Air conditioning options?

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vntned

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So I recently picked up a low mile '70 Swinger with a 198slant A904 and backed up by an 8.75 with 3.55s. It's a super great driver and it is my new daily. I absolutely love it! However, with summer coming into full swing, the heat and humidity is staring I get rough at times. All my buddies are recommending putting air conditioning on it.

So are there any after market AC kits available for it?
 
Nostalgic AC Parts shows a Sanden bracket for a slant PN C3001, $225. Hard to make it out in the grainy photo. Next photo is one that member Charlie_S sells (or sold). Both add an adjustable idler pulley. Next photo is one that member Ahmed (Malaysia) made. Simplest method if you don't have power steering. A York-to-Sanden adapter ($40 ebay) might be easily modified to mount there.

Final photo is my cheap approach - brackets for a Sanden compressor I found on a Volare at PickNPull. A sub-bracket further out mounts a Saginaw power steering pump (mine is manual). Don't know if a factory setup, and haven't installed yet.

With the compressor set, I bought a vintage under-dash knee-knocker on ebay. I will make my AC hoses. Still looking for a condenser.

A complete kit usually costs >$1000. You can piece together much cheaper if you shop around.
 

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Hey I pulled a factory 1 groove clutched RV-2 with all the brackets and idler setup off of a 1969 Valiant with a 225 and power steering. Will it fit on my 65 Valiant with a 170 and no power steering? I took the dual groove water pump pulley, the add on crank pulley, and the fan spacer. Two of the bar brackets won't fit on the motor mount bolt because it's different mounts and one bar that should bolt to the outside end of the intake. My 170 doesn't have a bolt hole there. I'm hoping I can be able to make it work. I was going to get an underdash a/c unit, and have my hoses made. But will it be possible with the old rv-2?
 
Final photo is my cheap approach - brackets for a Sanden compressor I found on a Volare at PickNPull. A sub-bracket further out mounts a Saginaw power steering pump (mine is manual). Don't know if a factory setup, and haven't installed yet.

IIRC the Aspen/Volare started using the Sanden compressor around 79. Do you recall if the compressor was mounted above the intake or below it?
 
Helpful info for everyone, 65 Dartman. As I recall, the Sanden compressor was at a height above the intake manifold, but didn't extend over it. A rod went down to the lower block. It, probably attached to the motor mount bracket. Another rod went to the top of the head (lifting hole?), probably similar to RV2 compressor mounts. You can see the rods at the top of my photo. I'll have to figure that out when I fit to my engine, and may need to modify since my motor mounts may differ. The bottom front of the bracket attaches to the water pump bolts. I left the old Sanden at the junkyard since I have several new ones to use.
 
I know you asked specifically about aftermarket a/c options but if you decide you want to be a purist about it, I have the whole set-up of factory parts.

This is in a valiant and is totally complete but I have no use for A/C and my cousin who is my partner in parting this car out wants nothing to do with A/c, so this A/C set up is getting dangerously close to the squishy farm because I am not going to store it as we bought the parts car for the slant six and the duster front wrap.

So if you want the factory set- up $0.00 plus shipping.
 

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I know you asked specifically about aftermarket a/c options but if you decide you want to be a purist about it, I have the whole set-up of factory parts.

This is in a valiant and is totally complete but I have no use for A/C and my cousin who is my partner in parting this car out wants nothing to do with A/c, so this A/C set up is getting dangerously close to the squishy farm because I am not going to store it as we bought the parts car for the slant six and the duster front wrap.

So if you want the factory set- up $0.00 plus shipping.

How much to zip 73160 I NEED THIS!:thumleft:
 
Fooling with the Sanden brackets today. To see how they install, I found just 2 photos on the web - a 78 Volare slant wagon and a 78 Volare engine in a 99 Durango (not kidding). About all they show is the clocking of the bracket on the water pump and where the compressor sat. Note that both use the inner compressor groove, and the 2 Sanden's look different w/ different hose connections.

I didn't have my camera when I took the brackets off a Volare at PickNPull a few years ago. I vaguely recall a smog pump (likely for CA). I pulled the crank and w.p. pulleys too. The crank had a single-groove pulley, which gives 2 crank grooves total when mated to the damper. It fit my 64 slant after slight filing of the hub to fit in the damper hole (clears crank bolt). The w.p. pulley is 1 groove and exactly like my 64 pulley. I suspect the inner belt ran the alt & w.p. (like my 64) and the outer belt ran the Sanden, pwr. steering pump, and perhaps smog pump. Perhaps I can find a shorter belt to work w/o a smog pump and not interfere with something. Kicking myself for not grabbing the grubby Saginaw p.s. pump bracket at PickNPull, just in case I change to p.s. later.

BTW, the 78 crank pulley is much lighter than the 2 groove bolt-on pulley on my spare 74 slant engine (from Dart?). That pulley has a similar projecting hub but very thick and the crank bolt acts on it. Also has drilled holes that look like from balancing. Perhaps 74 has a cast crank that requires external balance. That setup gives 3 crank grooves total, which matches my 69 Dart slant that had 3 belts - alt & w.p., pwr steering, AC. The 74 crank pulley mounts w/ just 3 bolts. The 78 pulley has 5 holes, but I had only 3 bolts w/ it in the bag, so likely only used 3 (I installed w/ 5).
 

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Here are photos from the 225 I have in my 73 twister. I pulled a 78 aspen 4-door super six, rebuilt it and installed it. I have the old compressor installed as a place-holder. AC upgrade coming soon. Also I'm included photos from a 78 aspen wagon i have for reference.

aspen1.jpg


aspen2.jpg


aspen3.jpg


twister1.jpg


twister2.jpg


twister3.jpg


twister4.jpg
 
Here are photos from the 225 I have in my 73 twister. I pulled a 78 aspen 4-door super six, rebuilt it and installed it. I have the old compressor installed as a place-holder. AC upgrade coming soon. Also I'm included photos from a 78 aspen wagon i have for reference.

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Thanks for the pics! Those will help me tremendously when I get to the AC part of the engine rebuild as I will be using the Aspen/Volare brackets in my 65. I willl be sure to post pics when I get to that point.
 
Tremendous help GAMoparMan. I have a remaining question about the crankshaft pulleys. I poked all over the web and can't find a good photo of a 1978 damper. As you show, the AC belt rides inside the alternator-w.p. belt, so the crank damper must have a pulley inward of the single groove on my 1964 damper (and spare 1974 engine). I suspect that is a special pulley that bolts to the inside of the damper, with a large hole to clear the timing cover snout. Or, perhaps the 1978 damper has 2 grooves and envelopes the timing snout. If I must change dampers, I wonder if it was balanced to the engine in 1978. My 1964 is a forged crank, internally balanced. I wonder about the 1974 since it has a heavy 2-groove bolt-on crank pulley with drill marks from apparent balancing. I do have the 1978 pulley (1 groove, light) that bolts on the outside of the damper, and your photos clearly show the Saginaw steering pump belt uses that.

I also have one long rear rod that I don't see in your photos. It has an adjustment slot to match the front one, so must bolt to the top rear Sanden hole. Should be in my photos of post 3 (old photos not showing in new software). Laying things in place, it looks like it would attach to an EGR hole on the intake (later engines), though doesn't seem like the smartest place to be applying forces. It does appear the bracket & compressor will barely clear the battery in my narrower 1964 engine bay (if at all), which may frustrate 65 Dartman too.
 
As you show, the AC belt rides inside the alternator-w.p. belt, so the crank damper must have a pulley inward of the single groove on my 1964 damper (and spare 1974 engine). I suspect that is a special pulley that bolts to the inside of the damper, with a large hole to clear the timing cover snout.

It is exactly as you described; I have an extra inside pulley if needed.

It does appear the bracket & compressor will barely clear the battery in my narrower 1964 engine bay (if at all), which may frustrate 65 Dartman too.

I hope it will clear; if not I have a back-up plan: I have what I believe is a nicely made homemade bracket assembly that I acquired from another member that looks like it places the compressor closer to the head. We shall see!
 
It is exactly as you described; I have an extra inside pulley if needed.
65 Dartman, Thanks, I sent you a PM (assuming that is what "conversation" means in the new site software).

I bolted up the Volare Sanden brackets today and GAMoparMan's photos really helped. Actually, I did pull the Saginaw pump and brackets from the 78 Volare. Clearance in my narrower 64 Valiant is a concern. See the Sharpie lines where I will cut to give ~1" clearance to the battery. The p.s. pump hits the frame rail at about the 1/2 swing point, so might have to get a 2" shorter belt. You can't see that the p.s. brackets have a strut that attaches to 2 holes on the block's p.s. pad. The compressor can swing thru the full slot. My SD7H14 Sanden measures 3.25" between the inside of the ears (where brackets attach). 3 other Sanden's I have all measured the same. One is a 5 bolt (5 piston, i.e. 508), the rest 6-bolt (7 piston). I think H15's measure the same, but an H13 I have is ~1" shorter (use in my 1985 M-B). The Volare w.p. pulley is shown. The 64 pulley has an ever so slight lip past the V-groove that almost drags on the AC idler pulley. The idler's purpose is for the belt to clear the w.p., which it might w/ compressor full forward, but not at full-out position.

Note the two struts to the intake manifold bolt, one slotted. They are missing in GAMoparMan's, but (unlike me) he does have that bolt at the spring bracket. Probably only EGR intake manifolds have it, as I show for 2 aluminum ones I have. My 64 cast iron does not, nor does a 4 bbl Offy intake I have. A drill/tap could fix that, or a custom U-bracket. One might do better by fabb'ing a strut to the lifting hole on top of the head (as RV2 brackets do).

Clearance depends on how your engine sits on the mounts. "As found" my distributor was right against the inner fender, due both to a sagged R mount and a bent engine bracket. Photo shows current "as fixed" clearance on R side, so compare to yours. My intake manifold is level, which I expect is correct. Slants tend to sag with time, so the AC bracket clearance will increase, if anything. I also hope that in 10 yrs smaller batteries will be available, so the issue may disappear. Some hobbyists are using small super-capacitors today.

Next, I'll remove the brackets and paint. I then want to see if the Sanden-York adapter shown can be installed at the p.s. pad on the block, as Syed did (earlier photos). His 64 Dart is right-hand drive (Malaysia), so pulleys differ. My Valiant is currently manual steering, so if this works, the Volare brackets be for a later change to p.s. (if daughter drives car). One issue is that the York adapter doesn't swing much in the direction to tension the belt.

Finally more pulley info I uncovered. The alt-w.p. belt always runs on the damper pulley. All factory slant AC setups had a single AC belt that runs on a crank pulley inside the damper. This inner pulley has a wide hole to fit over the timing belt cover's snout. It attaches w/ 3 bolts, and you must remove the damper to install it. A pwr steering pulley bolts to the outside of the damper (giving 3 crank grooves total), and bolts to the remaining 3 damper holes. A photo from slantsix.org shows this (p.s. pulley should be flipped over). That photo does show the lip that I ground thinner on the Volare pulley to slide easier inside the damper hole, but today I found a 64 p.s. crank pulley I stashed, and it is identical w/ same lip, so one is supposed to force it in w/ the bolts.

78 Volare 225Sanden brackets on 64 Valiant.JPG


78 Volare AC bracket idler pulley alignment.JPG


78 Volare AC bracket rear.JPG


AC brackets clearance to battery.JPG


64 Dart 225 right side engine clearance.JPG


alum intakes w center bolt for AC bracket.JPG


crank pulleys, outer is on backwards.jpg


York-Sanden adj bracket.JPG
 
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In related news, note the 74 Dart factory AC with a 2-groove w.p. pulley. The inner groove lets the AC belt clear the w.p., the same as the idler pulley in the Volare bracket. Note the 2-groove cast pulley on my 74 Dart engine that bolts outside the damper. Best guess is the outer groove was for either after-market AC or for a CA smog pump. That engine didn't have an inner crank pulley, so probably never had factory AC. Finally, note the factory AC on an 86 Dodge truck, using the newer Chrysler compressor (also on some Volare/Aspen). Cool that the slant engine was still used in 1986, but only in trucks due to their slacker emissions requirements, and even longer outside U.S.

Thanks to the websites where I found the photos of the 74 Dart, 86 truck, and 78 Volares. I would credit you if I had recorded each site.

Finally, sundry details on my 64 Valiant that may puzzle some. I am using a new AC condenser for a Honda Civic (or Accord, forgot), because it was cheap on ebay ($22). I then found that those "peanut" fittings are non-standard and hard to find, but managed to find hoses, and have a crimper to make the other ends.

I plumbed a Walbro pump for later EFI. The silver can is a low-pressure fuel filter w/ return fitting that has the same fittings and size as the Corvette filter/reg I will later use. I will have to re-bend the front fuel tube to get past the Volare AC bracket.

74 Dart AC pulley.jpg


74 Dart crank pulleys.jpg


1974 slant bolt-on dbl pulley.JPG


86 Dodge truck 225 AC belts.jpg


86 belt routing.jpg
 
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Bill - my house computer is temporarily down waiting for it to connect to the Internet. When I get it back up, I will comment on your posts and include a pic of the factory PS pump and bracket assembly used with factory AC for the early A that doesn't even come close to the battery. I'll try to answer your PM (oops Conversation!) on the phone
Don
 
Good Catch Bill on the support from the Back AC bracket to the Intake right above the EGR. I went out to the shop and looked around. Sure enough, I have those brackets up on the shelf painted. lol, I must had forgotten to bolt them back on. I was in a rush to get the car ready for a trip. I will bolt them on tomorrow and post pictures. I'll also pull a balancer off a spare 78 motor I have and post assembly pictures of it and the pulleys that bolt to it.
 
Nostalgic Air in Florida is the only aftermarket company I've found that sells a complete kit.

I'm ordering one Monday, so cross your fingers.

I'll be posting pics and updates.
 
Also tinting your windows well help keep some heat out even the lightest helps i think factory a/c cars came with tinted windows from the factory but not sure. my 70 satellite came with a/c has factory tinted windows light tint
 
I cleaned & painted the Volare brackets, but filed away until I change to power steering and perhaps batteries get thinner. Instead, I made custom brackets to mount on the p.s. pad, similar to Syed. I tried to use a York-Sanden adapter (2nd photo), but the slot angles wouldn't allow tightening the belt. Instead, I bought universal Sanden brackets (1st photo, Vintage Air Brackets PN 151015, $48). I cut on my milling machine, using extra for the 2 webs. I used a structural strut from Home Depot for the base, running over to the motor mount w/ a strap from Ace welded on top to form an "L". Trickiest was having to undercut for one bolt, and had to grind a crowsfoot down to tighten it. I also added a thick strap to one w.p. bolt because the 1" vertical between mounting bolts didn't seem enough to stop tangential wobble. A lugnut worked good as a spacer. I found that plated steel (zinc) works best w/ my cheap HF flux-wire welder since the fuming keeps O2 away (don't breath it). I sprayed high-zinc paint on inaccessible surfaces before welding ("weld-thru primer").

Lucky I chose to use the front clutch groove since when I later added a nylon fan it barely cleared the AC clutch (and crank bolt). The fan has just 1" clearance to the radiator, so adding a p.s. crank pulley someday might eliminate the rad fan or change radiators. I had to bend the tranny cooler tubes to clear in the rear. Sanden SD508, SD7H14 & H15 have the same ear spacing, but smaller in "shortie" H12 or H13 (Honda Civics & such), so decide what you want. I used an H14. You can get 1-groove Sandens, but that would move the brackets forward so that the more-critical rear bolt location would need an undercut.
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Sanden bracket, welded.JPG


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compressor installed.JPG
 
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