Old Air unit

[72BLAZERDUDE]

I am getting ready to buy a Old Air unit for my Blazer and have a couple of questions for anybody that has bought one. You use the factory control unit but the lighting in them is suspect at best. Is there any kind of upgrade or has anyone figured out a way to improve it. I put new bulbs in mine and its still way to dim. Also do I need to order a new center vent and new deflector balls or do they come with the kit. Also how long did it take you to do the install.

[cali_surfer]

If you have a factory a/c cab and want to keep the stock vents, then Old Air doesn't supply the vents and balls. However, it does come with a new center vent that's redesigned to flow more air. As far as the control panel, I bought a new repro panel and put new bulbs in it and its plenty bright? But I do agree, it could have been designed differently to maximize visibility. The install is pretty straight forward. You have to mount the unit to the dash, run the wiring, mount the compressor, drain engine coolant, size up the lines, get the lines cut/crimped/installed, system charged, refill coolant level, tweak control panel for best operation, install ventwork. Its pretty important to have the system professionally charged. You need the system to be held under vacuum for a while to suck out all moisture/contaminants. They are the enemy of R134a refrigerant. All in all it's a pretty good kit. Oh, one thing I did that the kit didn't call for was to wrap the ducting where it meets the vents with quality HVAC duct tape for a 100% seal. The duct work is good quality, but on the vents it didn't seem tight enough to just leave it alone, so I wrapped it in tape to seal it fully.

[4x4Poet]

Good tips, cali_surfer. Thanks. I'm also looking into Old Air (& Vintage Air) A/C kits for one of my Subs.