Stock or aftermarket A/C?

[MisterE72]

I have a 72 Custom Deluxe with an A/C cab, but no A/C. Would it be more cost effective to have the "original" set up put back in the truck or an aftermarket like Vintage Air? Are their other factors I should consider in this decision making process? Thanks ahead of time for any imput you provide.

[tavenner13]

hey great topic im subscribing to this one

[wheels67]

Im curious about this too. My 67 custom doesnt have air or the vents tho. Would a donor truck be feasable....or a new system.

Waiting for anyones stories.....

[timcos]

The vintage air is a lot more compact. Hoever I remember reading that you want the kind of vintage air with the stock/original controls.

Reason is that someone said it was all air or all heat with very little temperature control..like no warm.

Not sure if this is true...but I am subscribed now so I will watch.

I have the exact same Q.,..My A/C is missing the compressor...did not know if I wanted to simply replace the compressor or go with an aftermarket model. I do like the cleaner firewall look.

[wheels67]

Originally Posted by timcos

The vintage air is a lot more compact. Hoever I remember reading that you want the kind of vintage air with the stock/original controls.

Reason is that someone said it was all air or all heat with very little temperature control..like no warm.

Not sure if this is true...but I am subscribed now so I will watch.

I have the exact same Q.,..My A/C is missing the compressor...did not know if I wanted to simply replace the compressor or go with an aftermarket model. I do like the cleaner firewall look.

That is interesting. I know vintage requires an existing heater setup, but all trucks at least came with that, right?
Thats how the temp control would work for the air also, i think.

Id have to cut some round vents in my dash...cuz mines a virgin for the air baby..

[sameyrasmea72]

I would pick factory over add on anyday. Even if the after market works better, a correctly done factory system works very well and in the end the truck will be much more desirable. There is just no comparison. JMO

[Already Gone]

I do agree, there is nothing like factory for stuff like A/C etc. !!

I have a question about factory air dashes. I notice on the factory air dashes that the A/C vents on the sides of the dash have an inch or more of metal or plastic on them that the vent part is in.. My question is, is that piece metal or plastic and is it part of the air dash. Hope I explained myself properly. I guess want I want to know is if I add air to my truck I want it to look as factory as possible and if the part I'm talking about is a metal extension of the dash or part of the vent that just sticks out. If its part of the dash then I'd have to find an A/C dash to keep my truck factory looking.

[mrein3]

I'd pick stock. Especially if you already have an AC cab.

I'd also adjust your factory POA to work with R134a and recharge the system with that. Follow this link to adjust your POA:http://www.autoacforum.com/messagevi...AR_MSGDBTABLE=
Get all new o-rings. Flush the old system. Get a new receiver/dryer. Pull a vacuum. Fill it up with R134a.

[cdowns]

the main problem with the factory air is the amt of power it takes to run them// yes they work very well and cool nice but for the 2-3mpg it costs to run if i had a driver i'd go for the modern effiency of the aftermarket if you're looking for a correct trailer queen resto do the stock system

[67ChevyRedneck]

Originally Posted by cdowns

the main problem with the factory air is the amt of power it takes to run them// yes they work very well and cool nice but for the 2-3mpg it costs to run if i had a driver i'd go for the modern effiency of the aftermarket if you're looking for a correct trailer queen resto do the stock system

Unless you have another truck to look at, it may be difficult to install a used system, plus, who know if it even works? You may have leaks or have to replace expensive parts.

A vintage air set up will set you back about $1,150 with shipping and probably another $100-$150 for the belts and system charge. BUT you will have all the instructions and can use your factory air vents in the cab and the factory A/C controls!

A must: You should have at least a 4 core radiator and a good clutch fan in order to keep the engine cool on hot days.

I have a 3 core radiator and 7 blade clutch fan and it's letting the truck get up to 200-205 in traffic, which to me is OK, but not great, so I'll be adding electric fans when $$$ permits (probably another $2-300.)

My truck is also an automatic, which makes it worse, if your truck is a manual I'd think a 3 core radiator and clutch fan would be ok.

[SactoJim]

My truck had factory air and it worked fine, but an aftermarket setup really cleans up the engine compartment. It's pretty hard to "dress up" a factory AC setup.

[70swb454]

I had a non-air cab to start with and wanted the factory "look".

I bought part of the kit offered from oldairproducts.com. It included the evap/heater core assy,wiring harnesses ,and duct hoses that will replace all of the original heater parts. The finished look is very clean. I used original duct vents/ac balls and cut the holes in the dash very carefully. the compressor is a A-6 long style w/custom fit hoses using all the original alum. end fittings. I had them put service ports for r-12 and 134-a freon so if the r-12 gets impossible to find later down the road I can switch easily.

If i remember correctly I did the install in a weekend w/a case of beer....and it still works like a champ 6 years later

[70cst]

MisterE72...I am partial to factory ac, If your are trying to keep the stock appearance and if you sell your truck some day a factory set up will normally bring more money then that of an aftermarket set up. It all comes down to what you want and your goal. I am going to rebuild my factory air after I get the engine (402BB) rebuilt this fall/winter. JMO

[mvfd70]

I've got a non a/c truck and I really dont want to cut into the dash. I've got a factory A/C dash but I don't know if i want to do the work putting it in. So i've THOUGHT about going with something like this http://www.nostalgicairparts.com/getproduct.php?pid=351

Maybe not that one exactly but we'll see.

[MisterE72]

I understand having A/C takes uses up power. Does one system take less "horsepower" to operate that the other?

[2bits]

I would definitely prefer the factory set up as well if I had a truck that came with factory A/C. Using a new Sanden compressor with all the other factory components is an idea too, it is smaller and looks better, but I don't know about performance-wise.

Also, if you go with the aftermarket unit that is built to be out of the way under the glove box (to look factory), you HAVE to remove the factory heat and use their heat due to space constraints. I didn't like that since I have a factory heat only cab with a new heater core that works fine, and I just wanted to bolt up A/C, and not have to remove the heater box and mess with closing up the firewall etc... Just something to keep in mind. I don't know about all the makers, but Old Air and Hot Rod air said this to me.

I ended up with a "knee knocker" and factory heat. I like the one you located mvfd70, wish I had found that before I got this! The one I have is like that but miniature as has to be mounted in the middle. Here's a pic of mine, and also a pic of a friend of ours that has one similar to the one you were looking at, that one gets in the way ALOT less, I might buy the new evaporator like that later on...





With a unit like this you get to keep all your factory heat which is cool if you want to run a heated defroster for your windshield and also blow cold A/C because it is hot, you can't do that with a combined system.

[cdowns]

Originally Posted by MisterE72

I understand having A/C takes uses up power. Does one system take less "horsepower" to operate that the other?

the modern systems require far less power to run therefor you dont have the substantial penelty in MPG that occurs with the old factory systems

[67ChevyRedneck]

I was consistently getting 13/15 with my truck (city/hwy) before vintage air. I finally got my dash back in and can post back in a month or so to see if my avg. has gone down or not.

[barraza]

I have a vintage air system in my camaro, I think the truck system is similar. The vintage air setup works ok, but I do not like that it always uses recirculated air, it is also considerably noiser than a stock type system because the fan is right under the dash instead of outside on the firewall. If I did it again, I would track down factory parts.

When I redo my truck air, I am going to use a new sanden compressor, and the rest of the factory system with an adjusted POA valve for 134

[matthufham]

i found vintage air cheaper because with my AC 72, i needed new everything, and vintage air offered that for less. i reused my controls, but everything else is new. i ripped an o ring today trying to tighten my fittings to get the compressor vacuumed so i can't say much about the temp control, the heater however works good. the rest of the system installed ok, probably as easy as original would of been.

one downfall, the vintage air kit cuts the inside of your glovebox in half. so you can't store a whole lot of crap in there anymore.

[Zonaman]

Originally Posted by 67ChevyRedneck

I was consistently getting 13/15 with my truck (city/hwy) before vintage air. I finally got my dash back in and can post back in a month or so to see if my avg. has gone down or not.

I'll bet it's 12-14. That's about my range after the Old Air system I installed. Of course that doesn't include hauling the boat to Roosevelt Lake. It's out of overdrive, alot heavier, and lots of mountains then so it's single digits on the uphill leg!

I'll put in my vote for the aftermarket system. I like the adjustable thermostat on the evaporator on the Old Air setup.