Driver's side vent cap......why?

[keymonkey]

Perhaps this has been asked and answered before but; why on earth are restoration houses and bronco builders covering what I feel is one of the best features of the gen1......the driver's side vent? They even make billet aluminum and branded covers like its a cool thing to do. I have a buddy who's restorer covered his and his reasoning was simply..."meh, they did it on their own, but whatever." I would rage if someone took away my beloved vent.

 

[dmoses42]

I think for a lot of people its just a leaf catcher that you then have to empty. I plan on utilizing mine if I ever get to the point of making it move under its own power again.

 

[gnsteam]

Perhaps this has been asked and answered before but; why on earth are restoration houses and bronco builders covering what I feel is one of the best features of the gen1......the driver's side vent? They even make billet aluminum and branded covers like its a cool thing to do. I have a buddy who's restorer covered his and his reasoning was simply..."meh, they did it on their own, but whatever." I would rage if someone took away my beloved vent.

I totally agree! I love this vent and it will never be deleted.

 

[MarsChariot]

100% agree. On a sunny winter day when the interior might get a little too warm, that cent can save the day. Ditto the passenger side. The fact that all the AC versions block that off is why I have yet to do AC. Why can't someone come up with a small manual vent in the caps they seem to want to put on the passenger vent so that some fresh air can be had on such days. Covering that totally offends my sense of engineering.

 

[Rattle Cans]

Toms offroad even sells a toolbox that gos in place of the vent. I don't know why anyone would get rid of the vent for any of these "upgrades" lol

 

[BronCowie]

Its a "keeper" in my book.

 

[BOBS 2 68S]

Love my vent
and I pull the vent to access the back of the speedometer.

 

[okie4570]

Did you really just say "gen 1" on a classic broncos forum......?

 

[bfoldy]

Great post! I've wondered this too, since I keep mine open almost all the time.

I first noticed the blocked off vent when ICON came on the scene with their Bronco builds. As more premium builders entered the space, most seem to have copied this practice as a signature look for their brand.

There may be some practical logic too, like keeping water out of the cabin, but most of these trucks rarely see rain these days.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[toddz69]

Toms offroad even sells a toolbox that gos in place of the vent. I don't know why anyone would get rid of the vent for any of these "upgrades" lol

I'm to blame for that one. It was never much more than a leaf catcher/keeper of dead space in my truck so I decided to do something different with the space. A friend in the Midwest started molding them and Wild Horses sold them for years as the "Z Box". Looks like they've upgraded a few things and now they and others sell the newer version. I also run with a safari top year round and have a fiberglass hood without the vents cut out so it made sense for my truck. I think we used it more when I was a kid when I lived in a place with 4 seasons and we had a hardtop and a stock steel hood.

Funny to say though - I've been kicking around the idea of reproducing something from the '70s that would give the same functionality (vent) for the passenger side.

Todd Z.

 

[ntsqd]

Being able to pull in fresh air for the A/C would be a bonus.

 

[Glass Pony]

I put a stainless-steel mesh in the top of mine for the leaves and is fine enough to keep out wasps.

 

[ep67bro]

I love the vent on mine. Keep it open all summer. But if you got AC or live somewhere that its never that hot I guess I could see using it for something else. One of the broncos I had in the past had a tool box in place but I removed it and but the vent box back in.

 

[RODRIG3911]

Perhaps this has been asked and answered before but; why on earth are restoration houses and bronco builders covering what I feel is one of the best features of the gen1......the driver's side vent? They even make billet aluminum and branded covers like its a cool thing to do. I have a buddy who's restorer covered his and his reasoning was simply..."meh, they did it on their own, but whatever." I would rage if someone took away my beloved vent.

I covered mine because I installed a module for the Dakota gauges under it and didn't want the electronics to get wet. Probably the reason that most people do it

 

[lars]

I love my driver's side vent. It's open most of the time even with AC running, just to get outside air. When I went to a glass hood I cut out the vent blanks and glassed some stainless mesh to the inside of the hood before paint. I was adding Vintage Air AC at the same time but didn't want to lose a fresh air option on that side either. I cut a hole in the block off plate and welded in a piece of tubing (2-1/2", I think). Helped that the only AC line going through the plate is high pressure, so there was room. I have a VA-sourced butterfly valve on the inside, connected with a piece of flex hose and a couple of clamps. Not as much air gets in as the drivers side but it's still nice.

 

[Remos69]

Toms offroad even sells a toolbox that gos in place of the vent. I don't know why anyone would get rid of the vent for any of these "upgrades" lol

I carry my unopened emergency bottle of bourbon in the tool box!

 

[Scoop]

I deleted mine in my trail rig because I run it with a bikini top and no doors. But I still have the heater. Even with no doors and bikini I top it helps keep the feet warm!

 

[DirtDonk]

I like the vent too. But don’t forget, “pull For heat“ and leaving the TEMP fully closed, opens up a fresh air vent from the passenger side to the front floor.
As long as your temperature control valve is capable of closing, you mostly get cool-ish outside air.

 

[Remos69]

This is the emergency tool in the tool box! Unlike wine, a bit of vibrating doesn't hurt it!

 

[Bronco4x4]

It all comes down to how you drive. I mainly drive my EB with the safari top with trail doors (no vent air needed). I have the toolbox also. I also drive with full doors and a soft top and don’t need it then either.