piecing together an A/C

[shortbedCUSTOM]

hey all,

correct me if I'm wrong, but to the best of my knowledge an automotive a/c sys. consists of three major components which are: compressor, condensor, and dryer. so, with this in mind, I have thought long and hard about piecing one together for my '70 Custom. I have a couple of compressors laying around from some latemodel mustangs, also a condensor or two, and atleast one dryer. as for the lines, I have some misc. lines also from latemodel mustangs. although, any a/c shop could custom make me some for my application.

the latemodel a/c compressor works off a serpentine belt so I'm in the process of converting my engine to a serpentine belt system complete with underdrive pullies.

my questions are few and basic. does anyone forsee any problems? has anyone done this before and have any suggestions? And, does anyone have any pics of the stock underdash a/c vent unit? I need the pic so I know what to look for at a junkyard. this would be the only stock piece to the a/c unit.

thanks for any help you can provide.

Carlos

[dcbullet]

I am super interested in this topic as well. I purchased several pieces of the A/C system from a 70-72 F-100 this last weekend, including the underdash unit. If nobody posts a picture today, I can when I get home.

From what I have read, there are several underdash units that were installed, depending on whether the system was factory installed or dealer installed. They would either have an integral heater core or not, depending on the system.

I believe I have the factory unit and it has an integral heater core.

[shortbedCUSTOM]

when you mention heater core, I assume that your unit heats and cools. I, on the other hand was thinking about just keeping my heater the way it is and adding an a/c unit.

do you think it's possible??

[dcbullet]

do you think it's possible??

Sure it's possible. Just need to find a unit that utilizes the stock heater core, rather than replaces it.

Here's a picture of the all in one unit I got:



I'm assuming you are wanted to put this together from used pieces. Otherwise you could get a set-up from www.vintageair.com or Old Air (?) Enterprises.

[Chasbod]

A complete system really consists of compressor, condensor, evaporator, dryer, and expansion valve plus the air fan. The condensor is what mounts in front of the radiator. The expansion valve/evaporator is integral to the inside unit (if an all-in-one under dash). The evaporator has all the fins on it and is the most leak-prone of the components.

[Chasbod]

The heating system on these trucks is generally a totally separate system which utilizes it's own blower fan and duct network. The under dash A/C was supposed to be an all-in-one component system separate from the heater system which came stock in the truck. If you think about the new car/truck systems, the ducts and blower fan are the same for both heating and air conditioning. But in these old trucks...they were completely separate. You can only blow hot air up to the windshield or floor as part of the heater controls. The air conditioned air only comes out the under dash unit.

[FORDification]

The big one pictured above is the only factory-installed A/C unit in these trucks. They do have the heater core built in as well. All others are smaller self-contained units that hang under the dash and were dealer add-ons. There are a bunch of pics of these posted in my photo album at the following link:

http://www.fordification.com/galleries/ ... p?album=24

There ARE some shots of the factory units there, but the other smaller ones are the dealer-installed units. That's also the direction I'm going with my truck. Here's the one I'll be installing....this pic was taken before it was removed from the parts truck:

http://www.fordification.com/galleries/ ... _4549r.JPG

From my research into this area, I've learned that for the most part, if you're getting A/C components from a parts truck, and any part of the system has been open to the atmosphere, you might as well consider it trashed and needing to be replaced...especially the drier. There will be just too much contamination and debris possible to even mess with them. The money you THINK you'll be saving by 'cleaning them up' will be soon be spent replacing the parts anyway, so just do it right the first time.

I saved a whole bunch of notes on this subject somewhere, but I can't find them at the moment. I'll keep an eye out for them.

[460 crew]

Shortbed there is a setup on ebay right now (just cooling) http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... gory=34197

[dcbullet]

Shortbed there is a setup on ebay right now (just cooling) http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... gory=34197

That's actually not the "just cooling" A/C. It's the heater as well.

[460 crew]

Cool guess I should pay a little more attention when I'm shoppin on ebay for others Killin me I was on ebay for 20 min and managed to spend just under 100 bucks Just a quick thought on my brothers 69 we have the cooling only unit and last summer pulled off the York compressor and did the conversion with the Saden from Old Air with new hoses condenser and and dryer. That thing will freeze you out even with the new 134a in there. I have the Hurricane setup they offer which they say has all this blowing capcity but by the time you run all the ducting through the dash to indivindual vents it just blows ok and dosen't really move the air like one of these older setups. i think I might buy the slimline they offer that looks similar to the originals. Moral I guess is go with the older style with new hoses and components and you'll be set just my though.

[shortbedCUSTOM]

well, thanks for everyone's help. it looks like one of these units is the one I need to be looking for. they all look to be A/C only units.

[shortbedCUSTOM]

I also noticed that the pics FORDification posted all seem to be automatic trucks.

[hardtailjohn]

There's an outfit in Walla Walla, WA that promotes a refrigerant that they call "Free Zone" that's really supposed to be much better at cooling than R134. It's accepted by EPA and is compatible with all the other systems, so not so much worry about flushing and stuff.. the farmers and heavy equipment outfits around here swear by it! www.heco.net
John H.

[shortbedCUSTOM]

I remember hearing about that stuff too. I completely forgotten about it 'till now.

[shortbedCUSTOM]

ok, next question.

I think I'm going ahead and buying this kit and would like to know if you all think that if I find a STOCK under dash unit I like if it will swap right inplace on this kit??