Thanks for the advice. My buddy just had a vintage air system installed and he also said it works way better than the factory did. I’m getting a quote from the guy who did his. Hopefully it isn’t too bad.
A/C
- Thread starter Roel85ss
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Before you make your final decision,maybe your buddy will take you for a ride in his and you can see firsthand how well it actually does work.
If it is anything like the heat/defrost kit that I have,there is no comparison.
And,the Vintage Air system is much more compact and lighter compared to the bulky stock unit.
For me,making the extra room in the engine compartment was a huge difference.
Guy
I might do that. But he did already said it works way better than his original. He has a 69 Mach 1 mustang . He says it will blow you out the car. Lol
If it is just the box and all the inside/under the dash is still there then your not that bad off. I bought an upgrade kit to do away with the original pancake compressor. It that came with: new style compressor w/mounting brackets and V belt, lines, condenser,evaporator Under $1000.00 If that is all gone then a junk yard trip(s) is required to get the gazzilion parts/vacuum lines etc.
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So I spoke with my friend last night for about 40 minutes about her a/c. As I said, she put it in a $40k 70 Chevelle, so she wasn't pinching pennies on the a/c. She did about a months research and decided to go with a Classic Auto Air system. I have ridden in the car a couple of times and the system makes nice, cold air. I'm 6'4" tall and weigh 256 lb, so it takes a good system to keep me cool. Hers did.
She and her hubs put it in the car themselves and said it took one day. It came with compressor, condenser coil, lines, filters, accumulators, controls & electronics, etc. It mounts completely under the dash and it didn't interfere with my seating or foot space. There are three lines coming through the fire wall to the engine compartment: high-side & low-side freon lines and the condensation drain line. She can't remember exactly but said she paid less than $1700 for the everything and I think she said sipping was free. I don't know if that included tax. BTW, you can order the compressor to mount on either side of the engine. You can also order the kit for a car that has never had a/c, or a slightly different kit for cars that had a/c from the factory but had it removed. She said that the lowest price she could get for the system was from Jegs (Believe it or not.).
Anyway, I plan on putting one in my 79 Bu as soon as I do my engine/trans swap. Now you know what I know. If you have any questions, let me know and I'll call her back. she is happy to help.
25 years ago, I pulled all the a/c & dash related stuff from a super clean '82 wagon & swapped it over to a heat-only '79 El-Camino. Pulling everything from the same car helped ensure I had all the required pieces. It took some sorting because of the different year models wiring changes but I got everything working satisfactorily.
Fast forward to the '78 car I'm wrenching on now. I've been sporadically messing w/the a/c getting the controls for the diverter to work correctly. With the added 20-plus years on all the plastics & parts it's been frustrating. I'm @ the point of desiring more engine compartment room & seriously considering the Vintage Air (or comparable) swap so that the blower actually moves some air & goes where you want it.
Fast forward to the '78 car I'm wrenching on now. I've been sporadically messing w/the a/c getting the controls for the diverter to work correctly. With the added 20-plus years on all the plastics & parts it's been frustrating. I'm @ the point of desiring more engine compartment room & seriously considering the Vintage Air (or comparable) swap so that the blower actually moves some air & goes where you want it.
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