adding OEM air conditioning

[tjc]

I have a 68 c10 non-air truck and want to add OEM air, is the dash the only change I have to make besides the under hood stuff?

[Eddie H.]

The cut outs in the firewall are different between AC and non AC trucks.

[tjc]

ok thanks, that's what I need to know.

[mike16]

get a service manual, a parts catologe and a factory assembly manual . also a good idea to have both a non ac truck and an complete ac truck sitting side by side to really do it right. It can be done and is not dificult but is time consuming and its good to be detail conscious. I put comfrotron ac in a 67 impala convertible. took some time but it worked out very well. take lots of pictures and dont loose confidence at the half way point. its not difficult. it just involves alot of little steps.

maybe think about finding an ac cab to begin with.

[Mike C]

Why OEM? At this point that technology is 50 years old. The retro-fit systems work so much better. And they bolt in. I would seriously consider this option as the better way to go.

But if you have to go OEM, buying an AC truck with all the parts the best way to go.

[F.A.A.benny]

I'm revising my comment as there may now be kits available that don't require any drilling. If so, I'm sure someone can chime in to verify this.
As there are plenty of guys that say it was pretty easy to install, there are people out there that do not agree with the "ease of installation". Why cant that modern system incorporate a fresh air option like that 50 yr old technology. And really in all honesty, just how modern of a technology is that aftermarket kit? Sanden compressors have been around for decades. The expansion valve has been around since at least the 1950's. The only modern parts of it that I can see are` the parallel flow condenser, barrier hose, and the electronic controls/servo motors to control the blend doors. They do a good job of marketing/advertising. Add to that, most guys looking at the original systems and not really knowing where to begin with restoring it. Restoring your original system correctly using r12, it works great. Or if using 134a, recalibrating the poa valve and replacing the factory condenser with a parallel flow condenser and it works great also.

[davepl]

If you had all the parts and a donor truck, or were able to grab all the parts from an AC truck, it wouldn't be that bad. The cab mods would be the toughest.

I did a poll and about half of the trucks that had AC are working right now. That's actually a pretty good ratio for AC on a pickup truck I think as it included trucks that had had it removed too.

Nothing wrong with the stock system, but if I was starting without a donor truck, I'd go aftermarket myself (and I like my current stock setup, but wouldn't want to try to build a list of parts from memory!).