AC, original or aftermarket?

[AirSpeed]

My 72 used to have AC, I discovered the vent holes while sanding the interior, someone tacked some steel in the vent holes and filled them with bondo (poorly) I bought new side vents and a new center vent to fill the holes. I am thinking of putting AC back in and was wondering if it would be better to scrounge up an original AC box in the junk yard or go with aftermarket parts? I definitely do not want a box hanging down below the dash. I'm not worried about originality I just want some cold air!
Any suggestions? Thanks! Aaron

[leddzepp]

I would go with Vintage Air or Classic Auto air. By the time you find all the factory stuff, you will end up spending just as much money as if you buy a new set-up. If you already had all the original stuff there and intact, I would give fixing it up a try.

[mrein3]

I would go with original. You can get all the missing pieces from a yard for around $100.
Four $10 cans of R134a at Wal*Mart.
New receiver/dryer for $30 at autoacforum.
New o-ring kit at autoacforum for $8.
Compressor = $200 reman, $10 - $100 out of a bone yard.
New hose assembly for around $80. I got mine at LMC truck.
Adjust your stock POA to work with R134a...
http://www.autoacforum.com/messagevi...&threadid=7567

That will be a heck of a lot cheaper than one of the aftermarket company ones. I think they are around $1000.

Plus if you piece one together yourself you'll learn how the system works so in 10 or 20 years when it breaks down again you can fix it. By then the aftermarket "kit" will be out of production or worse yet the company out of business then what are you going to do to fix that?

I don't work for wlamart, LMC, or autoacforum.

[Hottrucks]

I have to agree the parts are around and pretty easy to come by...the big question is what does your firewall look like the hole for the heater box is diff than the A/C one??

[cdowns]

new ones are far more efficient and take less horsepower to run than originals that sucked gas up quickly

[big_al_71]

one company www.classicautoair.com is what I went with and let me tell you this hot florida summer weather it is working amazing.

[69sixpackbee]

Factory system is hands-down better than any of the aftermarket stuff. Been there and done that. If you are going 134A put on a good parallel flow or at least a "picollo" type condenser. Adjust the POA for 134 (stay away from those crap "POA eliminator" valves) and you can upgrade the pump to a Sanden or Seltec. The old A6 is a great pump and hard to beat but the front seals are prone to leakage. The factory system ran continuously as the POA did the work. A6 compressors do not like cycling like TXV systems--that's what will happen if you use the "POA Eliminator". The Sanden I have on my truck runs continually and is a bit easier on gas because it is somewhat more efficient but still does not come close the the output of the old A6 but it works extremely well!. You make sure you have all of the components in place, i.e; water valve, fresh air "flapper" (in the cowl) recirc pot and flap (where the RH kick panel vent is) the controls with good vacuum switch, "Hi" speed relay, cables, vacuum reservoir, hoses, air diverter box, vents etc.
These can be scrounged up fairly cheaply. Yank the heater box and clean out all of the "cooties" from the core and the evaporator. lastly, consider puttin in some screen material under the cowl to cover the grates. This keeps out any future junk. I did this to my truck which was originally an non-A/C cab and anyone would be hard pressed to know that it never was from the get-go.

The factory system gives you the ability to "blend" the temps as well as the air (from outside to recirc) which the aftermarket bolt-on's do not offer.

This is taken from many years of trial and experience.
The choice is yours but IMHO you should go OEM.



Good luck!

Bud

[leddzepp]

Originally Posted by 69 1/2 Six Pack Bee

The old A6 is a great pump and hard to beat but the front seals are prone to leakage.

This is the sole reason I would go with aftermarket if starting from scratch. The rebuilt A6's are garbage. I have gone through 4 of them because of this and this alone. Three of them did not last more than 6 months. I have bought from several places, including the first which was rebuilt on-site at an A/C shop. It crapped out about a month after the one year warranty expired That is the longest I have had one last. I have never had any other OEM part fail in my factory A/C system. If you decide to go OEM, I would definitely look into swapping out the compressor for a Sanden, as recommended above. Do the POA adjustment as described. I am currently waiting on this one (number 5 and hopefully the last):

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...TQ:MOTORS:1123

This is supposed to be a direct replacement upgrade, and I have read nothing but positives on it. It is a NEW, not rebuilt unit. A new A6 will cost more than this.

As far as parts being available in the years to come, Vintage and Classic are used on just about every $$$ hot rod out here where 100+ degree days are normal. Everytime I open a magazine or go to a car show they are all I see. They aren't going out of business anytime soon.

[Joemomma1]

Lets say you go with the original system and have R12 available, is there any benefit to switching to R134a besides where you can get it serviced?

[BIG ORANGE]

I've been talking with Justin at scottshotrods.com they cnc machine there own bulkheads and give a good discount to board members.
Just mention my name Donnie Snipes from the 67/72 truck forum Big Orange.
Justin has been in the buisness for yrs and had a ton of knowledge of our trucks and the Vintage Air units!
hope this helps!

[69sixpackbee]

Originally Posted by Joemomma1

Lets say you go with the original system and have R12 available, is there any benefit to switching to R134a besides where you can get it serviced?

By all means..if you have R12, keep it R12. That is the best advice I can give anyone. Besides in keeping with freon you can keep the same oil and the original components. If you have not suffered "black death" then that is the best and most economical option. R12 is still readily available (if you have a 509 license to purchase it) and as 134A climbs in price, R12 is becoming more viable of an option.

My $.02

[48richard]

My 2 cents worth - do it with an OEM system so you can get fresh air. None of the aftermarket systems have fresh air intake, but the GM engineers weren't stupid (yes, I was one of them), nor did GM spend an extra dime if they didn't have to.
I just did mine with OEM cab parts, a Sanden compressor, and a new evaporator just in case. I get about 40 - 42 degree air on a 100 degree day. It did indeed cost about the same as a Vintage Air kit, but the only extra work was cutting the firewall, and that only took a couple of hours.

[primer]

sorry I didn't see this sooner. I think I have a compressor and cab box around here if that helps influence your decision any.

[Musclerodz]

After installing several original units from scratch, I much prefer Vintage air even with the negative of recirculation only. The hours scrounging parts, chasing down a hundred vaccum leaks, untold hours of installing all the little pieces, and there are some pieces not reproduced to keep these old systems going. It would cost someone twice as much to pay me to install an original unit again over Vintage air.