'94 Firebird Interior Vent Removal

I just purchased some primer and Krylon Fusion to paint the vents and trim inside of our Firebird, I've managed to figure out how to remove all of the trim that I've been wanting to take care of, and the little vents on the pillars, but for some reason, I can't figure out how to remove the three vents above the head unit, and the other two by the doors. I don't just want to start prying at them without any knowledge because I don't want to break anything. Thanks in advance, any help would be greatly appreciated.

When you pull the dash face plate/cover off, do the vents stay in that piece or are there just holes cut out for them within the cover?

I haven't even attempted to remove the dash...I'm actually quite afraid to. If I had the dash removed, then I would probably would have figured out how to get the vents themselves out. I was just asking if there was a way to do it without removing the dashboard to keep the work to a minumum.

I found this info on another board hope it helps:

The little movable slats are mounted on a plastic ring, and the ring is pushed into the hole. Two "fingers" snap against a ridge on the hole in the dash, and keep the slat ring from pulling out if you pull it straight back. If you are lucky, you can get a small screwdriver behind the two fingers, pull the fingers inward (toward the center of the opening) and the vent will pull straight back and out. BUT, sadists that GM folks can be, the fingers are right behind where the center post in the slat ring is mounted, so you really have to finagle the screwdriver. It appears the front part, with the vertical post, and the slider is separate from the inner ring with the slats, and that possibly you can pull the two larger taps down to release the front ring, making it easier to work on the back ring. I have to look at this more.After a lost of frustration, I took a pair of pliers and broke the center ring out. The second one came out a bit cleaner, because by then I had found the "fingers".

The "clips" are right behind the vertical (or horizontal, depending how you like to align them) post... the fixed divider on the front of the vent.... the part you would grab to rotate them. You can get a "pick behind the post, but if you don't know exactly where it is, its very hard to find.....


there is a little clip on the sides of each vent
(C clip) it is located on the ends of the part you can grab and turn (center part) REALLY HARD to get to and REALLY easy to break........


The A/C vent "balls" are held in the bezel by small spring clips that are part of the ball. They are located right behind the center "bar" (the part with the slider in it) in the vent so they are almost impossible to reach. But if you can get some dental picks on both clips at the same time, you might be able to pull the vent ball right out.

Thanks a bunch. I actually think now, that I've gotten a more enlightened way to look at those little confusing pieces of plastic, I'll be able to get them out. I just hope and pray that I don't end up breaking them into pieces. Anyways, thanks again. :)