AC conversion on a 66 questions

[msg]

I looked first at the FAQ and didnt see a specific on how to take what I have and add AC and make it as close factory as possible. My truck only has a single pull heater knob to the left of the radio and a solid plate where the AC controls would have been on the right side of the radio. Thanks to CorvetteJim and his killer work I have the central vent assembly and I plan to order the vent box from nsb29.

From what I can tell this is pretty close to factory here and what I thought the final arrangement would look like on the dash..the pic isnt mine so I hope the owner doesnt mind.



I was planning also on buying the Vintage Air Surefit IV here
https://www.vintageair.com/surefit/c...66&model=Truck

but Im confused about the knob controls and if I can get the dash to function like the 66 factory controls would have been.

Since I never had deluxe heater controls would I need to first find a set of slider controls that are positioned on the left side of the AC Vent Assembly I guess and then drill 3 holes in the dash panel to the right of the AC Vent Assembly? In the assembly pdf it looks like the 3 controls do it all and that I dont need the left side heater deluxe sliders



I cant seem to get Vintage Air to reply or calling their help line isnt working it just puts me on hold. Anyone been down this road lately and can help me figure this out? The main reason at the moment Im trying to solve this is that I have the interior close to being ready to paint, but I would like to have all the dash components that need paint ready to shoot at the same time vs painting them later and having paint match issues.

[kberger]

Yes, you can use either the three rotary knobs or the sliders. I ordered mine with the sliders and didn't like them. They were really loose and the way you set them for the different functions was not very intuitive. I ended up ordering the rotary knob setup separately and like it a lot better. You could put them on the right like the factory air knobs, but the instructions have you drill 2 extra holes on your factory Thrift Air plate near the driver.

[Clyde65]

The control on the left with the levers are heat only for the deluxe heater I believe. The control knobs on the right are for the AC only.

The vent in the middle is for AC only and the heat would come out at the floor board.
Back then they were completely separate since most buyers didn’t care about AC in a truck, they were for working and not comfort for the most part.

[The Rocknrod]

If they ever came up with some nice escutcheons and knobs they would something for me.
My plan is going with Old Air because they have the slider control, you can take apart and paint the dash color as well:

[msg]

Originally Posted by kberger

I ordered mine with the sliders and didn't like them. They were really loose and the way you set them for the different functions was not very intuitive. I ended up ordering the rotary knob setup separately and like it a lot better.

Kberger, did you buy from Vintage Air? The sure fit IV?

Im seeing now that if I want the look of the deluxe heater stuff on the left and the pullout knobs on the right for the AC functions then one side is going to be a dummy...if I just want the appearance of the fully loaded dash. The direction I might try is to find an OEM deluxe heat slider control panel and do the retrofit that with what they have where you take their cables and hook it up to the old controls.

They have instructions here for that, looks like fun.

https://www.vintageair.com/instructions_pdf/473264.pdf

[kberger]

Yes I bought the Sure Fit IV from Summit Racing. You are correct, if you want the controls on the left and right, one side will just be for looks.

[kberger]

Also, if you get the slider controls, don't cut the cable converter actuator rods where it says until you've mocked it up. I made the mistake of following the instructions, and mine ended up too short.

[Cooper197]

Originally Posted by The Rocknrod

If they ever came up with some nice escutcheons and knobs they would something for me.
My plan is going with Old Air because they have the slider control, you can take apart and paint the dash color as well:

I have Vintage Air and used the factory deluxe controls on my truck. Just took it all apart and painted the bezel a few days ago. I've really liked how the controls work. Fan speed is totally variable, not just 4 speeds like the original set up.