Deleting A/C, but want to retain heat.

[joesregalproject]

I am not going to be reinstalling A/C in my Regal, but I want to retain the heater and I dont want to have to go through swapping the entire HVAC box to a heat only box.

So I want to retain my original HVAC box, just eliminate the A/C. I want to remove the evaporator coil to clean up the engine bay so I don't just have two lines coming out of the firewall going to nowhere.

Is it as easy as just opening the box and removing the core, then blocking off the hole where the lines came out? Or will the heat be on all the time if I do that?

 

[307 Regal]

Yes. All you have to do is remove the A/C guts and block the holes. I even trimmed mine without taking the box out. I made templates out of thin pizza box cardboard, transferred it to "tin", bent to fit, put silicone rtv on the seams, and used an adhesive-backed foam strip to seal the lid panel to the box panel. Even with the shoddy job I did, I've had zero problems and when the heat's off the heat's off.

 

[DRIVEN]

Just...keep the AC.

 

[joesregalproject]

Yes. All you have to do is remove the A/C guts and block the holes. I even trimmed mine without taking the box out. I made templates out of thin pizza box cardboard, transferred it to "tin", bent to fit, put silicone rtv on the seams, and used an adhesive-backed foam strip to seal the lid panel to the box panel. Even with the shoddy job I did, I've had zero problems and when the heat's off the heat's off.
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Brian I was actually looking on the forum for pictures of your car because I remembered you deleting your a/c and remember thinking that your panel looked pretty nice. I may do something like that, but more likely I'm just gonna get a piece of thick black foam and glue it to the inside of the box where the lines came out.

 

[Streetbu]

I did mine but with fiberglass...

 

[airboatgreg]

I like AC, but you can just remove the evaporator core and block the holes or spend the time and do what Sreeetbu did. Nice job.
I would stay with AC and convert to serpentine belt system. I did it and it was a cheap easy conversion

 

[Streetbu]

That pic of mine is old too, before I went to the serpentine kit which helped clean it up even more...

 

[joesregalproject]

Just...keep the AC.

It already didn't work and needed basically every component plus a 134a conversion, just not worth it for a car that I'm gonna drive maybe 1000 miles a year to car cruises and back.

I like AC, but you can just remove the evaporator core and block the holes or spend the time and do what Sreeetbu did. Nice job.
I would stay with AC and convert to serpentine belt system. I did it and it was a cheap easy conversion

Streetbu's setup looks great. But I don't want to cut up my box, just in case I ever want to go back to A/C. I think if I glue a piece of black thick foam behind the hole it won't be very noticeable to the untrained eye and won't look out of place. Itll look kinda like the foam around the heater core lines.

 

[DRIVEN]

I'm glad to see that you're making it reversible. I thought the same thing since mine didn't work when I bought it. My system was complete at least. After 6 or 7 years I finally just replaced the compressor, receiver dryer, orifice tube, flushed the system and did a 134 conversion. Wish I would have done it waaay sooner.
How much of your system is missing? Would all the 3.8 stuff still fit with the planned 350?

 

[joesregalproject]

I'm glad to see that you're making it reversible. I thought the same thing since mine didn't work when I bought it. My system was complete at least. After 6 or 7 years I finally just replaced the compressor, receiver dryer, orifice tube, flushed the system and did a 134 conversion. Wish I would have done it waaay sooner.
How much of your system is missing? Would all the 3.8 stuff still fit with the planned 350?

I have 100% of the system, receiver dryer, oriface tube, compressor, condenser, evaporator coil, and the lines, but they all need to be replaced. They are however 100% compatible with the Buick 350 I believe. So I'll save them so I'll at least know what to look for when I decide that it was a dumb idea to delete the a/c.