63-66 a body ac options
- Thread starter Syleng1
- Start date
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BillGrissom
Well-Known Member
There are two issues. The cabin unit is early A specific. I will use a knee-knocker in my 2 A's. If tempted to use a factory climate box, know that factory AC cars had a different firewall, so a lot of work to adapt to that.
The compressor is engine-specific, other than the fact that early A's have a slightly narrower engine bay. Several bracket setups for V-8 (see Bouchillon Performance, Vintage Air). For slants, you can find a post that details all the options. One option is finding ~1978 Volare/Aspen Sanden brackets, but may want to use a narrower battery (some newish cars use) so the bracket doesn't threaten punching a hole thru the case.
The compressor is engine-specific, other than the fact that early A's have a slightly narrower engine bay. Several bracket setups for V-8 (see Bouchillon Performance, Vintage Air). For slants, you can find a post that details all the options. One option is finding ~1978 Volare/Aspen Sanden brackets, but may want to use a narrower battery (some newish cars use) so the bracket doesn't threaten punching a hole thru the case.
Just got in my Vintage air unit today. Initial thought was it’s small- actually smaller than the factory heat only box. I’ll post some pictures of the progress when done for reference - early a body with GenII compact with heat ac and defrost.
Looking forward to your progress.
I added factory a/c to my 69 cuda from a parted out car. It was a lot of work and probably not a job for a novice. I would imagine it would be similar for an early A. It’s nice now that it is done, but it would have been 10x easier to go aftermarket, but about twice the cost or more.
Don’t believe all the stuff about R134 being inferior. I run it in my 69 with no modifications. It gets so cold I have to turn it down. I have been doing it for years in multiple cars. No changing o rings, oil, hoses or any of that crap. All that is is other people making money on you. I think the problem most have is they don’t pump the system down right and don’t charge it right. The obvious out is to blame the r134. I’m not saying that the R134 works as well as the R12, just that it works well enough you won’t notice if you have charged it properly.
Don’t believe all the stuff about R134 being inferior. I run it in my 69 with no modifications. It gets so cold I have to turn it down. I have been doing it for years in multiple cars. No changing o rings, oil, hoses or any of that crap. All that is is other people making money on you. I think the problem most have is they don’t pump the system down right and don’t charge it right. The obvious out is to blame the r134. I’m not saying that the R134 works as well as the R12, just that it works well enough you won’t notice if you have charged it properly.
Not to add insult to injury but you are correct R-12 is superior to R-134a. When I worked at the dealership level and the change came, the company that had the patent on R-12 (DuPont I believe) was loosing it due to age and then sold R-134a as a “environmental saver”because R-12 was bad for the environment. Now 20years later R-134a is bad for the environment and a new Freon R-12(a) I think it’s called is now what is trying to be pushed. It’s all a money grab. There are companies that buy up surplus Freon and wait on it till the market is low and then resell at high cost. Try buying R-12 now. It’s outrageous the cost per oz. As the consumer we get hose’d for sure. Looking forward to ac in my 66 early a (Barracuda) next year but hoping the ac unit can handle the heat load of that rear window in summer. Time will tell.
Bingo! Money and political. As long as the components are size matched/designed properly it should work fine. My R12 system in my Swinger gets to 34° before the capillary switch kicks off the compressor. The 134 system in my Dakota will get almost as cold.
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When I replaced the old Chrysler piston style compressor in my '75 Triumph TR6 to a Sanden compressor I also converted to R134 with no noticeable difference in cooling. The major difference was increased performance and reduction in vibration when running the a/c. Unless you have a concours car, replacing that heavy, vibrating piston compressor with a rotary compressor will provide benefits in engine and a/c performance as well as appearance.
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