67 Barracuda Factory Air - Worth Fixing Up?
I put a factory ac in my 69 barracuda and I like it. I use R134 and it will freeze you out.
1. Do you still have factory air that works in 67-69 Barracudas? Mine works good, but I have a new expansion valve, condenser, dryer and fan.
2. Are there replacement parts for under the dash available if I need to rebuild?
Detroit Muscle makes a rebuild kit. All my vacuum pods still work, heater cores are available, but with some issues.
3. Has the system proven to be fairly reliable once rebuilt?
Mine works great. I have to put gas in it at the beginning of the summer because I have a small leak in evaporator coil.
4. Can the original coil inside the dash handle refrigerants available today?
Yes.
5. Is the pushbutton control system fairly straightforward to work on?
Yes, you can take it apart, clean it and lubricate it. The biggest issue is the vacuum ports break off.
6. Any idea of a ballpark cost to get the air working with nothing under the hood and typical repairs inside the car?
I think about $1-2k if you do the work.
Original pulleys and brackets are really hard to find unless you can salvage it all off a complete car.
The lines & hoses can be found fairly easily. I still use 50 year old hoses an they work fine.
Heater hose valves are not repopulated, but you car get a similar one that functions the same.
If I couldn’t find an oem under hood set up, I would go aftermarket. You can buy modern compressors, pulleys and brackets.
7. Are there companies that specialize in restoring these factory systems on a-bodies?
I don’t have any experience here since I am a cheapskate.