Classic Auto Air

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Jim Lusk

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We've discussed their perfect fit system as being anything but. I did get the heater core tubes bent to fit and the large AC tube moved so it will fit the blower motor hole in the firewall (no pics of that). I will need to make a new cover.

A while back I grabbed the condenser and tried to fit it. The supplied brackets were obviously not going to work so I looked at the instructions. They said to clamp the condenser brackets in place with the radiator brackets. Um, NO. So, today I made up four brackets and it's solid.

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Yes, 440. And, not an original AC car. If it was I would upgrade the factory system. We did that in my old '67 fastback when we put the 383 in. We never got it all sealed up and charged, but it all fit.

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thanks jim, appreciate it.

the 68 dart is going big block, it's originally an AC car so i'm trying to decide what, where and how to upgrade the system while incorporating a borgsen set up and keeping it looking relatively stock-ish underhood and in the cabin.

currently planning stages... and i don't want to "just thow [blank] kit" at it for the sake of it being a kit and then have to modify a grip of expensive crap that doesn't fit.
 
I have the Vintage Air system and am not thrilled by how the condenser is right up against the radiator. As I recall (could be wrong), the stock condenser was mounted away from the radiator by a couple of inches... and I believe that helped airflow thru the radiator. What do you guys think about the benefit of setting the condenser away from the radiator a couple of inches?
 
Jim, glad to see you making these posts. I have a Classic Auto Air system in the Duster. I had it installed and there are a few things I don’t like post-installation. The electronic by pass valve sucks for one.
I am planning to do the next one myself and may be looking for a different supplier.
 
junkyardhero said:
thanks jim, appreciate it.

the 68 dart is going big block, it's originally an AC car so i'm trying to decide what, where and how to upgrade the system while incorporating a borgsen set up and keeping it looking relatively stock-ish underhood and in the cabin.

currently planning stages... and i don't want to "just thow [blank] kit" at it for the sake of it being a kit and then have to modify a grip of expensive crap that doesn't fit.
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I do have a factory duct that I plan on using instead of their cheap plastic vents. So, it will look more factory than not.

Ricks70Duster340 said:
I have the Vintage Air system and am not thrilled by how the condenser is right up against the radiator. As I recall (could be wrong), the stock condenser was mounted away from the radiator by a couple of inches... and I believe that helped airflow thru the radiator. What do you guys think about the benefit of setting the condenser away from the radiator a couple of inches?
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The brackets I made move the condenser forward by about 1/2" The radiator (Cold Case) should wind up about an inch behind it. The radiator will go back in soon.
 
Got the AC box installed yesterday. Had to cut firewall insulation away to fit their bracket. I also had to make a new block-off plate. I still have to seal up the holes, but I'll do that later. I'm likely going to buy some custom length hard lines instead of using hose everywhere. It'll fit better and look better.

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Hopefully, I'll get my manifolds back this week. I had them surfaced for a little more clearance, but my buddy has been hard to get ahold of due to family members being in the hospital or passing away (yeah, this is the truth). Having them out made the spark plug change much easier...
 
Jim Lusk said:
Hopefully, I'll get my manifolds back this week. I had them surfaced for a little more clearance, but my buddy has been hard to get ahold of due to family members being in the hospital or passing away (yeah, this is the truth). Having them out made the spark plug change much easier...
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Lookin good, Jim. Life is what happens when we make other plans.
 
Ricks70Duster340 said:
I have the Vintage Air system and am not thrilled by how the condenser is right up against the radiator. As I recall (could be wrong), the stock condenser was mounted away from the radiator by a couple of inches... and I believe that helped airflow thru the radiator. What do you guys think about the benefit of setting the condenser away from the radiator a couple of inches?
Click to expand...

There are advantages and disadvantages to both the Vintage Air and the Classic Auto Air systems.
I did a CAA kit in my own car, a '70 Charger, then earlier this year I did a VA system in a '68 Satellite.
The CAA kit fit and had decent instructions. The Charger has a LOT of room between the radiator and the back side of the grille due to the longer front end of the Charger. Darts/Valiants and most B bodies prior to 1971 are pretty tight in there. You need to remove the grille to gain access to install the condenser and various lines and fittings.
With the CAA kit, the routing of the lines through the firewall were pre-determined. You just made-do with it. The VA system leaves the routing up to you which can be great but can also be hard to choose what will work best. The one route they offer is to go through the right wheel well, up over the UCA mount and through the square-ish hole left there for access to the alignment cams. The A bodies don't have that, so you'd need something like this:


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For the people that want to hide the lines, the Vintage Air systems do offer some creative solutions including reduced size A/C hoses to fit in tight spaces. the CAA was a simpler installation that may not have looked as neat and clean but was a lot easier to put together.
 
I'm not going to hide the lines, but will go hard line for most of it as I think it will look cleaner. The hard lines will also clear the distributor and air cleaner better. I'll be running the big tube up the right side of the intake with a short hose for vibration. The Classic kit has the lines from the condenser go through a factory hole, but I had to remove one of the horns to get it in there. The horn can go back in when I'm done with the install.
 
Looked at the water valve and the instructions yesterday. It looks like there should be a bracket, but no mention of one in the instructions. It appears that they just want the valve hanging loose. Another dumb idea as I couldn't find anything that looked like a bracket for it. One more to fabricate...

Does anybody have experience making AC lines (tube, not hose) and have the tools for the ends? Preferably in California. We have a local shop that can do the job, but they are EXPENSIVE. CAA didn't send all the right fittings anyway...
 
No bracket supplied - I asked and they just wanted to let the water valve flop around on the hose. Here is the bracket I made for mine (Sorry, wrong computer - pics to follow)
 
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It used existing body holes in the inner fender, and the AC hose that runs to the drier lays neatly under the bracket
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Jim Lusk said:
Looked at the water valve and the instructions yesterday. It looks like there should be a bracket, but no mention of one in the instructions. It appears that they just want the valve hanging loose. Another dumb idea as I couldn't find anything that looked like a bracket for it. One more to fabricate...

Does anybody have experience making AC lines (tube, not hose) and have the tools for the ends? Preferably in California. We have a local shop that can do the job, but they are EXPENSIVE. CAA didn't send all the right fittings anyway...
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I believe not hard mounting the valve is in line with the same principle as not hard mounting fuel pressure regulators to limit vibration's effects on the mechanism. I soft mounted the one I just installed.
 
The mechanism is connected by rubber hoses. If you were really concerned you could used MSD isolated box mounts on the bracket. I have driven my Dart with the bracket shown above for 13,000 miles of mostly 2 lane blacktop in the last 2 years with no issues. I can't see how having the mechanism flopping around would reduce vibration.
 
I was going to buy the ac line crimpers and make my own ac lines. They are fairly cheap on Amazon. I don’t have any experience, so I am interested in knowing if others have done this.
 
Mike69cuda said:
I was going to buy the ac line crimpers and make my own ac lines. They are fairly cheap on Amazon. I don’t have any experience, so I am interested in knowing if others have done this.
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I have one of the crimp tools. Results on the last AC system i installed were hit or miss. Theoretically the crimp is only there to keep the hose attached, but some never did seal completely so I don't know. There is a line on the tool to tighten it down to so that you don't over-crimp, but that really wasn't far enough...
 
I have a local hydraulic hose shop that will crimp stuff for me. My plan if I ever get around to installing the A/C in my car would be to mock everything up in the car the way I want it, cut the lines to length, then just take it somewhere to get crimped. I've had them do a couple hoses for me now. I can't recall the cost as it's been a while since I've had it done, but I can't imagine it would be more than a few bucks a hose or just a flat time cost for a half hour of work or something.
 
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