Does your Air Conditioning Work

[davepl]

I thought it'd be interesting to find out what percentage of original factory AC systems are still operating today - and I'm not looking for your "Just needs a recharge" eBay excuses :-) It either works like it's supposed to or doesn't, and I'm curious what the 'kept it working' rate is.

If you've removed it, I put an option there (same deal if a previous owner removed it)
If you don't have air, you don't need to vote, but if you like to anyway, pick Option 4 "Not a factory AC truck"
If you have aftermarket air (ironically often called Vintage like the brand) please pick Option 4, "updated to modern"

[72MARIO]

I voted " because this was not a factory air truck or has been updated to modern stuff"

I installed a old air kit in our 1968 suburban. Should have pieced together a factory kit rather than buying the old air kit. I am far from happy with its performance and it will be removed this year. I bought a 1972 a/c cab to use all the parts from.

[Grumpy old man]

Where's the box for 260 air ? 2 vent windows at 60 miles an hour

[hdff]

I pulled mine out a couple of weeks ago. I hope to have it back in and workin within a month. Going back original with R12. Sent the evap fan assembly and the heater box off to get refurbished. Having my original Harrison heater core record.

[leddzepp]

It blows snowballs even in 110 degree heat, sitting at a standstill in traffic. Nothing beats a factory AC system with r-12.

[57larry]

half of mine is missing. I'm going to install a Vintage Air system

[mrein3]

I voted yes. My AC isn't original to the non-AC truck but I bought all original parts, modified the firewall to look like an AC cab, adjusted the POA to run r134a, and it blows cold all summer.
FWIW, both of my Chevelles are factory AC cars and both still blow REALLY cold air as they are still both charged with R12. I have to top off the 71 every couple of years but the 72 was last charged in 1989 when I was working my way through college at a local service garage. Sounds impossible but it doesn't get many miles put on it so the system isn't subjected to lots of vibration. It leads a pretty cushy life.

[davepl]

Originally Posted by leddzepp

It blows snowballs even in 110 degree heat, sitting at a standstill in traffic. Nothing beats a factory AC system with r-12.

I was worried about R-134 not chilling enough, but the discharge pipe frosts right up, so something's cold somewhere. Remains to be seen what it does in 100F temps but in principal the 134 has been good; I do have a replacement condenser that I'm sure is bigger than the old R-12 originals, so maybe that helps.

[RustyBucket]

The 454 in the Blazer's not factory but the A/C is, blows cold but SQUEALS!!
Neighbor A/C guy says it's a bearing inside the compressor. Haven't bothered to fix it 'cause I never put the top on.
The engine in the '71 GMC is original but the A/C is a kit with a sanden compressor. Blows good and cold

[Andy4639]

Mine looks factory and is except for the 134 a Freon and sanderson compressor. All other parts are Chevy are new replacement parts. I'll put my 134 a up against anybodies r12 system anytime.
38* is 38* no matter what!
Mine has performed well now for over 10 years with 134 a.
No I didn't vote.

[cleanfreak]

My 68 has air , not working , original compressor was long gone when I got it , haven't focused the time & funds to fix it , but would like to keep the original components with a new compressor like Andy's

[hdff]

Originally Posted by 57larry

half of mine is missing. I'm going to install a Vintage Air system

Heard good and bad about VA, have you thought about getting what your missing and staying stock. Lots of parts on here to be had and you can get most of the parts from a catalog, just my $.02

[Already Gone]

Yes, it works and blows cold air on hot days... The original working A/C in my truck was one of reasons I bought it. I was given some invoices when I bought the truck and one of them shows that in July 2011 the A/C was converted to R134 and the original compressor was replaced with a used original. Last summer was the first year I owned/used the truck and the A/C blew nice and cold.

[greedy geezer]

No connection was pulled to compressor when I pug it in the belt squeals and the fuse blows I'll be looking into this further in the spring

[special-K]

Mine's all there and working but I rarely use it

[67ChevyRedneck]

Vintage Air been blowing ice cold since 2006. Was a non air truck.

[WorkinLonghorn]

I had mine off after an engine swap and a "metal recycler" criminal hopped the fence and stole my compressor and mounts (alone with a collection of vintage power tools and many other tools I used for work).

How hard is it to find small block AC compressor mounting hardware? It was a dealer installed unit with the York type compressor.

[hdff]

Originally Posted by WorkinLonghorn

I had mine off after an engine swap and a "metal recycler" criminal hopped the fence and stole my compressor and mounts (alone with a collection of vintage power tools and many other tools I used for work).

How hard is it to find small block AC compressor mounting hardware? It was a dealer installed unit with the York type compressor.

for a small block you can but them out of a catalog, LMC and others
I think

[cooperhw]

Originally Posted by hdff

for a small block you can but them out of a catalog, LMC and others
I think

You are in luck. My 68 came with a 327 that also had a dealer installed York compressor. I pulled the 327 and gave it to a buddy. If you want you can PM me your name and address and I will send the bracket to you. I could include the York compressor but it would add considerable weight to it and you would need to pay for the ride.

[Matt Cramer]

Some previous owner had removed a lot of the A/C in mine. Not sure if it had been working at the time or broken.

[kehstr]

Originally Posted by Andy4639

Mine looks factory and is except for the 134 a Freon and sanderson compressor. All other parts are Chevy are new replacement parts. I'll put my 134 a up against anybodies r12 system anytime.
38* is 38* no matter what!
Mine has performed well now for over 10 years with 134 a.
No I didn't vote.

I'm working on doing the same thing, it's a lot cheaper to replace parts, and you can actually buy the refrigerant

[73737373]

Of my 6 that start, run, drive etc and have factory AC.....none have a working AC system....waaaahhhhh!!!

[tk1251k]

My 1972 GMC Sierra Grande works just fine. It has 385,000 miles on it with all original hoses in place and 2nd a/c compressor but other that it works like a charm with no leaks.

[davepl]

So far it's a perfect 50/50 split between working and non-working on original AC trucks! I am surprised it's actually that high, I figured there would only be a handful that were kep working.

Probably a lot of those in the South I'm going to guess.

[Andy4639]

The over all design back in 71 was simple and not hard to work on. They work well as long as they are kept running.
When you think about it there is only 2 things that can go wrong with it.
#1 part failure
#2 A Freon leak. Nothing else can go wrong with it so it's pretty straight forward.