mounting vintage air condenser

[rodstored-72]

ok guys i am trying to mount my universal compac gen II ac system & i mainly want to know how anyone else mounted the condenser in front of the radiator? i am trying to fab up some brackets. i was told the condenser should not be more then 3/4 of an inch from the radiator. so if you have pics that would be great, if not could you share how you actually mounted the condenser & maybe what you did for brackets t hold it in place???

thanks for the time!!!

rodstored-72

[randomhero472]

ttt.. i'll be doing this same thing soon! how does that genII fit, and are you using the glove box insert vintage air sells with it??

[rodstored-72]

hero,
i haven't gotten that far though i have tried a test fit to see what kind of bracketing i might have to come up with. the test fit seemed to go well, though i don't think that i will get back any glove box space. i will know for sure in a few weeks. i am not too concerned about the box, as long as i can fit a few pieces of important papers in that is all that matters to me. i know the sure fit system is good, but i have a serp. belt system with a new r4 compressor & along with wanting to run my lines on the inside of the fender well that really just ruled out the sure fit system. so i have bought the condenser, dryer (trinary),ac unit & the controller which is all electric setup (plug & play). i really like the clean install although it is more involved. i mainly was wanting to see how people kept the condenser from "swinging" in to the radi. the universal brackets that came with it are pretty flemsy & appear to not hold it still when all 4 are connected. so i ended up making some out of some flat steel strips. anyways i was hoping to see & get some other ideas that people have done....
i will try my best to remember to take pics as i go.....

thanks!!!

[rodstored-72]

has anybody else done a "custom" install on their ac condenser???? how about the ac system in general????

[randomhero472]

try to pm "see ten" i know he's got V/A in his trucks, he was helpful to me

[rodstored-72]

hero,
thanks! i will. i will also try my best to take some pics of what i have parts wise so far & try to keep a how i did this or that list as i go. thanks for the pm. i wish us both luck!

rodstored-72

[Goose]

I installed the Old Air Products conversion some years ago. I put condensor in front of radiator support structure, but then added two front mounted electric fans to keep adequate cooling through the condensor. There is approximately 3 inchs between condensor and radiator. I used steel straps as well to mount the condensor. Still using my engine driven fan for main radiator cooling. I haven't made the conversion from R12 to 134a yet. Will probably need to pretty soon.

[67ChevyRedneck]

I don't know if your condenser is this large or not... but here's what the brackets/condenser look like for the sure fit kit.

There should be 2 existing holes in the bottom of the radiator, or at least 2 dimples to drill out holes and the top went behind the hood latch mount.

[rodstored-72]

67redneck,
that helps alot! thanks for the pics. i am going to try to install mine tonight. i will try to get pics as well & post them here.

thanks again!
rodstored-72

[2bits]

Here's a pic of mine, I just used some Home Depot straps, painted them black and screwed it in to the face of the radiator support. Mounted perfectly. Move all the way to the right so you have room for the hoses to come out the left side. That was the easiest part of the install. I mounted the drier on the wheel well, but the best place is on the front of the core support also so it keeps as cool as possible. When I had it charged, the compressor head pressure kept climbing too high and he said to get a fan shroud or an electric fan, I opted for both just to be sure.

[see ten]

I know this might not help much now but for future reference in case anyone asks. You don't have to buy the whole surefit system in kit form. Now that I've read your post I kinda see why you didn't want the surefit. VA will sell you the surefit condenser as well as the box that goes on the inside along with all the vents, cables and hoses. They can even sell you hoses that go to the compressor/drier in cut to fit lengths for these custom applications. You don't have to use the VA compressor and brackets with a surefit system. There is no reason why a serpentine system with a good compressor couldn't be tied in to a VA surefit system. Maybe you can talk them in to taking what you have back (or find someone else who wants it) and start over with the surefit parts that go in the cab as well as the surefit condenser. It might be worth paying return shipping and a restocking fee to save you some heartache. I hope you get it worked out.

[rodstored-72]

2 BITS,
thanks that does help too. i mainly was wanting ot know what other people used for mounting material, that straps that came with my condenser seemed too flemsy.

[rodstored-72]

see ten,
thanks for the help. i don't think that it is too difficult to use what i have so far... i kinda am happy with the items. i was just hoping to see what others have done & get some ideas. thanks for your input & sharing of knowledge.

rodstored-72