A/C cars are a PAIN to work on!

I know, man! I weep at the sight of so many "former" AC cars, knowing what it took to install all that crap in my formerly non-AC car... To each his own though. I won't argue that it's damn hard to get to certain things now, and there's certainly some weight reduction when you take all that out.

 

I'm preparing to put everything back in my '73. Everything has been removed - box and all. There is nothing under the dash. It is originally an A/C car.

 

I'll be saving all my stuff for when I have more time and money. I managed to remove everything intact and nothing was cut or damaged. I think the compressor is still good too so it gets lightly oiled and bagged on a shelf for another day. Or to sell or trade.

 

yea but i love my a/c man. thinking about switching over to a sanden type compressor. did it on a buddies tbird 390 and it workes great even with 134.

 

eh who needs ac haha thats what windows are for due to the fact whoever had my car before me messed up the ac switch and had to put toggle switches in and yet ac still doesnt work. So how long you think itd take to just remove the ac stuff?

 

that's what i did. i also made a bracket to get it off the top of the motor...
some people saw the...A/C...idle solenoid switch...first, then they realized it had A/C...

 

And in my case, some people saw the compressor first, then realized there was a V8 under there and my car was not in fact powered by a Briggs & Stratton.

 

so are you getting rid of all the ac stuff?

 

The A/C stuff certainly presents a variety of challenges. Now in my case (Pinto wagon), I am the (un)fortunate recipient of a car that had dealer A/C installed.

Translation - let's take this miniature evaporator/blower assembly and cram it up under the dash AFTER the factory has carefully assembled everything in its rightful place. Let's cut an awkward hole in the front of the dash for a vent, and then install a bezel for the controls - a bezel that is not only made of NOS unobtanium but also will deteriorate after many years from the Texas heat.

Now, let's take the fresh air passenger vent and cut away just enough of it to make room for the evaporator/blower. Love those jagged plastic edges! Oh - the evaporator needs a drain hose? Punch a hole in the wheelwell, slip the drain hose through, and add some sealant around it (don't mind the jagged metal pieces from the punch - who needs a clean hole and grommet anyway?

Glove box? Let's replace the already small box with a new one that is about (literally) two inches wide. Hey - who needs those things anyway.

The fun, of course, is having completely dismantled the dash for restoration, I get to put all this stuff back in. I have no strong desire to find a factory A/C setup and transplant, since I don't relish the thought of trying to set up all the vacuum lines, so I'm more or less "stuck" with it. Still, what an unbelievable MESS the dealer made when installing this stuff - and I NEED A/C here in Texas....!

Chris

 

......

 

And the good old days with r-12, all the "sparkles" in the air made for amusing times when by yourself all day

I just hated gaging on burnt compressor oil while changing out a compressor hanging upside down with the torch and your head inside the condensor cabinet with no clean air to breath................... Awwwwww the good old days

 

Just had to post a picture of that beautifully detailed engine just to rub our noses in the fact that not only did you have one of the nicest looking engine/engine compartments but you just up and ripped out something that most of us would give or left ~uhhh hum~ {arm} for and tossed it aside to put a "C" word motor in there....

Jeez.... really nice Frank thanks for rubbing it in there buddy J/K