A/C in K/5 - K/1500s in Desert South West

['68OrangeSunshine]

Hey, Do any of you guys running Blazers and Jimmys in the Desert South West have working air conditioners in your rigs, and do you find they are adequate for cooling in full-on Summer?
Region would be Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Nevada and non-coastal California.
My '71 GMC Jimmy once had Production Air but the PO let it lapse. I bought the truck in '95 but was not interested in A/C, so I took off most of the components, and stored them for later use. In the following decades, that stuff got lost. I would have to start from scratch. I still have the Controls, A/C heater core, and an A/C dash, but compressor, brackets etc. are long gone.
I'm in Tucson, and high summer temps here can run in the teens. With the voluminous 5 pax cabin of the K/5 type, can that space even be cooled enough?
Looking for opinions and experiences. Probably restoring an OEM 1971 Model Year A/C system might be impossible now, with the refrigerant changes. So what would be good options?

[Tuff Gong]

I'm in Phoenix. Had a blazer with AC. It worked fine for the driver and front passenger. Not so much for my kids that rode in the back seat.

[truckster]

Utah is not quite as hot, but I have working AC in my truck. The top is off most of the summer, but I can still get some cold air.

I custom-built mine with a Sanden compressor on a 98 Silverado serpentine setup and adapted the evaporator to fit in the stock box. I used a condenser from a 98 S-10 because the one from the Silverado was too big.

['68OrangeSunshine]

Originally Posted by Tuff Gong

I'm in Phoenix. Had a blazer with AC. It worked fine for the driver and front passenger. Not so much for my kids that rode in the back seat.

OK, thanks. I pulled the rear seat.
No kids.
I use the area for toolboxes.
Also, somewhere I acquired a hooped section of ~1/2'' conduit with male Dot snaps, I was told was a Cab Separator. Goes behind the bucket seats and in front of the roll bar to concentrate the cold air forward. I would need to find some clear vinyl of a good thickness and add snaps.
But that's a long way off in the evolution of this project.

['68OrangeSunshine]

Originally Posted by truckster

Utah is not quite as hot, but I have working AC in my truck. The top is off most of the summer, but I can still get some cold air.

I custom-built mine with a Sanden compressor on a 98 Silverado serpentine setup and adapted the evaporator to fit in the stock box. I used a condenser from a 98 S-10 because the one from the Silverado was too big.

I don't want to convert my Mr Goodwrench 350 to a serpentine set up, but the Sanden compressor sounds good. I'll have to find a local shop or expert to make a custom A/C system like yours.
For years, I was OK with ''System--2/40'' Roll down both windows and run at least 40 MPH. Global warming is creeping up.

[vjjack04]

Fellas,
I just returned to this forum (used to be on here a lot when I had a 55 Chevy truck) now working on a 72 Blazer with a 350. Motor isn't original, nor is the transmission, but the thing actually had factory air. The owner wanted to re-install it, but its not really cost effective or practical; new "Vintage Air" units work so much better and aren't clunky ugly under the hood. If he can afford it, that's what we'll go with. I am in Hereford, 3+ hours southeast of Phx and 1 and half hours southeast of Tucson. Hot here too, this year.

['68OrangeSunshine]

Hi Jack, Welcome back. I had to look up Hereford. Apparently that's where both the Clanton Cow-Boys and Texas John Slaughter were from. Handy spot if you want to rustle a herd from Sonora, I guess. Even handier if you want to apprehend doers of same.
I'm in Tucson.
Anyway, any idea what the bottom line would be for Vintage Air parts in your client's Blazer?
Nice truck, BTW.

[vjjack04]

68OS,
First, I noticed my ignorance about these things was evident right away. The blazer isn't a "K" because its 2wd, right? Anyway, the last vintage air system I actually bought was before the so called pandemic and all things were cheaper. I about $1500 all in. I just checked and the complete kit for a '72 Blazer is $2100, that ain't cheap. But, if it were mine (the Blazer I am working on), I'd still do it. It will add value while doing a great job at keeping the driver and passengers cool. I think a person can go to their website and piece out some parts and it could, then, be cheaper.
Regarding Hereford and where I am located, it is funny how many folks don't know where we are, even like you who live in Tucson. Its a little drive, but we are situated at about 4300 ft above sea level so we have mountains and cooler weather. And as you mentioned, about 15 miles away we have history like the OK Corral (sort of lame today) and the mining town of Bisbee. Oh, and I can see the mountains in "Meh-hico" from the road to my house. Anyway, here's the link to Vintage Air (I haven't checked but it might be cheaper through Summit Racing.
https://www.vintageair.com/surefit/c...2&model=Blazer

['68OrangeSunshine]

Yeah, you're right, if it's a two wheel drive, the truck technically isn't a K/5, it should be a C/5. Problem is most folks don't know or care about the differences in Chevy truck numerology. So if you say C/5, they're thinking of a huge Lockheed USAF transport, the C-5 Galaxy. It doesn't help that Chevy only produced ''K/5'' fender badges regardless of a truck's having one or two differentials.
Also it's funny that the Chevy Blazers are called K/5s, but GMC Jimmys are K/1500s. K/750 would be a logical designation, but GMC didn't buy into it.
Originally, Chevrolet Division had been planning on an actual 1/4 ton vehicle, in the size and weight class of the Jeep, IH Scout, and early Ford Bronco, to be called the K/5 Blazer. Somewhere along the line, that design got scrapped when someone got the bright idea to make a light-enough sport utility vehicle by cutting back the frame of a haff ton shortbed fleetside from 115'' to 104'', blending in the Cab and Bed, deleting the hardtop for a convertible, and matching the body panels to the new size.
Instead of being stuck in development hell as the 1/4T mini-truck was, they were able to get it on line for release with the 1969 Model Year trucks.
They sold like hot cakes. GMC went on production with the Jimmy in MY 1970.
Dodge copied the full-size rig concept with the Ramcharger in MY 1974, but Ford Broncos didn't go full size until MY 1978.

[vjjack04]

Interesting about the trucks. There is a fella in the town nearest me, Sierra Vista, who knows a bunch about them, like you. He seems to be constant restoring or fixing them up. Regarding the desert SW, yep the area around here is quite storied, but trashy now. Tombstone is not very well executed as a historical place and Bisbee's got a lot of effeminate influence. The Army Post, FT Huachuca, on the old post area is the most scenic, and it has a lot of history. Been here for about 30 years, after I retired from the Army. Something to do. Back to the topic. I wouldn't want to drive around in Tucson without AC. Vintage air aint' cheap, but it works great.

['68OrangeSunshine]

Originally Posted by vjjack04

Interesting about the trucks. There is a fella in the town nearest me, Sierra Vista, who knows a bunch about them, like you. He seems to be constant restoring or fixing them up. Regarding the desert SW, yep the area around here is quite storied, but trashy now. Tombstone is not very well executed as a historical place and Bisbee's got a lot of effeminate influence. The Army Post, FT Huachuca, on the old post area is the most scenic, and it has a lot of history. Been here for about 30 years, after I retired from the Army. Something to do. Back to the topic. I wouldn't want to drive around in Tucson without AC. Vintage air aint' cheap, but it works great.

Sorry for the off topic detour and travel log. In this heat the most effective is the best. An economy A/C system that doesn't deliver isn't worth the bother of installing it.