Factory A/C to Vintage Air guys

[gramps77]

Who has done it and how was it in comparison?
I already have to replace my compressor anyway, and all the vacuum lines are deteriorated and will need replaced. The fan Ive never been able to get to work right and its tempermental.

How did you like the swap?

[flashed]

My 72 didnt have air so we used Vintage Air and I love it but a properly working factory air set up would be hard to beat .I also know how expensive it can be to restore factory air as I had it done in my wife's Malibu convertible .I know Im of no help with your situation but if our convertible has problems again it will probably get Vintage Air .

[xole]

It will be a lot less maintenance and free up a lot of room.

I went from no-AC model to VA but I used stock air ducts rather than theirs.

You will loose everything on the engine side of the firewall. Also the unit is an all-in-one unit under the dash. It takes up a little more room under the dash and you will loose a little depth in the glove box.

The replacement controls are very similar but are LED lighted so will be a little different color and much brighter.

[flashed]

In my truck we used the original heater controls ,their controls may have been optional when I got mine .The Vintage Air does cool well and as said above looks much better under the hood .

[gramps77]

Im using their system in my 65 Chevy II and it doesnt seem to cool very well. I think it may be because of the small condenser though. When Im at speed, it does ok, but as soon as airflow stops going through, its stops cooling

[Greenlee]

I did it. There are some pictures in my build thread. I'm very happy with it. It works better than the factory system ever did. I have a Nissan Titan daily driver, and was just thinking the other day as I was driving to work that the air in my square blows colder!

[boatpuller]

I did it about 6 years ago. Mine is cable operated instead of electronic. It blows cubes, really cold.
I couldn't be happier with that part. Plus it got rid of that old ugly box in upper left corner. I also switched my alternator and compressor around.

[pontgta]

Unless its going to be better cooling.... I would probably stick to factory because it would be easier to fix ..... I am unsure. If it will take up more space in the cab as well... The engine bay pics posted sure do look clean though..

[83 Silverado]

I'll need to watch this, my 85 was missing most of the A/C components under the hood long before I owned it. One thing I'd like to knew is the differences between the VA A/C and non A/C kits.

[Greenlee]

They provide you with a piece to trim the glove box. Other than the glove box depth, it doesn't take up any more room in the interior. It provides you with a bunch of room under the hood. It blows cold and the fan blows much harder. I hardly ever use the fan on high because it's like a wind tunnel!

[Rich84]

I want to do this soooo bad! If you tell them that you have the factory duct work and vents will they customize a kit for a non ac truck??

I also would like to switch the alternator and compressor. It kills the whole look of a TPI setup to have the ac lines running over the top of the plenum.

[Greenlee]

Here are a few pictures I took when I was installing it. They provide you with flexible vent hose that replaces the factory duct work. You need a piece of the factory duct work on the far driver side and you need the factory vents.

Area behind the glove box before I hooked up any of the duct work:



I used a serpentine belt set up with the compressor on the opposite side. Vintage Air has the brackets you need for this. My stock air cleaner wouldn't fit without cutting off the neck.



Controls.

[Chevy3+3]

How much do these Vintage Air kits cost? If they blow harder and colder then it would probably be good option to look into for my 88' crew cab. My truck came with factory air.

[DREAMER1]

They run around $1400 for the entire kit. The only difference with the factory and non-factory a/c setup is they throw in a delete plate to cover the big hole that's left behind on your firewall after taking out the factory a/c. That price includes everything fittings, hoses, dryer, etc...except the freon. Then if you want to upgrade to polished compressor, polished control panel etc the price goes up. It's definetly a good deal.

[boatpuller]

This older thread may be of interest to you guy's. If you see my post in the start of it I included a link to a magazine install on these truck's that's kinda cool.
It becomes a hot topic every summer

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=470208

[flashed]

My kit did not include pulleys ,had to order them later as I was not aware they were not included .

[gramps77]

they are on Ebay all the time for around 1300 shipped.
part number for trucks with air is 944175.
When I got the kit for my Chevy II, I did an internet search for the part number then price matched through Summit

[xole]

There are basically 2 kits, one for trucks that came with AC and one for non-AC trucks. You can download the complete instructions from their www site for both kits.

The biggest difference between the kits are:
The non-AC kits come with a different firewall plate (the holes are different in the firewall from the factory). They also come with screw on drivers side vents (you have to cut the plastic dash bezel in the stock locations), replacement dash trim for the passenger side with vents in the stock location (it is the black trim, not brushed chrome).

The AC truck kits come with the specific firewall plate, kick panel block off plates and plastic adapters to convert the stock vents to accept the flexible hose.

I had a non-AC truck and used that kit, I "grafted", mixed and matched stock pieces from a donor and some LMC replacements. They would have sold me the plastic vent adapters from the AC kit but too much $$ for me.

Surprises I had to deal with....

Provided compressor bracket will not fit with "truck" headers (ones that don't hug the block). In the end I was on my own but they pointed me to who did have brackets.

Yes, you will need to work out your specific pulley issue especially if it was a non-AC truck that never had a compressor.

The rubber refrigerant lines are only finished on one end (cut to length) and you will need to find a real AC shop who had the right tools to crimp the ends on. This was not as easy as it sounds as most of the parts houses don't do it anymore as a service.

Check you parts.....I received in my kit both incorrect brackets and had a few missing parts.

[Greenlee]

In my case, the compressor came with the pulley. Also, Vintage Air told me on the phone they could either put fittings on both ends or leave the fittings off if I was not mounting the compressor in the stock location.

[v30crewcab]

I guess if you had a truck with no a/c it would be ok. My factory setup will freeze you out running 134 in it. but I am using the dodge a/c compressor on the cummins, and I have a fan out front that pushes air which helps at low speed.
I wonder how loud the fan is under the dash on those units. I had a aftermarket a/c unit in my scout, and it was unbearably loud inside from the fan noise, and cooled marginally.