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MG MGB Technical - Eye level vents

I have a 1974 chrome bumper MGB GT that I have recently rebuilt and am using every day. I have a couple of annoying squeaks behind the dash and from the location (at least from where they appear to be with my poor hearing), I would need to remove the face or eye level vents. I have read in a couple posts in the archives that you just pop them out but so far I haven't been able to budge them. I will admit that I haven't put too much elbow grease into it as I don't wish to be looking for new ones, so.........anyone have any instructions for their removal? My shop manual and other restoration books I have for the "B" don't say anything about these vents.

Brian
Brian Smith

Ugh.

First, they're partially held in place by a flattish bracket and nut something like the gauges. Except that the gauge brackets are a U or goal-post shape, and this is ever-so-slightly parabolic. This bracket runs north/south between the two vents.

"IF" you can get to the nut holding this in place and remove it, there are 4 tabs still holding things together. Looking at the vents from the driver's compartment to visualize things, there is one each at the top and bottom of the left-hand and right-hand vertical surfaces of the surround. These must be pushed inwards - from behind the dash.

Others may have specific advice - or better yet, pictures - but this isn't easy without removing the dash.
Rick Stevens

Is that how they fix? They look to be the same as the UK vents, just the other way up. On the UK vents you can see a plastic tab in two of the corners, you prise those up slightly and the vent just pulls out. If you prise up one first, then angle the vent so it sticks out a bit at that corner, you can release that tab then prise up the other, rather than trying to prise up both at the same time and then pull forwards.
Paul Hunt

PS. US and UK vents do have the same part number.
Paul Hunt

Brian
Here is the tab on the top of the Right side vent.

Kent

DK McNeill

and the tab on the bottom left side

DK McNeill

and the bottom right side

DK McNeill

and from behind the unit showing the bracket that holds the whole unit in the dash.
Hope this was of some help.

Kent

DK McNeill

When I needed to remove the vents, I found it easy to remove the glove box. Plenty of room to undo the attaching screwsw and press the tabs.

Jim
74B Roadster
James Conner

Thanks all. Kent the pictures are great and definately help. James, I will try removing the vents as per Kents' pictures first and if unable to clear them I will pull the glove box out.

Thanks for the info, really appreciated.

Brian
Brian Smith

Hi
I used feeler guages slipped down through the holes in the front of the vents to lift the tabs and out they popped. The vents were horizontal on my 72 B not vertical as in the ones in the photo's. Good luck

Doug
Doug E

Seems to me the bracket holds a frame on US cars, the vents clipping into the frame. UK cars have the vents clipping in directly to the dash, and are the other orientation. You should be able to remove the vents alone from the front just by carefully lifting the tabs as has been described, certainly done that on my UK cars a number of times, don't see why US cars need access to the back to do it.
Paul Hunt

This thread was discussed between 24/09/2008 and 26/09/2008

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