55 chevy pickup vintage air

[_Ogre]

Originally Posted by wilberweb

Do all the old pickup aftermarket air conditioner heating units do away with the glove box.

loosing the glove box was partly responsible for my decision to shave the dash on truk.
also didn't like how far down the aftermarket ac hung is why i made a 4'' dash fascia on the passenger side

[Iwirem00]

I know it's been awhile. How did your VA work out? I'm thinking of using the R-4 pancake compressor. Move my fresh air vent cables where you did; what cables did you use?

[roger55]

I guess you are asking me since I'm the one using an R4.

The A/C works great! Very cold and blows hard. Cools the cab down easy even on 100+ days.

I've read that generally R4 compressors are not liked due to poor longevity. We shall see. If I do find that that's true and it goes out early, I'll look at converting to a Sanden.

[mdthomps]

I have a question about the glove box. I am currently building a 57 Chevy truck and putting in the same Vintage air system. I could hardly fit the evaporator up behind the glove box area and ended up bending the inside metal where the hinge bolts just to fit it into position. There is no way to have a glove box door fold down at all. Did you have this issue? I planned to simply weld the glove box door shut and smooth it out.

[roger55]

Originally Posted by mdthomps

I have a question about the glove box. I am currently building a 57 Chevy truck and putting in the same Vintage air system. I could hardly fit the evaporator up behind the glove box area and ended up bending the inside metal where the hinge bolts just to fit it into position. There is no way to have a glove box door fold down at all. Did you have this issue? I planned to simply weld the glove box door shut and smooth it out.

In the instructions they tell you to modify the bar so it limits how far it will open. I did it that way with my '57. It doesn't make for a very good place to store much that way.
I did modify how the plastic box mounts to the dash. I used rivnuts in the plastic box.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Roger,
I don’t know how I missed this thread before but it’s providing good info that I need now.

I’ve never used rivnuts and don’t know how they work. Are they like a pop rivet? No issue with cracking the plastic....or do they mount differently and it’s a non issue?

Also, why won’t the original glove box screws work? It’s not like we’re going to have to take this substitute glove box in and out much.

Last question - sorry to be such a pest. Do the vents from VA fit closely to the contour of the TF dash? I bought some that were for a ‘55-‘57 car but they didn’t seem to fit as closely a I would have liked so I returned them.

[roger55]

Originally Posted by Dan in Pasadena

Roger,
I don’t know how I missed this thread before but it’s providing good info that I need now.
I’ve never used rivnuts and don’t know how they work. Are they like a pop rivet? No issue with cracking the plastic....or do they mount differently and it’s a non issue?

Also, why won’t the original glove box screws work? It’s not like we’re going to have to take this substitute glove box in and out much.

Last question - sorry to be such a pest. Do the vents from VA fit closely to the contour of the TF dash? I bought some that were for a ‘55-‘57 car but they didn’t seem to fit as closely a I would have liked so I returned them.

Hi Dan.

Rivnuts, nutsert, rivet nuts are the names for them. Very handy for all kinds of things.
I use 10-32 size for most things but I have tools for some larger sizes as well.

Here's a cool little video that shows you how they work:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2nB2-LvGSQ

A tool like the one in the video are pretty expensive. But there are some inexpensive ones out there too.

For the 10-32 size, I use this little tool most of the time:
https://mdmetric.com/prod/rivetnuttool/rivetnuttool.htm
Works great on steel rivet nuts. Some of the cheap ones like this one below are only good for the small aluminum ones:



I bought a couple of these tools not long ago but haven't used them yet. They are for larger sizes and work with steel:



The rivet nuts made an improvement to the way the glove box fastens in but you can do it the way VA says to. Since I have the tools for using rivet nuts, I use them whenever I think they make things better or easier.

I am totally happy with the way the upgraded VA side vents fit the dash. They are expensive but they don't disappoint in any way.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Thanks Roger,
I agree on liking to do things “right” - Not that the VA way is “wrong”, just that it can be done better. You had no issue with the plastic cracking? That would BUG me if it did. I totally agree with lining the plastic box with some felt or upholstery material. Anything to make it look less cheap.

Thanks for the links too. I will buy a decent tool. I don’t mind inexpensive tools if I don’t use them that much. But I DO mind cheap crap tools that’ll break when you need them.

[roger55]

Originally Posted by Dan in Pasadena

Thanks Roger,
I agree on liking to do things “right” - Not that the VA way is “wrong”, just that it can be done better. You had no issue with the plastic cracking? That would BUG me if it did. I totally agree with lining the plastic box with some felt or upholstery material. Anything to make it look less cheap.

Thanks for the links too. I will buy a decent tool. I don’t mind inexpensive tools if I don’t use them that much. But I DO mind cheap crap tools that’ll break when you need them.

You are welcome Dan.

Here's a good place to buy the steel 10-31 rivet nuts:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Rivet-nuts-...sAAOSwlndZFOSw

I've probably set a few hundred of those with this little tool:

If you get this one, practice on something with it first to figure it out. You don't let it pull all the way like it looks on the right. You don't need to pull it that far to set the nutsert.

This size is super good for securing fuel lines and electrical wires to the frame too using insulated ring clamps.

I use stainless 10-32 socket cap screws and sometimes the use button head.
https://www.albanycountyfasteners.co...rews-s/286.htm

No problem with the plastic cracking. It's pretty stout plastic. Just drill the holes and set the rivet nuts.

I thought about lining the plastic but you really can't see into the box that well when the door won't open very far. It would be nicer just to have some sort of pocket or clip to hold papers in place. Haven't done that yet though. The way it is now, the papers kind of fall forward against the door when you open it. You will see once you get yours installed.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Thanks again. I wondered if the globe box door would open all the way anymore?