What AC and heat

[Baldeagle SR]

What ac heator are you using on a smooth firewall? How was it to install? They show the GMC different than the Chevy. I am working on a 56 GMC. The Chevy doesen't look much different except for the guages. Thanks Rich

[OKGMC4]

I have the Vintage air stuff in my 56 GMC. I had to delete the glove box to get it high enough in the dash to make me happy, and the vents are custom, too. The good news is it works great! Some pics on my thread here starting at post 286...

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...368649&page=12

[_Ogre]

i have the vintage air genII compac in truk, it has servo drives for the dampners
va also has a surefit system for tf trucks but i didn't like the look of the vents and it requires the deluxe control.

it hangs low



so i made a fascia to cover it



under hood



lots more pics in my build and interior threads

[SCHRUMGMC]

Which A/C should I put in my 59 and how do I ?

[sqrlnts]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

it hangs low, so i made a fascia to cover it

Ogre, OKGMC4,
Going to be installing the GenII system in my 57 very soon. Is that as high as you could mount the Evap unit or was something preventing you from mounting it higher? Also if you could mount the evap up higher would it possibly interfere with the wiper transmission arms?
Thanks!!!

SCHRUMGMC,
I would recommend a search on the 47-59 forum, there are tons of Vintage Air installs, a few Rainbow product installs, and even some home brewed installs. It all boils down to what you want, what your willing to spend, and your capabilities. I have read numerous complaints on Old Air Products so you might steer clear of those.

[SCHRUMGMC]

Thanks Sqrints, I'll check it out bud

[Denee007]

Hi~ I went with Classic Auto air. I have Vintage AC in my 67 Mustang.
The Classic AC was a bit of work, but isn't any system? I could have gone with the servo system, but it was an additional 300, and now I wish I had! IT just takes up less room and you don't have to mess with the cables to open doors in an already tight area to work in. The under dash of these trucks is not roomy!
As with anything one buys, it's just a matter of what you want. I had to buy brackets for my AC which led me to Alan Groves AC/Alt brackets, then one would have to buy the Deluxe AC control panel, which looks very nice in a prettied up dash! I hid much of my AC and heater hoses~ more dollars for the plumbing, but not that bad. I don't know if there is a system like the one in my Mustang which was a no brainer and looked like a factory system, but in these trucks, we put all kind of different engines and you have to retro fit and make things fit.
By the time you get your truck going, isn't the AC worth the extra dollars?
A link to my ac system install
http://www.classiccarsandtools.com/2...-conditioning/

[SCHRUMGMC]

Denee good point, I need you to help me GREATLY on thinking about a price..
I'll send you a pm

[Russell Ashley]

I was going to use an Old Air setup at first but VA tucks up under the dash better so I went with that. I have a local VA dealer so that was also a consideration for me. At the time I was considering which to get he had two 57 Chevys in his shop, one with Old Air and another that he had installed VA in. I liked the look of VA better and that convinced me. It takes some work to install either one, and the hoses are cramped to say the least.

SchrumGMC, count on spending over $1200 on either one.

[OKGMC4]

Originally Posted by sqrlnts

Ogre, OKGMC4,
Going to be installing the GenII system in my 57 very soon. Is that as high as you could mount the Evap unit or was something preventing you from mounting it higher? Also if you could mount the evap up higher would it possibly interfere with the wiper transmission arms?
Thanks!!!

SCHRUMGMC,
I would recommend a search on the 47-59 forum, there are tons of Vintage Air installs, a few Rainbow product installs, and even some home brewed installs. It all boils down to what you want, what your willing to spend, and your capabilities. I have read numerous complaints on Old Air Products so you might steer clear of those.

You can only go as high as the cowl vent sheet metal allows. If a person deleted the cowl vent and also took out that sheet metal that directs the air to the kick panels you MIGHT be able to go higher but I think the wiper link would be a problem. I don't notice mine too much but I have black/ charcoal carpet so it blends in. With lighter colors a cover like Ogre has would be great to blend the unit in.

Two observations with a compac II... 1. VA really recommends one size down from this in a small truck. I thought that these 100 degree July temps here in OK warranted the extra capacity. In awful heat this thing works AWESOME. In more mild weather it is almost too much. Several times I've had it turned to the lowest fan setting and also had the cold knob turned way down and it's still freezing me out. 2. The thing fills the passenger side of the dash, and I mean fills it front to back and from the kick panel to the firewall hump. If I had a recessed firewall (as many have done to set the engine back) I don't see how a larger recess would EVER allow the unit to fit. You'd have to find a smaller unit or have no AC at all.

[_Ogre]

as others have said, the compac unit takes up a lot of space and there isn't much of that under the dash. this is the unit while i still had my glove box. it looks like a lot of spare room above it; see next pic



it's important to make the brackets so you can drop the unit if needed. i had to drop mine 2 yrs ago, you can see how much duct and hose is on top of the unit. i'd like to see hardlines and an integrated water valve for this unit.



all the floor vents are under the unit. with my console i had to incorporate a duct to get heat and ac to the drivers floor.

[Baldeagle SR]

Thanks everyone for the advice and pic. That will get me going and things I needed to know. Rich