Crazy Idea for my mid 70's AC!

[savatreatabvr]

I've got a 1973 Chevy c20 454 truck with the AC equipment removed, I've also got a wrecked 1977 Pace-Arrow Moho with a 110v roof top AC unit! I thought about mounting the 110v AC unit in the bed of the truck and piping the cold air inside some how but how do I convert the 110v to 12v? The 12v power inverters I've found that are powerful enough to run the 110v unit are very expensive and there's a 50/50 chance buying good used AC equipment from the junk yard so is there any other options?

[tucsonjwt]

Old 18 wheelers from the 50s and 60s sometimes had a hole cut in the roof of the cab and the RV a/c unit you refer to mounted in that hole directly. I assume that they ran off auxiliary AC current power from an engine connected generator or used the generator power supplied by a reefer generator if they were pulling one.
If you can scavenge the factory A/C parts you could get set up cheap, but a functioning good compressor is the killer - $400/$600 for a good quality one and the rebuilt ones have always been junk for me.
Seriously, if you find a decent truck with A/C already in it but bad parts where you have good parts, you can swap your parts onto the new truck and be money ahead - maybe even make some $$ by selling leftover parts.

[savatreatabvr]

You stated, (if you find a decent truck with A/C already in it)! That's the needle in the haystack, most trucks at the junk yards around Phx have already been stripped of all useful parts so I've even considered building a swamp cooler also! Any ideas on building a homemade swamp cooler?

Originally Posted by tucsonjwt

Old 18 wheelers from the 50s and 60s sometimes had a hole cut in the roof of the cab and the RV a/c unit you refer to mounted in that hole directly. I assume that they ran off auxiliary AC current power from an engine connected generator or used the generator power supplied by a reefer generator if they were pulling one.
If you can scavenge the factory A/C parts you could get set up cheap, but a functioning good compressor is the killer - $400/$600 for a good quality one and the rebuilt ones have always been junk for me.
Seriously, if you find a decent truck with A/C already in it but bad parts where you have good parts, you can swap your parts onto the new truck and be money ahead - maybe even make some $$ by selling leftover parts.

[mopar346]

I think you are wasting time and energy on trying to figure out what already is designed and works great. The RV unit if set up will be expensive and way to much AC for the cab of of a truck, even a crew and then what if it goes bad? I swamp cooler as I understand them will leave a lot of misture in the truck which will end up as mildew and mold, not a good situation. The factory AC is a good design and operating unit and in most cases readily accessable. The worst challenger you are gonna have is finding a 454 truck for the brackets and such, but surely someone on here would have one to sale you. The other option is to get a late set up off an 8.1, I love the way their accessories are mounted on a plate that bolts to the front of the engine and has the serpentine belt set up.

When you say the AC equipment is removed, how much is gone? How much is left?


Pulleys
Brackets
Compressor
Hoses
Condenser
Evaporator/Case
Duct work
Vents
Controls
Wiring

Makes a difference in how difficult it will be.

Good luck.

[motornut]

hi
my roof RV AC, and ones i've seen need a 20 amp breaker
12VDC to 120VAC @20 amps thats a lot from DC
a room unit would be less tho
what about an aftermarket set up
I don't think we can get the old systems refilled here

[tucsonjwt]

I was suggesting buying a whole running truck with A/C in it (or a truck with a blown engine). They are all over CL for $2500 or less in your city. Find one with bad parts where you have good parts - put the two together and sell the unused parts for $$$ to defray the cost of another truck. I'm surprised you have a truck without A/C in Phoenix - must have been a rust belt import.

[Firebirdjones]

I agree with the others. Find yourself a parts truck and swap stuff over. Complete trucks are forsale all over the place. Swap what you need and resell the truck.

Or you can come up here in the cooler country and find trucks in the yards with all the AC components still attached. The local pick-a-part up here has a boat load of squares and parts. Or look up Z on the local AZK5 board, he parts out squares for a living and has a yard full of stuff over in Queen Creek. He had a complete bigblock dually about 4 months ago he was stripping.

Your toughest obsticle is finding the BBC brackets if you don't have them already. But they are out there at the local swap meets too. Need to start scrounging the Glendale swap meets every month, Goodguys has a good swap etc..

The stuff is out there to be had you just have to be willing to run around and look for it. Stick with the factory setup and you'll be much happier in the long run. Mounting something perminant in the bed sort of renders it useless as a pickup at that point (just my opinion).

[savatreatabvr]

I thought it was a crazy idea!!! The things I'm missing are the brackets,
compressor, hoses, controls and some wiring that's why I wanted to try something different but you are all right, the factory AC setup is the way to go! Since I've sweated this long I can sweat some more, I'm a life long Chevy man so I'll take the time to look around for the missing parts.

[Firebirdjones]

Originally Posted by savatreatabvr

I thought it was a crazy idea!!! The things I'm missing are the brackets,
compressor, hoses, controls and some wiring that's why I wanted to try something different but you are all right, the factory AC setup is the way to go! Since I've sweated this long I can sweat some more, I'm a life long Chevy man so I'll take the time to look around for the missing parts.

That's not too bad then, I was thinking you were missing the entire AC box off the firewall and the condensor

The brackets would be the toughest to find but they are out there. After that it's a breeze. The hoses and compressor I'd just buy new anyway because those are wear items (used stuff would be a crap shoot).

Controls and wiring would be easy to find on most any parts truck as that stuff is still usually intact. It sounds do-able

[WarBeard]

Drive up to Show low right now and Ill give you all the underhood stuff right off of my '74. When I plug it in it gets cold and you will just have to find the under dash parts. I might even have some of it still.

Just help me take it all off of my truck I want it outta there.