magnet18

In the midst of putting the dash back together after a heater core swap while the windshield is out (been busy), I decided to fab up a couple quick tabs to replace the broken ones on the defrost vent. AFAIK, they break for most of us, and then the vent falls down and looks dumb and doesn't work well and rattles and generally makes for a bad time.

Step 1. Start by bending over a piece of 20 gauge cold rolled steel as shown. (IMPORTANT. MUST be 20 gauge... MUST be cold rolled... MUST be leftover from another project... All other dimensions can be eyeballed. )


Step 2. TEST FIT TEST FIT TEST FIT!!!
It should sit on the old plastic like so. The t marks where a hole in the plastic already is, and we'll use it to rivet the tab on. The dot marks where the hole for the screw will be (ignore the dot for now)


Step 3. Drill hole in the tab and test fit. DO NOT YET RIVET IN PLACE

Step 4. TEST FIT AGAIN! This time get the placement for the hole for the mounting screws. Preferably with both sides at the same time. Notice in the below picture how off my dot was the first time. When doing so, DON'T FORGET YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO HAVE A THIRD SCREW IN THE MIDDLE OF THE VENT (I compensate for lack of pictures with loud text)

Step 5. Drill hole for the mounting screw, and rivet in place.


Step 6. Install. Worked like a charm. Did this on both sides of mine.


Step 7.

Hope this helps someone