Technical Picture thread - Air Conditioning Vents and Controls

Classic Auto Air offers kits for specific years and models
I installed one in my 57 Thunderbird, the tech support is very good

https://www.classicautoair.com/

 

I am redoing my 65 F100, it had an underdash factory installed A/C from a 66 full size Mercury

The evaporator is larger than a mustang unit, wedge shaped and the condensor is large

I am replacing it with an A/C - heater unit from the rear of a van

The whole thing will fit up under the dash or I may mount it in the normal position and put the Mercury front on it with the vents and controls

My alternator is mounted low on my FE, there is a guy I bought a bracket from that mounts a Sanden down low

It has built in mounts to install an alternator above it

Ricky.

 

Really good info on this thread. Much appreciated!

 

The vents that came with the Classic Auto Air, nothing special

 

Thanks, this may be the ones I saw in Florida. They seemed to be favored. I still have to decide on AC only or AC with heat. I really have zero qualms about gutting the OG heater If it makes things easier.

 

You are probably correct on the expansion valve. I had to replace one recently, as well. Like everyone else, they purchase components like those and none of them are 100% quality. Every now and then, you get a dud.

 

There is another company in Florida called coldmaster. I purchased my ac system from them which I’m in the process of installing so I can’t yet speak of how well it works but their prices are reasonable and customer service is very good. The wiring harness is super clean.

 

Luckily I have a ton of room under the hood of the Belair, so the install should go well.

 

Does anybody make a heat and A/C kit for a 57 Pontiac?

 

Call VintageAir. They make a kit to fit 57 Chevy, that may fit. If not, use the Builder Series and do your own. They can help you select a unit that will fit and keep you cool.

 

For my ‘51, I made a new center panel to relocate the radio and add vents. The original radio grill is pot metal and the non-radio version is very thin, about 22 gauge, so I used 16 gauge to make it sturdy enough to mount to and weld with.

 

^^^^^^ the higher the outlet vents are located the better the cab will be chilled
When located below the dash the upper part of the cab will get warmer the longer you drive on a hot sunny day
@proartguy yours are located nice and high

 

Mine is a VA mini unit Heat and A/C, with standard round vents. It cools the small cab just fine, but does freeze up sometimes. After a few freeze ups I can get it adjust where it runs the rest of the trip. Window tinting helped a bunch, took a big load off the A/C system.

 

In my F100:

 

I have installed 5 Vintage Air units. I don't like the blower noise in any of them. The one in the 32 Ford couldn't keep up when it was above 95 degrees and 70 mph. I had a gen 2 compac in a 72 F100. Worked very well. All of the builds had plenty of sound mat and some insulation. If the sun is on you and it'a above 90 degrees at 70 mph, you better have the vents on you. I have found that the Vintage air condenser works better than the aftermarket units. I have been using the reduced barrier hoses because it's so nice to work with. I have used a little bit of everything for vents and think they all work. The look is down to personal choice so be your own judge there.

 

Been looking into better looking vents. Has anyone tried using Heavy Truck offerings?

https://www.iowa80.com/interior/dash/vents

Look to be some decent options.

 

AUG2013 035 by wicarnut posted Aug 24, 2013 at 12:19 AM

Here's my 32, I more AC vent left and right side of dash and you can see the defrost vent covers I made and the dash extension drop down for controls and to hide the unit up under dash on passenger side. tight squeeze but worked and looked good IMO. The best part of this AC unit (Southern Air, complete kit) I won it at a NSRA show drawing. The credit for the install goes to Curt Jacobson the upholstery man that did my interior, very talented guy, no longer in business, a shame IMO, he burnt out on the business. I gave him a big tip for the work he did for me as I was very pleased, he told me I was the only person that gave him a $$$ tip in 20 years of business.

 

Looks like this is going to work out well in my 34 Ford. A little massaging left to do but it will get there.

 

I have Vintage Air in all of my vehicles except a '64 Nova SS. I put the controls & center vent just below the radio in my 1st series '55 Chev PU. Thought it would be a good idea to put it in my '34 Ford roadster, but hide it all. With just a hood top, the compressor wasn't visible & the builder fabricated a cover for the AC & heater hoses where they exit the firewall. I never used the AC or heat, but did have heated seats that worked great when the sun went down in October/November. Never should have sold that car!! My '67 C10 has factory location vents & controls but I opted for an Ol' Air aluminum compressor so I could use all factory brackets on the BBC (used one on a sbc also). Works great.






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Hmmm . . . she isn't blonde.

 

@rockable what's the slot in the glove box for? Like the higher up center outlet for the AC, too.

 

That is for the AC controls. There isn't much room behind the dash one you stuff a VintageAir Compact system behind it. I may move some switches down on the panel,,if there's room.

 

I have an old ACS unit. Built in Arlington Tx. These units were some of the first in dash made. I can freeze you out on a 90 degree day. When Tom went out of business I got his 32 display unit. Trouble free for 30 years. He used a separate heater core an blower. I used only the ac.

 

Hello,

We totally enjoyed our A/C unit in the 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery. with only a pop up vent, and two roll down windows, we were limited to fresh air incursion inside the seating area. It was our first car that had A/C, so we enjoyed the cool air circulation where ever it came from and we always arrived in a “cool” way driving the sedan delivery.

My wife liked it so much that she took the sedan delivery out for shopping with friends and for her own shopping incursions, when I was not tagging along. The A/C made it a cool way to get to and from any activity, especially during the hot summer months. When we had to go to a wedding 40 miles inland during the hot summer, it was a wonderful experience to arrive at the parking lot as cool as ice... Also, walking from our sedan delivery drew a lot of stares as it was the only hot rod in the vast lot. Luckily, inside also, had A/C...

So, it was a bottom of the dash installation and work well from the beginning, despite the almost 10 months of working on the project sedan delivery to get it to be safe and handle well as could be. It had to be set up correctly and stop, if my wife was going to use it almost as much as me. It came to be that she drove it by herself as much as I did.

Jnaki

But, if we think back to the installation of under the dash position, it was a bad place. The cool air cooled the whole cab and cave in the back. (although no one was in the back. except sometimes our little dog enjoyed running around back there)

The air direction was low and despite the angling of the fluted vents, the cold air blasted us from underneath and in order to get cool, had to endure the power of the air blasting our faces upwards. At the time, we did not care as it was our first A/C and we always arrived in cool comfort. But, once my wife got some early contact lenses, it was not a cool thing (pun intended or not) to have stuff blowing in the air, let alone right into the eye direction.

We wished the vents were higher in location, but who wanted to destroy a nice 40 Ford Sedan Delivery dash with a radio in place? But, again, it was our first A/C. Our 65 El Camino did not have A/C and perhaps that is why we had 125k miles of trouble free driving !!!

Note:

In our modern cars, every thing has been taken care of in the design studios as far as most efficient direction of the A/C venting. So, the primary one is in the center of the dash, usually with two vents, one for each person. Body contact is usually the angle of the cool air. Not the eyes as in the early under dash units.

So, if there is a space somewhere on the early hot rod dash locations, that would be the best. But, for old hot rods, it is a major incursion onto the classic hot rod dashboard design. YRMV

Note 2:
In thinking back to that long drive during that hot summer, it was hot, but not as hot as a couple of days ago farther inland in Palm Springs... yikes 124 degrees !!! Definitely A/C weather... and not in Death Valley.

 

It has been 80 degrees for several weeks straight in inland coastal So Cal. The beaches are still foggy and overcast until around 10-11 am. So, the folks that make a trek to the ocean from inland have a surprise waiting for them. Back in the late 50s-60s, my wife's family lived in Buena Park, near Knott's Berry Farm.

When it was hot and sunny there, everyone gathered their beach stuff and took off heading straight west toward Huntington Beach for some sun and fun. It was either Beach Blvd (Highway 39) or Brookhurst Street that ran in a straight line from inland to the blue ocean, ending up near the pier or the State Beach near Newport Beach to the South.

Now, this week, it is predicted to get back to the low 80s again and the fog is going to get a battle for superiority against the heat bank trying to get out to the deep blue ocean. It is a constant battle we have seen for over 60 years of living in our So Cal area. Heat vs fog. By the time the folks arrive in the vicinity of the beach area, the heat and blue skies start to get a foggy overcast, which gets thicker as one drives closer to the PCH, Coast Highway. What is one to do?

Hello,
Our family lived around 3 miles from the closest beach and harbors, near our Westside of Long Beach home. So, we could see down the Los Angeles River to the ocean area to check out whether it was foggy or not. Since we all lived in a relatively flat area, besides tall Signal Hill, we could see for miles inland to the ocean at the LA River location.

But, our family never had A/C in our family of cars until 1963 when a new Buick Riviera rolled up in our driveway. That was heaven rolling up to say hello for the next 5 years. Yes!

When my brother got his 58 impala, it did not have A/C. The top racers at Lion's Dragstrip in his class were not running A/C because it robbed the 280 H.P. motor of valuable power. We all know, every amount of power is needed when all of the stock cars have the equal factory allowed motors.

But, as we all know, those extra belts take up a lot of horsepower for daily use and performance runs at the dragstrip. Yes, we could have modified the belt usage at the drags, but, it was not to be. There were some extremists loosening the stock fan belt only, so for the short timed runs or eliminations, the standard belt was loose enough to not cause any drag. Loose belt allows more horsepower… in theory and applications.
Some folks did have A/C under the dash. It cooled, but the direction of the cooling air was aimed straight back into someone sitting in the middle of the bench seat. Or, the vents were angled extremely high to hit the driver in the facial area.
But, the stock vents were few and in a low far away area. Eventually, with closed windows, the whole cab did get cool, but the direct flow was still not the most efficient, as is the design, today. And, there was horsepower loss.

Over the years, the car designers became efficiency folks and moved the built in vents at face level for direct flow to the driver and passengers. Of course, the motors and vents also help move the flow into the cabin easier and with more power. Cooling for the rear seat folks is guaranteed, but if more flow is needed for some larger station wagons and vans, extra venting and outlets are available.

Jnaki

But, what if someone made a custom approach to using what was there in most older Chevy sedan dash boards.

The surrounding shapes are perfect for full flow directly into the driver and passenger areas. The gauges could still be in the main pod, but the surrounding frame would be hiding flowing vents for cooling. On the passenger side, the open holes provide venting from the stock approach and if a flowing venting system were on the back, direct air comes right to the passenger area. It seems like in the 55-57
Chevy cars, the same idea could work for best efficiency and location.

Certainly not on the "close to the floor" or below the dash. YRMV

Note:
So, what did my wife and her family do on those long drives down the highway starting in hot, bright sun headed for the beach? Well, there were no instant web photos or information handy. They plodded on thinking it was hot and sunny at the big blue ocean.

Little did they know it was going to be foggy and overcast for quite some time. But, as troopers as they were, the insistence of an outing to the beach was mandatory. So, the family had fun in the sun... whoops, fog until the whole scene lifted, as the heat started to win the battle of heat vs fog and now, for an hour or two, had a nice sunny day at the beach.