oldzy

Curious what the little round hole is for in between ON and OFF on the repros, and why the repro says ON/OFF instead of mine... HI/LO/OFF?

Repro


Mine

Yellowstatue

How about a pilot light in that hole...red...off low high could be for a blower type and off on could be for heated rear glass type...

MDchanic

I am NOT the Cutlass dash expert, but I would say it's a model year difference in the controls. The hole would be for the indicator light.

- Eric

edit: YellowCutlass beat me to it!

My442

71/72 had an indicator light.

70 does not.

BTW - the repro appliques do not have the raised chrome around the levers.

I have found 2 NOS appliques for 70 rear defogger cars...

rocketraider

The one with the pilot lamp hole and ON-OFF is for the heated glass defog unit. The one without hole and OFF-LO-HI is for the blower type defogger.

When Paul mentioned the raised lip around the switch openings, at first I thought the raised lips were cast into the control head and the openings in the faceplate fit around them. Then I realised that since all the control heads had the hole for the defog switch they couldn't have been.

442_1972

I am curious about this because I would like to add the blower style rear defog option to my 72. Assuming you can find a defog setup with a switch, can you add the defog switch to a non-a/c control head? Thanks

Lady72nRob71

The '72 control head chould have the provision for the switch - just change the faceplate.
I did this on mine with no issues. I will use it for an accessory switch. The alarm LED is in the pilot light hole.

You will need to add a couple relays to the firewall and get the different AC blower wiring harness to wire it in properly. It is to lock out high AC speed when the defogger is on to avoid overloading the alternator at idle.
You will need to make sure you have at least the 63A alternator, first. If you have A/C, I think you should.

442_1972

This is great information - Thank you! This is for a hardtop project I'm hoping to work on soon that doesn't have A/C. My convertible (that looks a lot like yours - see pic) has A/C and it would be a cool option to have for it, but I doubt I'd ever use it since the top is down most of the time. I've seen a couple rear defog setups for convertibles on Ebay, but they're as rare as hen's teeth it seems - and expensive when you do see them.

Lady72nRob71

Oh my - Lady has a long lost cousin!!
More pics, please!

Is your side and hood striping factory correct? Lady's is far from it and I am wondering how she would look if she was correct... She does need the hood decals for sure.

oldzy

Thanks for the info. Mine has the 'blower' type defogger.

442_1972

Hi Rob, the stripes look fairly close to original, but I don't think they are "factory correct" from what I've seen on other 72 442's. The stripes had already been done before I purchased the car and, since they look decent, I haven't messed with them. I would love to do some detailing to mine like you have done to yours (interior, engine, etc.), but I'm knee deep in another project right now, so it will have to wait. I attached some more pics from a few years ago - the car still looks the same today.

Sorry Oldzy for hijacking your thread!

Allan R

Actually it is correct for 70-72. The hole in the faceplate is for a red indicator light. This application is ONLY for the cars that had the rear defogger on glass option.

X2 These units do not work off a timer like the newer cars do. It also means that you have to change your alternator to at least a 55 amp if you want this to work.

I know how hard it is to find a "HEATER" faceplate that has the extra holes for the rear defogger. The one for the heat on glass is really hard. The ones for the blower rear defog is available from H&H classic restorations http://www.hhclassicauto.com/products.html

442_1972

Thanks Allan, I'm saving this info.

Allan R

No problem. If you change your mind and go with the defogger on glass option, I have an OEM harness and relay that I can probably do photos of and send you. One of the guys on this site can make a repro of any harness you give him for a reasonable cost. I might give it a try myself first though. All you really need is the wire, connectors and crimping tools. How hard can that be?

I currently have a blower style rear defogger in the car that I may just take out. I'll keep you in mind if you're interested.

442_1972

Yes, please keep me in mind if you swap yours for the other style. Thanks.