A/C or no A/C?

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TF360

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That is the question. So, I am painting my engine bay and I love the space without the Compressor and hoses. My 74 Duster slant has p/s, p/b, and A/c. The car is not a daily driver. Would you guys keep the a/c or get rid of it? do you think it would lose value?
 
I'd keep it. The question is, how do you drive it? Are you out in the summer with it a lot? If you delete it, cap the evaporator connections and everything you remove. Original AC parts are hard to find.
 
I live in Fl. 65 years now. This 69 Dart, Has A/C.

my 69 Dart-2.jpg
 
There is also classic auto air kits. It's most likely what I will be using as the vintage air kit is 3x the price and I think I only need to replace the under the hood components to get mine back up and runnin .
 
I cringe every time I see a nice factory AC muscle car that all the underhood AC stuff is missing. You will drive your car MORE if the AC is present and working-PERIOD! I won't even consider buying a classic Mopar that doesn't have factory AC. For those of you that say you don't need it-I bet you don't drive much when it's hot out.
I drive my stuff on the interstate at 75-80 mph. If the heat doesn't kill you the wind noise will. And getting to your destination soaking in sweat-doesn't sound like much fun to me. Just my personal opinion.
Hell-I would even put AC on a original Hemi car if I had one.
 
My 65 Dart was a non-AC wagon. So I am adding factory air including the firewall.
 
I like hearing the engine run even my slant. I hate the AC stuff in my way. It gets HOT in Tx but I don't care.
Back in Mo. 3 years ago, before I half *** retired, I drove a Duster, NO AC to work every day, 60 mi round trip.
I like fresh air, HOT or not.
 
Is it a working system now? If so, you know the parts are good if you decide to store them. You could always leave it off for a bit and see if you can live without it. If not stick it back on. I put the air back on my Dart after 18 years, the summers got hotter as I got older! It changed the whole car. I think its great when you see a classic crusin with the windows up. I agree the factory system is not too clean. An aftermarket underhood kit gives you the freedom to make a cleaner install while keeping your factory in dash parts. Plus you lose that power robbing iron lung factory compressor! Makes a big difference on a slant.
 
TF360 said:
That is the question. So, I am painting my engine bay and I love the space without the Compressor and hoses. My 74 Duster slant has p/s, p/b, and A/c. The car is not a daily driver. Would you guys keep the a/c or get rid of it? do you think it would lose value?
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I dont know how old you are, but as you get older the more you appreciate A/C.
 
Yea, It's a working factory system. One more question for you guys. On the old compressors, they make some noise right. When I turned the system on it made like a a deep hum almost like a grinding. It worked fine. Just wondering if it's normal?
 
I am 72 and the 95 Ram 3500 and the everyday driving Toyota has AC. All else is BARE!!! SE Tx gets a little warm and humid.

AC making grinding noise??, don't sound good but I am NO AC mechanic!!

I take off the AC stuff off the Volares but I have it all in boxes. The 62 A and B bodies NEVER had the stuff to begin with!!!

Way back bout '89 I bought a 69 SuperBee original 383 4 speed car with AC. Pretty decent car for 20 years old. . I immediately sold it as I did not want the AC and it was rare. Brought $3500 even in '89. Yep another F8 green at, green int.!!
 
TF360 said:
When I turned the system on it made like a a deep hum almost like a grinding.
Click to expand...

You heard this over the engine? Hard to quantify but no grinding noise should be present. Since they are a reciprocating compressor, there is some noise. There is an 1/8" pipe plug on the left, as viewed from the front. The Dart oil level is between 1 5/6" and 2 1/8". Of course, you have to discharge the system and then subsequently evacuate and recharge.

The clutch on the RV2 draws 2.7 to 3.3 amp for the copper wire Warner clutch, 4 to 4.6 amp for the aluminum wire version (coil housing has "AL" letters). These are the ones where the pulley OD is larger than the clutch. The Pitts clutch version is 3.3 to 4.2 amp (pulley OD same as the housing). Oil and dust in the housing can cause a slightly higher draw, and sometimes an audible hum.
 
With a slant less accessories to keep that H.P up, no power steering no ac no power brakes, but then again that's me once I get older that might change but you live in Florida so that would be a deal breaker. I like no power steering keeps the guns in shape!
 
^^ I have always preferred manual steering in Mopar for road feel. Even the 68--70 BB B bodies I had years ago!! Tough around town though!
 
Barbee, I'm like you, always preferred everything manual. I still buy stick shift cars. I don't want to rob power from my classic that is only driven when it's nice out. But the wife wants me to keep the A/C.
 
TF360 said:
Barbee, I'm like you, always preferred everything manual. I still buy stick shift cars. I don't want to rob power from my classic that is only driven when it's nice out. But the wife wants me to keep the A/C.
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I have 2 auto. Volares that are my current drivers, but we have a 62 Lancer and 62 Dart, they are projects. Those were column shift 3 on tree but are going back floor shifters. They never had AC anyway!!!!!!!
When we drive down the road with no AC and IF wife complains, I just floor it till she garbs something and yells slow down. I just tell her trying to speed up and cool her down!!
 
Update: I had the compressor off and one of the attaching bolts was loose on the support bracket. That was the noise-info. for you guys
 
Our 1970 Matador was w/o AC for 6 years in FL. That is suffering. It was just a blown blower fuse. My dad had looked at it and "looked OK", so put it back. The wire was melted inside right at the cap where he couldn't see. That is common in FL since corrosion in the fuse-holder generates heats which fails the fuse and not from excessive current. He finally got a tip to replace the fuse w/ a resettable breaker type, and AC worked fine.

The Chrysler RV2 is a beast, so much that AC cars got thicker torsion bars. A Sanden compressor is much smaller and more efficient and would look nicer. Add a parallel-flow condenser and will be even more so. Search for the long post on AC options for the slant. One is a 1978 Volare Sanden w/ brackets.
 
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