.
Date Started: August 4, 2012
Date Completed: August 4, 2012
Consideration: This needs to be done before the passenger foot well is installed, and probably, before the front passenger brake is run. However, it is good to have the hard and soft coolant lines run in order judge clearance.

Vintage Air Evaporator unit. SOmehow I need to get this mounted in the GTM.

I didn't know about this handy little item until it came time to unpack the Vintage AC system. This is a big box, and I sat there staring at everything, wondering where and how it was going to fit inside the GTM. This is definitely a time to plug Vraptor Speedworks. One of the items I purchased last December was the AC Plenum relocation part. I knew it made sense at the time, but I really didn't have an appreciation for how much sense it made! This item relocates the blower motor to the passenger footwell and recycles inside air instead of outside. It also eliminates this HUGE cowl.

I removed the panels common to the tunnel, but this did not give me the clearance I needed to swing the evaporator unit in  and out. I removed triangular piece (this has to be modified for the plenum) and the three fold piece. With these removed I could easily swing the unit in and out. Orientation: passenger foot well.

I ended up drilling out the rivets on four panels connected to the passenger side footwell. I have to say (shameless plug here) that my panels were really solidly installed. It took work to get them off the car! Once the footwell is dismantled, it is an easy thing to swing the evaporator in and out of the tunnel. It sits above the hard coolant lines, and there needs to be some clearance.

This is the rear of the evaporator unit. The hard coolant lines are running under neath. I used the clamp to get an idea of where it should rest. Orientation: Passenger side front third of the tunnel.

This is the Factory Five replacement bracket. I bolted the bracket onto the evaporator unit (not seen) and  slid the  bracket upwards until it was flush with the tunnel cross member. orientation: Passenger side front third of tunnel. 

Front bracket on the evaporator unit.  It is too wide for the GTM chassis. I drilled new holes and installed rivnuts. The excess needs to be cut off.

The front bracket for the evaporator is wider than the cross member it rests on. The excess will need to be trimmed. I plan to do that later. The rear bracket is replaced with the Factory Five bracket. The trick I discovered here was to bolt the end of the bracket in place, and slide it up until outside of the becomes flush with the tunnel cross member. Once I had that position, I put a clamp under the bracket, and riveted the bracket in place.

Rear bracket riveted in place. Unit installed. The passenger side footwell remains dismantled.

I marked the front bracket for rivnuts. The slots for attachment do not work since they drop into open space on the other side of the chassis cross member. I drilled new holes and bolted the unit into place.

Consideration: before you even think about the AC Plenum or buttoning things up, go find the hard lines for the AC. Once everything is tight, there is ABSOLUTELY NO ROOM TO WORK ON THESE.

Hard lines off the Evaporator. You can see the accumulator bolted above the steering rack. I think this is easier to do from below, because you don't have to fight the cross member where the evaporator bracket is bolted.  In both cases there are two nuts that need to be tightened.  In this photo they are hidden by the cross member. Orientation: Taken from above. Left side is towards the front of car. Right side is towards cockpit.

Unfortunately, I learned the hard way about the coolant lines. I installed the AC plenum relocation and bolted down the evaporator unit. The cross member that the evaporator unit is attached to interferes with connecting the hard coolant lines. BTW: The instructions at this point are vague (that's putting it kindly). I ended up drilling out the rivets on the AC Plenum, unbolting the evaporator unit and standing under the car to get the hard lines installed. This is a major pain. I plan to leave everything loose until this beast is in place.

Issue: Remember to put the O rings in and grease them with refrigerant oil.

This the O ring for one of the hard lines (and my thumb).

Issue: If the evaporator ever needs maintenance or replacement, this is going to be a major job. I think the footwell needs to be as solid as possible. Therefore, it needs to be riveted back into place.

With the evaporator in place, I depart from the manual's instructions. This is when I install the AC Plenum Relocation pieece, and change the location of the motor.