Factory AC vs Aftermarket-help me decide

[frenchy51]

I have the factory ceiling mounted AC on my 1970 Suburban. It is not functional at the moment. How well did these factory units work? It's over 100 degrees here today. Should I rebuild it or better to go with an aftermarket dash unit combined with a rear unit like an "Old Air" or "Vintage Air"??? Any body out there using the original setup? Thanks for replies-

[70cst]

I think one of the questions is ...

Do you want to stay factory?

If not I think the aftermarkets are more efficient units.

I will let others chime it

[72MARIO]

I just finished installing a old air system. I have 3 days into the install. I was not impressed with the instructions just horrible .....I had a problem with a few items and still waiting for them to call me back. I called Monday...,...

I would find a good local shop tg repair your existing system.

[60sIron]

Frenchy don't waste your time on the factory unit. I have the same one. Spent a lot of time and some money getting it working as it did when it left the factory. The roof is a big heat sink. The cold air doesn't stand a chance making it to the front. I even blocked off the rear most outlets. It work OK on moderately warm days, but so did rolling down the windows.
Remember the technology is over 40 years old. If I keep my Burb it's getting a vintage air unit. I'll keep the roof unit in as I think they look very cool.
Good luck keep us posted.

[60sIron]

Oh, I forgot. Nice Suburban!

[64Bezer]

I went down this road in April. Here's my story:

I have a 72 Suburban with factory rear AC. The dash portion of the original AC was completely shot. All plenums were cracked, the compressor was shot, several bad repairs had been done previously. I bought an Old Air system with an upgraded Sanden (510???) compressor. I had a local shop check my work, check the original rear unit, leak test it, crimp the tees, and charge it up. It worked well for a while. Currently, it's not blowing that cold. I am taking it into the local shop on Monday so they can look for leaks. I really think I have one. I didn't have that tough of a time installing the Old Air system, however the instructions weren't perfect. They were responsive to my calls and their advice helped me through the install.

Here's where I'm at right now... I like the system, but I think I need to optimize it. I don't have a lick of insulation in my rig and I can feel header heat and outside heat radiating through the floor, doors, and roof. That's a project that it marching to the top of my priority list. My impression of the system is that it is well engineered. However, I don't know if anything would be able to cool a 42 year old vehicle in 100 degree heat without insulation like a new vehicle has.

Here's a couple things you should know about the Old Air system first:
1) The system is only a recirculating AC system. It is not intended to draw in outside air. So, you need to have your kick panel vents closed when you use AC.

2) The temperature lever (bottom) on your factory console turns on the AC via a microswitch. This only occurs at the far left (cold) of the travel. So when you want AC, you get full on cold air (ideally, although not happening for me at the moment). Any temperature position other than the far left is non-AC. So, half of an inch from the far left of this lever represents non-AC, non-heated air; basically just the fan. If you move the lever progressively right, it gets hotter and hotter as it opens the heater control valve under the hood.

Would I do all this again? I think so but ask me next week or in a few months after I get some dynamat and dynaliner in there. I know some people like Vintage Air and I wanted to like that one, but I sent them several emails and they never replied, not were they helpful on the phone. Old Air answered all of those questions and suggested improvements. Now, would a VA system outperform the OA system? I haven't the foggiest idea.

Hope this all helps,
Rob

[frenchy51]

Thanks for all the replies. I don't care about originality, in fact, I don't really care for the looks of the ceiling mount unit. I just want to cool that beast. So far it seems an aftermarket unit is the way to go. Maybe heat-cool under dash and another cool only unit in the rear. Now I just have to decide which company. Please keep your experiences coming. PS-the original 1970 AC has NO dash outlets or controls. Everything is on the ceiling unit-at least that's the way mine is.

[60sIron]

The later years went with a dash unit and just the rear unit in the back. It didn't have the molded ducting trying to bring the cold air to the front as you and I have.

[frenchy51]

60sIron-Thanks for the advice neighbor. It's even a bit warmer up here than your neck of the woods, so I need an efficient unit or my wife will never ride with me. I'm putting in a 6.0 complete motor and 6 speed trans out of an 07 Silverado so I plan to use the 07 compressor.

[highwinger]

My 69 has a rear only a/c and being my primary driver (in FL), I like having the a/c. I don't think it is great, but does the trick. Mainly it suffers driving into the sun, but it also doesn't cool the front floor board area. The engine wins that battle unfortunately.

Ideally, I would like to have the front a/c added since I (the driver) needs it most often. I use it more during rain and highway driving when I would normally have passengers though.

From my front a/c addition trades, I lean towards Old Air since they tout a larger evap and more direct air flow.

FWIW that's my $0.02

[64Bezer]

As a follow up to my reply above, the local AC shop found a leak in a fitting they had crimped, so they fixed it and recharged it under warranty. Now it blows cold out all the vents. The burb still needs a ton of insulation, but what comes out of the vents is very cool and eventually cools it down. I'm happy now.
Rob

[k5kev]

I'm just about done installing a Vintage Air Gen IV front system along with an original 72 rear unit. All the research I've done led me to believe the Vintage Air was the way to go. I've installed myself and am extremely pleased. I just need to take it to an AC shop to charge it up. Give me a couple more weeks and I'll be able to let you know how cold it gets (I hope).

[frenchy51]

Thanks, Keep me posted. I'm going to try it with just the front unit for now. I'm a ways off in doing it though. Just tearing it down now. Getting ready to install a 6.0 motor and 6 speed trans. Then body work and paint. I have a ways to go....Anybody interested in the old original AC ceiling unit-it's for sale.