Fitting V6 A/C compressor to V8

[zachatk]

My dad and I have been using my summer break from college to restore a 1978 Malibu Classic Coupe. We've put a crate 350 in it, and now we have a parts car (81 Malibu 4 door with a V6) that we are taking the heater system off of among a few other parts. The heater parts appear to fit and we're going to attempt to transfer them over tomorrow. The A/C compressor on the other hand, is the V6 style compressor and not the compact unit I've seen on every other G-Body V8 Malibu. I think it can fit if we can modify the brackets. Has anyone put this style of compressor onto a V8? If so, how did you do it? Thanks a lot. I'll put pictures up tomorrow if I get the chance.

 

[Bonnewagon]

My '83 Bonnewagon came with a Buick 3.8 V-6 w/AC but used the small compressor, R4 I think it is called. When I swapped in a '79 Pontiac 301 it had once had AC but it used a large A6 type compressor. I left the small compressor and hoses in place, just off to the side while I did the engine/trans/front end work. Then I scrounged the correct mounting brackets for the R4 from a Turbo 301 (Shotgun provided the last missing one, thank's man!) and the R4 bolted right up. I had to fudge the hoses a bit because the correct hoses for a 301 were not available. But the system worked well until the compressor leaked and I just replaced it with a used rebuilt and it still works well today. It should be a simple matter for you to swap the AC parts since Chevy is so common.

 

[Longroof79]

I'm assuming that the '81 parts car has the smaller (pancake) R4 radial compressor, and your '78 Malibu has, or had, the A6 axial compressor. You'll need to source the brackets from a later Malibu, Monte Carlo, El Camino with a V-8. We have just recently discussed A/C brackets. in fact, I just changed out my brackets to accommodate the R4 compressor.
If you do a search on the site, I'm sure you'll find the thread where we discussed this subject.

Welcome aboard!

 

[Longroof79]

Here's a link to the last bracket discussion...hope this helps you.
https://gbodyforum.com/threads/r4-a-c-compressor-bracket-configuration.56010/