My Pet Peeve.. Short Rant

[Already Gone]

Saw this truck on EBay this morning and looking over this morning and thought wow a decent driver Cheyenne Super that is pretty original.. Scrolling the multiple pics I come to the under hood shot and horror as usual all the A/C stuff is gone. Why do people do that ????

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1972-Chevro...53.m1438.l2649

[BIG ORANGE]

Wow nice clean truck, yes your right. why? I mean it wouldn't take much more to go a little further and put the A/C stuff back right...

[Coley]

Well, it looks like has a non-stock (replaced) motor...fair enough.
So if a shop was doing the work for the owner they might have said that it is just as easy to remove the non-working A/C stuff, while replacing the motor... and leave it off than the extra cost of hooking it back up and charging, etc.
The owner probably got it all back in a box...and that was the end of it.

As well tho', why would they go change the interior from a nice parchment to what appears to be re-dyed black, at least on the door panels, etc.

I like those original parchment interiors and I think they work well with the Ochre color....just my thoughts.

...nice example tho'...and still a good price so far for sure.

All good
Coley

[leddzepp]

“AC works, just needs a recharge....and a compressor, condenser, expansion valve, hoses,....”

[clay68c10]

Because it's easier and cheaper to do a hack job than a real repair. Add the fact that most amateurs have no understanding how a/c works and what it takes to repair it.

[Steeveedee]

When I worked as a mechanic, I could pull the AC out of the way for engine R&R without even discharging the system. I guess a lot of guys don't care about not costing the customer extra money, or maybe they just don't know any better. It doesn't even require knowing how to fix it to move it out of the way for the other work!

Back in the '70s I was asked to go and troubleshoot a brake problem in the field. The "mechanic" was replacing a steel brake line using vacuum line with clamps, and couldn't figure out why the hose blew off when he stepped on the brake pedal. I kid you not.

[jocko]

When I was younger, I never cared about a/c. Then I moved to China Lake.

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

Originally Posted by Already Gone

Saw this truck on EBay this morning and looking over this morning and thought wow a decent driver Cheyenne Super that is pretty original.. Scrolling the multiple pics I come to the under hood shot and horror as usual all the A/C stuff is gone. Why do people do that ????

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1972-Chevro...53.m1438.l2649

I did exactly that when I R&R'd the engine in my project truck some 25 years ago. Turns out I managed to keep all the A/C parts less a few retainers and bolts, which I swiped from my other truck. It's one reason I bought the truck

[kwmech]

Originally Posted by clay68c10

Because it's easier and cheaper to do a hack job than a real repair. Add the fact that most amateurs have no understanding how a/c works and what it takes to repair it.

Bingo! Adding to that is the fact that if you repair it correctly at shop price, it could run over a grand easy. I converted my 69 to a big block and the AC to R4 with a short water pump. I'll post up some pics when I finish it and get it charged up

[volksworld]

cause its a truck...its job was to go from point a to point b with a load of stuff in the bed...when the a/c broke you rolled down the windows cause you couldnt afford to fix it....and the minute you did anything to the engine that required removing the compressor you left it off so the truck would be easier to fix in the future...that system could have been removed 40 yrs ago

[HO455]

Its also entirely possible that it was removed in 1982 when the price of fuel had jumped and the A/C had died and the owner decided he could save some gas by removing it.
I tore the A/C out of my 68 396 SS Chevelle in about 1984. It didn't work and was in the way just about every time I was under the hood. I was happy to lose 50 pounds of dead weight. Not saying I would do that today.

[davepl]

Because people believe that a cleaned up engine compartment with the non-working AC removed will fetch more than a AC truck sold as incomplete or non-working.

So far as I'm concerned, that makes them a heater truck with the wrong interior and HVAC box!

Plus, fixing AC is hard and removing it is easy.

[davepl]

Originally Posted by volksworld

cause its a truck...its job was to go from point a to point b with a load of stuff in the bed...when the a/c broke you rolled down the windows cause you couldnt afford to fix it....and the minute you did anything to the engine that required removing the compressor you left it off so the truck would be easier to fix in the future...that system could have been removed 40 yrs ago

Second owner. No original owner would save up the $750 (in 1970 money) to splurge on AC and then leave it non-operational.

Non-working AC is strictly a used car phenomenon.

[liftlawssuck]

I know why I remove them. Ugly as heck. Being in New England it's not really needed. Got a 69 Camaro....yup pulled it out too. Still have it and could go back on any time. Got a 79 K10 Silverado....yup pulled it out too. Know how hard it is to find a cab from out west that doesn't have AC!! Took a while but I found one. I like the clean look and to me AC is the best way to ugly up an engine compartment. I want a truck. Not a truck that has car options. This place would shred me for I did to my 79. It is a Silverado but I basically made it what I want and that's prolly equal to a Custom Deluxe now. I just wish I could buy a new truck without any of the crap they have in them now. Ok my rant over. Lol.

[morepwr]

I pulled my A/C out.....and replaced it with a Vintage air unit! Cleaned up the firewall and a smaller compressor on the engine looks cleaner.

[67ChevyRedneck]

Given the location, they probably didn't care about the expense of making the A/C work.

Unfortunately, the firewall between A/C and non A/C are a bit different, so you can't just pull the big A/C box and put on a factory heat box to make it "look" better.

[special-K]

Nothing wrong with pulling a compressor and lines on a truck you bought with it not working in. It's never a first concern and it's in the way. I always do that, plug the fittings, store the parts removed. But why it's gone is because there was a point in the middle of a truck's life it was just an old truck that still ran and most people don't know how to deal with a/c... even those who are mechanical and do about anything else on their vehicles. Many can do everything but repair hvac, carbs, and automatic transmissions. Why it's missing is because that's what most Americans do. Throw stuff out, don't see the value till it's hard to find.

This doesn't stop me from buying a truck. It just means here we go again, start searching for the parts

[demian5]

One of my friends has his grandmas "original owner" 69 chevelle malibu with 350/350. At one time in the 80s, he and his friend put a performer intake, carb and headers on it and **** canned the AC stuff. however, luckilly, it was all put in a plastic bin and kept in the garage...

But why?

We are going to get the AC going with one of those sander compressor/condenser/electronic poa valve conversion kits.

[Already Gone]

Thanks for all the replies. You all have valid comments and yes over 47 yearsa truck would go through multiole stages. I guess my thoughts are if it stopped working remove the belt and leave it intact so someday if you want to repair it everything is there. Just an old guys rant.

[cardude]

My AC doesn't work presently; but I still run the belt to keep the tension on the water pump even from both sides of the engine. (Big Block)

[Jake Spoon]

I do a lot of shopping for vintage automobiles and it seems more often than not the A/C has been removed. If it's still there, it's usually not working. As a general rule, since I'm in Texas, I factor an additional $2K to any vehicle purchase for Vintage Air.

[TBONE1964]

I have never in my life seen such a failed experiment as to how the engineers plumbed AC onto one of these trucks. It looks like when they were in development stage (something I know a lot about) they just could not get it packaged right and just threw it were it landed and called it AC.

And that is why most of mine got canned. I just could not stand to look at that mess of crap under the hood. Now the only reason I would have one on a 67-72 is if it was there when I bought it and functional.

Let the stone throwing begin!!!