Anybody put the AC in the trunk?

Due to lack of room under my dash I mounted my heat/air unit under the bench seat in the 32 pickup. HRP

 

wow great idea!!! what kind of unit is that and how well does it work?

 

now that is coooooollllllll i like when modern things are added but hidden out of sight that just make your pickup ten times more enjoyable does it get nice and cold being a pickup cab is smaller
and i like how its not a drag on the motor like a regular ac compressor
do you need a higher output alternator or will a regular one be good

 

HRP, what is that unit out of? or who sells one? That is exactly what I want to do on a project I'm currently working on.

 

I've heard that the units out of Honds civics work well under the dash of most coupes, I plan on doing a little more research on it and I'll let you know what I find out.

 

My dad did it,Vents are on back package tray....

 

I originally had no intention of using air on this truck but I did want heat,,I had bought this unit to go in a car I was building and sold it before installing the unit so I used what I had in the truck.

The unit came from Southern Air and the air works great as long as I sitting still,,and as good as it can driving down the road at 60 plus with no insulation and large gaps between the doors,,if and when I get around to an interior I believe it will freeze me out

When I built the truck I used a 100 AMP Power Master Alternator

Again,,the unit is a aftermarket small heat/air unit from Southern Air in Greer,South Carolina. HRP

 

I have a genuine Chevrolet Cool-Pack unit mounted overhead, in the rear of the '50 Burb. Works great!

 

Here it is, up top.

 

You young guns probably don't remember but when AC first came out they were almost all mounted in the trunk. The big Mark V units completely filled up the area under the package tray and had two big clear plastic funnels sticking up through the tray that directed the cold air forward toward the front seat.

 

had a 54 fleetwood caddy with factory ac in back had 2 scoops on rear 1/4,s and 2 tubes coming up the back window inside it work when i frist had the car back in the late 60,s

 

some of you late 40's/early 50s used this type of system.it very duable

 

This is now 3 pages and I'm the first to post pics???

Here's what the Vents look like in the Package Tray of a Lincoln.

(click on the pics)

 

Ummm.... An electric driven automotive A/C compressor?
I'm not saying that they don't exist, but in over 2 decades of doing A/C, I've never heard of or seen one. The unit HRP has still requires a compressor driven by the engine ...and the custom van units you mention do as well...

 

I agree.

But, compact electric-driven compressors must exist, because these new electric cars (like the Chevy volt, Nissan leaf, etc) have A/C...

 

Here's some pics of an off-topic car I did a while back. I ran the a/c lines through the frame to keep the firewall clean. I made the bulkhead fittings and there is an access plate midway through the frame to connect the front and rear hose ***embles. The high and low side lines as well as the heater hoses enter the car under the seat. I also made some custom outlets in the kick panels and firewall to keep the dash clean... Just some ideas to share.

 

i thought thats what this was
so they run freon all the way to the back of the van?
whats that like ten cans to fill it?

 

Yeah, but I'm betting that the amount of power required to run it would mean a HUGE alternator would be needed, so you are back where you started...

Yep refrigerant lines run from the engine to the rear of the van. Not that much more refrigerant is required though. About an extra 2 lbs.

 

Not really....since you could eliminate the eyesore compressor on your engine. To me, that is the biggest hangup I'd have with putting AC on a hotrod, it makes the engine compartment look..well...street-roddy....

 

I intend to do the same thing in my 40 p-up project - I bought a unit specifically made dimensionally for the area that I have, not actually a "trunk mount" unit. I'll probably run the vents up the cab corners and out the top as well as out the bottom. I just didn't want the interior to have an AC unit hanging under the dash - not my intent for the vehicle but as someone else said, the wife/girlfriend will appreciate it would and probably enjoy cruises alot more. I intend mine to be a daily driver.

Did you use the extended hose kit, BTW, or did you make up your own?

 

One thing to remember you will need a return since you are sealing the unit under the seat,,,I have holes in the back panel and when the interior is installed I will have air return hoses connected to vents in the upper rear corners of the cab,,,

I made up the lines to the exact lengths needed. HRP