Classic auto air install 1970 Duster with 340 and Edebrock Super Victor EFI Manifold

[goldduster318]

Hello All,

I did end up ordering the kit from classic auto air with the 26-302 kit with the add-on pulley. The car has a 340 with Edelbrock heads and an Edelbrock Super Victor EFI intake, power steering, and otherwise the stock 1970 318 Non-A/C pulleys.

I did also have to re-seal the timing cover because it was leaking out of the seal and I found apparently that there wasn't a crankshaft oil slinger in place so I had to make a trip over to Mancini Racing to grab one to get it back together right.

I did some stuff a bit out of order, but I did the compressor mounting and condensor first. I suggest removing the radiator entirely for doing this job.

Crank add-on pulley installed, the other brackets are off due to some paint touch up.

I put the condensor in, the directions are completely wrong, to hit the passenger side stock bolt holes, you have to do them as shown and I had to drill holes for the driver's side and hit them with bolts and nuts. I am using a 26" radiator, so none of these locations are actually touching or used by the radiator, you may have to do something different with a 22"

Bracket installed on the engine. The main bracket on the water pump and its spacers fit fine as does the one that goes to the driver's side intake bolt, though it is very close to the bypass hose. The one going to the right cylinder head seems ok at first, but it needed 2 washers in the end. I cannot use the fourth bracket that would go to a spot on the passenger side of the intake because of this intake. If you had a stock one, it would work.

I had to make my own 4th bracket, I replaced the middle water pump bolt with a 4" full thread bolt so it would stick out the back. Then made this bracket out of 1/4" bar stock + 1/8" in the middle that you cant see as a spacer.

Other side is going to work

In my case, the stock belt with the Delco 12SI alternator was too long so I had to go with a 1" shorter belt to not have it hit the ear on the compressor. I had a Gates 7470 and now have a Gates 7460 on there.

Pulleys all installed.

You will have to change the heater hose fitting from 1/2" to 5/8" hose type for this so be sure to do that.

 

[goldduster318]

The add-on pulley is a bit strange with only the 3 bolts and having 3 bolts behind it.

Finished home made bracket.

Installed pipes and reciever/drier. You have to drill holes for it but they provide nuts and bolts, I had to add my own washers on the rubber isolators

Pressure switch isn't in a very good place, my grille is broken for the bulb holder for the turn signal but it would be hard against the wire.

I had to make new fuel lines for the front fuel rails and go to steel around the compressor because of the lack of space for my braided hose.

26" radiator back in and contour fans back in, my overflow tank no longer worked so I have another on order.

All buttoned up for the brackets and the belts are all installed

 

[goldduster318]

Now to get on to the interior part of it, after removing all the original heater box and the controls, you get to modify the control plates

You'll find it goes OK until you do the hot/cold blend and find that the wire for the control is about 3/4" too long. I shortened it. When it gets at least 90% of the way to both ends of the potentiometer then you'll know it's doing alright.

To get the box in, you will have to trim the firewall insulation around the opening where the blower motor went though before. I also suggest that you put this bracket in after the rest is bolted up because it's basically impossible to swing the box in when this is bolted up to the box and I had to re-bend this bracket to get it to work right for me. I may add a second bracket later since it seems like it still rocks in the cross-car direction. I had to use a right angle air drill to drill this hole.

Megasquirt 3 pro computer can still be put in it's original location. You'll notice there's a lot of room to the right of the kick panel and above the fan. This is where I'd like to mount the controller and the relay, but the wires are too short to reach right there.

I did hook up the wiring to do the test tonight. The first try - everything worked, but the blend doors wouldn't actuate after calibration. I tried with the mode switch to the right at the beginning of the calibration which is opposite of the directions and then it worked, but all was reversed. I had to unbolt and flip that potentiometer and then recalibrate and all was good.

As far as the wiring goes:
The directions show a black pigtail to the water valve, blue to the defrost door, and yellow to the other mode door - in this case, yellow=grey. The wires are too short for those in my opinion. I will have to contact them to see where they intended that the control box get mounted.

Most people's cars will only have a single power for the blower motor, so you'll have to add one. I used the blower motor power for the main power, and also have a second wire coming out to trigger the relay for the additional power. The relay comes from under the hood at my secondary positive battery post with a 20A fuse and then runs inside. If you fuse it just where they have it, you can burn your car down with a short. Not really great.

They don't give you any wiring to set up the pressure switch, just a connector and the relay that has to be under the dash. Plan on buying some wire at least of 16 ga to run it. I haven't finished that yet, but its fairly easy, though you need a lot of wire to do a clean install.

I'm not sure where they actually expect you to run the wire for the water valve, but I think it makes the most sense to run it through one of the original heater core holes that they give you rubber plugs to plug.

It says in the directions that the ground must be connected directly to the battery. I don't know the reason for this but I hooked it up this way for now. I may have to convert to the MIL Spec battery post on the negative as well to make it not look janky.

So far...For a "Perfect fit" kit, I sure have had to modify a few things. I also need to ask them if I was supposed to get a glovebox because there isn't one in the box or on the packing list.

 

[lemondana]

You will enjoy that AC when it's hot out. Nice job!

 

[72bluNblu]

Nice work!

Yeah it doesn’t seem like a “perfect fit” kit to me, definitely some interesting things going on with their brackets and pulleys. But I suppose some of that is the aftermarket intake too, and I guess that’s to be expected.

One of these days I might have to add AC to my car, it definitely looks like a big enough project to justify my hesitation for a bit longer though!

 

[goldduster318]

Bouchillon Performance makes all the bracketry for the engine, the rep from Classic Auto Air told me as much. 3/4 wasn't so bad with the basically race manifold with EFI that I have here.

I do have quite a lot of time in it already, probably 14-16 hrs including removing all the old parts and re-sealing the timing cover. It's a really big project, don't kid yourself. I think with a later car it might be worse given that the heater controls are probably slightly different and also the core supports are different so you may be making even more modifications.

I am planning on getting a new bezel designed and 3D printed so that the heater controls are correct on the face.
-The fan now has 3 speeds/4 positions instead of 2 speeds / 3 positions
-The mode selector -> OFF is now "DASH" or A/C, HEAT is now Defrost, and DEFROST is now floor / Heat. You can blend between any two of the settings.
-The temperature selector is still correct.

The compressor will be on if the fan switch is in the on position and any position other than heat / furthest right is connected.

It might be some time before I get this finished due to wanting to have a new bezel and it being cold. For sure it will not be charged this year though I may rent a vaccum pump to check for leaks.

 

[Oldmanmopar]

Great thread, Thanks.

 

[Ricks70Duster340]

Bouchillon Performance makes all the bracketry for the engine, the rep from Classic Auto Air told me as much. 3/4 wasn't so bad with the basically race manifold with EFI that I have here.

I do have quite a lot of time in it already, probably 14-16 hrs including removing all the old parts and re-sealing the timing cover. It's a really big project, don't kid yourself. I think with a later car it might be worse given that the heater controls are probably slightly different and also the core supports are different so you may be making even more modifications.

I am planning on getting a new bezel designed and 3D printed so that the heater controls are correct on the face.
-The fan now has 3 speeds/4 positions instead of 2 speeds / 3 positions
-The mode selector -> OFF is now "DASH" or A/C, HEAT is now Defrost, and DEFROST is now floor / Heat. You can blend between any two of the settings.
-The temperature selector is still correct.

The compressor will be on if the fan switch is in the on position and any position other than heat / furthest right is connected.

It might be some time before I get this finished due to wanting to have a new bezel and it being cold. For sure it will not be charged this year though I may rent a vaccum pump to check for leaks.

I have a Vintage Air system on my 72 Challenger. Even though the compressor & crank pulley has dual grooves, I can only use one belt because the second one hits the alternator mounting bolts. Really would like to use 2 but...

 

[72bluNblu]

Bouchillon Performance makes all the bracketry for the engine, the rep from Classic Auto Air told me as much. 3/4 wasn't so bad with the basically race manifold with EFI that I have here.

I do have quite a lot of time in it already, probably 14-16 hrs including removing all the old parts and re-sealing the timing cover. It's a really big project, don't kid yourself. I think with a later car it might be worse given that the heater controls are probably slightly different and also the core supports are different so you may be making even more modifications.

I am planning on getting a new bezel designed and 3D printed so that the heater controls are correct on the face.
-The fan now has 3 speeds/4 positions instead of 2 speeds / 3 positions
-The mode selector -> OFF is now "DASH" or A/C, HEAT is now Defrost, and DEFROST is now floor / Heat. You can blend between any two of the settings.
-The temperature selector is still correct.

The compressor will be on if the fan switch is in the on position and any position other than heat / furthest right is connected.

It might be some time before I get this finished due to wanting to have a new bezel and it being cold. For sure it will not be charged this year though I may rent a vaccum pump to check for leaks.

Wow, thanks for all that information! It’s really useful to see what was necessary and I’m looking forward to seeing it finished and working, whenever you’re able to do that. It’s super helpful to have some of this stuff documented, it makes it so much easier for other people to go that route.

My car actually already has modified controls because I use the earlier heater controls that are part of the rallye dash with my later heater box, so I’m sure whatever I do there will have to be unique to my car. Certainly part of the deal but it’s little things like that which take a lot of time.

 

[TurboGLH]

I've been working on 3d printed heater delete dash plates. It's definitely a side project, but if you want to message me, I'd be willing to take a look at what you need and see if my existing work can roll over.

 

[goldduster318]

Today's update:

Cap is on but the holes that were behind the original stiffening plate don't line up. The bottom heater hose has just barely enough room to get a clamp on it but it will work. It's slightly cheesy but it will work. I will also have to relocate the ground for the wiper motor.

The directions for the drain tell you to drill a 3/4" hole for the drain - DON'T!!! it needs to be 5/8" -> of course I trusted the directions way too much and drilled a 3/4 so I had to go to Menards and get a 1/2" ID / 3/4" OD clear line. Of course when I went to pull on the box the nipple there broke off because its somewhat brittle plastic. So I get to plastic weld that back together now. Arrgh! I didn't get an elbow in the kit even though there was supposed to be one according to one of the pages of the directions, even though the BOM page says nothing about it. I got one at Menards also. I used the other tube that came with it to extend it down the firewall so it won't drip directly on the headers or the bellhousing.

Excecutive decision to mount the controller on the lower A-pillar. It's really the only place that makes sense. I will have to extend the wire for the ground and additionally the wires for the servos as a result. Ignore my crappy kick panel.

 

[goldduster318]

I've been working on 3d printed heater delete dash plates. It's definitely a side project, but if you want to message me, I'd be willing to take a look at what you need and see if my existing work can roll over.

Thanks, I'll get in touch. I am basically wanting to duplicate the original but have correct lettering for the new pattern that they have. If not, my friend had already ordered a 3D scanner and we're going to work from there.

 

[67Dart273]

Thanks for posting all of this. So far as the pulley, that is/ was common, clear back in the early 70's my 70 RR 440-6 I bought from a friend, had had "hang on" added AC and it was that way--a big beefy added pulley held by 3 of the dampener bolts. Realize just how strong 5/16 grade 5 bolts are, and you'll have no worries.

 

[ESP47]

Good stuff. You're running into all the same issues the rest of us had. Nothing earth shattering difficult but they definitely need to remove the "perfect fit" from the name once you realize all the modifications that need to be made in order to make it all work.

I wouldn't even waste your time asking them to send you a glove box. I know on my 68 it's not even remotely close to fitting. Doesn't even reach the lower mounting holes in the dash at all. You'd be better off shortening a stock glove box than attempting to mess around with theirs.

Keep us updated on how you run the driver side vent tube. I've yet to hear a rock solid method of running this tube through the dash.

 

[goldduster318]

Continuing work:

I pulled down the A/C side using my Harbor Freight Pittsburgh A/C gauges and air driven vaccum "pump" (which is from Amazon but HF sells the same one). It held overnight so I should have a decent seal.

New eBay 2" overflow tank hung on the back of the radiator.

I made an additional bracket out of some scrap sheet metal I had left over from when I did the 6-speed to make it more sturdy. This worked very well. I had also finished lengthening the wiring harnesses for the other servos and ran them over the top of the box. You will need to add 1.5' or so to the servo cables if you mount it where I did.

I built a bracket to hold the water valve.

Lengthened the engine bay side of the wiring and ran it up my adapted later model fender brace and then in through the former holes where the heater core went.

I did also start running the wires for the pressure switch out from the relay and then the wire from there to the compressor.

 

[goldduster318]

Work has been slow due to needing to winterize everything around here, the holidays, and just generally being cold.

I did get everything connected under the hood for the heatercore and the wiring done. The Heat did work well when I was bleeding the cooling system.

I looked under the dash and decided to order some round vents to use with pods, but they're not really made to just snap together or anything...Guess I will have to glue them.

I did finish the wiring. Due to having the EFI computer, I have some extra abilities to improve the functionality of the A/C and also smartly control the fan running. The car has the contour fans and the dakota digital controller - If you just connect the white or purple wire coming from the classic relay to that controller on the A/C input, it will just run the fan on high at all times when the A/C is on. This is not what I wanted. I decided in this case to change it so the Megasquirt 3 I have can control the low speed and then it's able to turn the fan off above a certain speed (I am going to try 25mph). Because of the way the controller works I had to add an extra relay so the LOW relay gets cut out when the high turns on. Wiring diagram below:

Next, I am making it so the Megasquirt 3 can cut the A/C compressor clutch off at over 70% throttle, it can idle up the engine when the A/C is on, and how it will know to run the fan to help cool the condensor. This can be accomplished by understanding the system diagram. The Classic Auto Air controller has a single wire that is blue that they normally tell you to connect to the thermostatic switch on the A/C box and it has a second pin (these were heat shrunk together) that goes to the relay they provide. So, knowing its a ground switch, you interrupt that wire and pass it to the input on the MS3. Then, on the MS3, you use an output and connect this back to one side of the box. The rest, you hook up as they request. Another note is you'll use about 15' of wire for each wire to connect from the relay to the pressure switch under the hood and from that switch to the compressor.

Note that in both diagrams wires crossing at 90 degrees are not splices, the only splice is pin 86 and 30 together on the second diagram but this was done already by Classic Auto Air.

So from here on out is actually just if/when I make a new control bezel, and then running the hoses and installing the outlets under the dash. Not sure when this will get done with it being winter here now.

 

[goldduster318]

So I figured out the vents un the above picture unscrew, so it's actually quite easy to deal with them.

For the middle, I bought an Autometer 2238 3 gauge panel and enlarged the outside holes to fit these, they are approximately 2.25"

I used the pods as-is on the left and right sides.

I had to move my inside hood release to make it symmetrical

Finally, the center with the AEM wideband gauge.

My friend who has a 3D printer is working on a tube to go past the steering column and also an insert for the controls. He has a 3D scanner also so this is a good test for that. Since he does this as a side business if we make something good it's possible they would be available for sale.

 

[72bluNblu]

So I figured out the vents un the above picture unscrew, so it's actually quite easy to deal with them.

View attachment 1716176443
For the middle, I bought an Autometer 2238 3 gauge panel and enlarged the outside holes to fit these, they are approximately 2.25"

View attachment 1716176444
I used the pods as-is on the left and right sides.

View attachment 1716176445
I had to move my inside hood release to make it symmetrical

View attachment 1716176446
Finally, the center with the AEM wideband gauge.

View attachment 1716176447

My friend who has a 3D printer is working on a tube to go past the steering column and also an insert for the controls. He has a 3D scanner also so this is a good test for that. Since he does this as a side business if we make something good it's possible they would be available for sale.

Great work as always!

 

[Jarlaxle]

Perfect fit my !

This is the HVAC setup that REPLACES the stock heater, correct?

So I figured out the vents un the above picture unscrew, so it's actually quite easy to deal with them.

View attachment 1716176443
For the middle, I bought an Autometer 2238 3 gauge panel and enlarged the outside holes to fit these, they are approximately 2.25"

View attachment 1716176444
I used the pods as-is on the left and right sides.

View attachment 1716176445
I had to move my inside hood release to make it symmetrical

View attachment 1716176446
Finally, the center with the AEM wideband gauge.

View attachment 1716176447

My friend who has a 3D printer is working on a tube to go past the steering column and also an insert for the controls. He has a 3D scanner also so this is a good test for that. Since he does this as a side business if we make something good it's possible they would be available for sale.

OOOOH! I might want one of those if so. If he could make one that would go about 2/3 the width of the dash (say, 3-4" to the RIGHT of your center vent panel to the driver's side), that might be quite helpful. (An under-dash unit may have to go on the passenger side of my Duster due to my 4-speed and gauges.)

 

[goldduster318]

Perfect fit my !

This is the HVAC setup that REPLACES the stock heater, correct?


OOOOH! I might want one of those if so. If he could make one that would go about 2/3 the width of the dash (say, 3-4" to the RIGHT of your center vent panel to the driver's side), that might be quite helpful. (An under-dash unit may have to go on the passenger side of my Duster due to my 4-speed and gauges.)

Yes, it replaces the stock heater.

I did get a tube that's fully the size of the oval vents but its been cold enough I haven't been out there verifying where it fits if at all. The space is worse than I thought getting past the column and wipers.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Yes, it replaces the stock heater.

I did get a tube that's fully the size of the oval vents but its been cold enough I haven't been out there verifying where it fits if at all. The space is worse than I thought getting past the column and wipers.

Thought so. That's not what I'm planning, I just want the add-on A/C.

Honestly, I was thinking small-diameter (or oval) GVAC ducting for the driver-side vents.

 

[goldduster318]

Just had a look with the 3D printed tube my friend made for me, it was made in 2 pieces and glued together:

The idea is that it goes above the gage cluster. I am probably just going to double sided tape it to the dash frame. The gage cluster did fit in my case, but nothing in this car is original (gages, wiring, fuse block)

 

[goldduster318]

I cut and modded my glovebox - the JB Weld Plastic Weld worked good, but I got some runs. Not a big deal since you never see it anyway. For some reason I had to cut the upper corner because of the pinch weld on my car...This is a later plastic glovebox. Now it fits fine.

Interior is back together. My heater controls bezel took a beating from my friend 3D scanning it. Hope at some point we get out design done and can swap it out.

Today was the first day I fired it up. I have a coolant leak at the power steering bracket bolts in the block I need to fix. Then all that's left is charging it. I didn't check yet to see if it held a vacuum all winter.

 

[goldduster318]

Sorry I forgot to mention I made a bracket for that tube to hold it up, but it seems like the hot ticket. If anyone needs one, let me know and I'll get in contact with my friend about pricing/availability.

 

[goldduster318]

Update, it's all finished, charged up.

Was blowing 40 degree air in the outer vent yesterday when it was 75-77 and very humid. I did find it cycles a lot because of the evaporator freeze up switch seems to get tripped a lot in humid temps. There was water condensing on the bottom of the unit and also the vents, we're talking 80-85% humidity. Hopefully will get a solid very warm day to test it out before Power Tour.

My connections to the Megasquirt 3 to turn on the fan and everything work well also.

I have to check it again and maybe use another relay because for whatever reason the radio reception takes a dump when the compressor clutch is engaged.