Original installation of the VA unit

While upgrading the duct work of the Vintage Air Magnum IV system I found something very unexpected. The blower motor was barely hanging on to the side of the case and a large section of the case was missing, including half of the motor mount flange and the case support.


The extent of the damage to the case

I fabricated an aluminum bracelet that doubles as a blower motor mount flange.


Support is bonded and riveted to the case

With the new support installed and the blower motor mounted to a metal flange it is now rock solid and the case mounting bracket on the front is bolted to the new aluminum plate. I was surprised to find the case so badly deteriorated after only a couple of years of use.

 

Wow, your repair is really nice. Have you contacted Vintage Air about it? What do you think caused the damage?

 

yup, call VA and i bet they send you a brand new case for no money out of pocket.
They are a good company like that.

 

Awesome fix!

 

The blower motor is fairly heavy and is bolted to a plastic flange. In all fairness I think these systems were designed for show cars and trailer queens and I autocross the car and it is violent. Maybe the G loads were too much for it or one of the ride alongs kicked it when they get thrown around. I made the aluminum flange wrap around the front and is bonded and riveted to the plastic case. The front mount bracket is bolted to the aluminum plate for additional support.

 

I have had good luck with them so far and they probably would replace the unit, but I don’t want to have to remove the unit with all of the hose connections and removal of the entire dash. I actually found this damage when I was upgrading the ductwork with the adapter kit that they developed for the Sure Fit Gen V kit. It was easier and more durable to make the aluminum flange for the blower motor.

 

Thanks, I’m pretty proud of it.

 

That's what I'd have thought by looking at it. That the blower is large and heavy, and it hangs off of the side pretty far out without any support beneath it, stressing the plastic too much when the car is bouncing. Kind of like a balcony cantilevered out from the side of a house, without columns adding support.

Contractors of Frank Lloyd Wright homes were often afraid to remove the supports from under the balconies of his houses because they feared the balconies would come crashing down. But they never did because he didn't cut any corners in the designs. Not saying VA cut corners, but it appears to be a material failure, so a stronger material probably should've been used, and you made it so.

Otherwise, did the system work well? With the whole thing being inside the car, blower and all, is it loud, tolerable, quiet? I like it, and I remember when you installed it. It's something I might consider in the future.

 

The unit itself is good, it heats and cools well. The air flow needs work. This is why I was upgrading the ductwork. I originally modified the OEM plenum and I thought it was the reason for the poor volume, I didn’t realize that the blower was barely attached. After installing the new ductwork and reattaching the motor the system is working much better. I’m using a Magnum IV system which has been discontinued, the new GEN V system is smaller and the Sure Fit kit is an improvement over my current system. I do not have any experience with the new system, but I have seen it installed and it fits much better.