Classic Auto Air Install Experience

[Map63Vette]

So I finally pulled the trigger on a Classic Auto Air setup for my 67 and am hoping to get the bulk of the install done this weekend. I already have some plans to potentially modify the setup a bit to suit my car, but one of the main ones I'm looking at right now is the compressor control. I don't like the way their system is set up to run the compressor at all temperature positions except 100% hot as I frequently run my heater somewhere in the middle. I know the thermostat in the system would cut that down somewhat, but my plan was to just add a button inline on the clutch to be able to manually shut it off like most modern cars. The other thing I'm planning to do is to run it through my Megasquirt as well as I have some A/C control functionality in that system I'd like to exploit. Mostly radiator fan control to start up a fan when the compressor is active, but it can also make sure the compressor isn't engaged during cranking and shut it down at high rpm and other stuff like that.

With that in mind, I'm looking over the installation instructions and some of the wiring and fusing just seems super overkill. I'm using one of the new Smart Series controllers, and there are two primary power feeds for the system. One goes straight to the controller and is fused at 20A. Looks like this powers the blower motor, so that makes sense to me. The other one is intended to run to a relay that appears to be the main compressor clutch control. It's also called out to be fused at 20A, which just seems way extra to me. Based on what I can find out there the compressor clutch should only pull ~4A or so. Maybe a little more surge on start, but nothing crazy. Current plan is to tie the compressor button and Megasquirt in there. Will probably have to do some testing to figure out if it's going to annoy the CAA controller if the compressor isn't running when it thinks it should be though. I don't think the CAA controller does compressor cycling as I see no input in the system to support that, unless they just do it on a timed basis. It looks like a TXV style system, so the valve itself should be what is throttling refrigerant flow compared to an orifice tube style, so I don't think compressor cycling is needed.

 

[Map63Vette]

So I started the process over the weekend to swap over to the new system and boy what a weekend it turned out to be. Suffice to say, I'm not super pleased with the way things fit out of the box. I knew I'd potentially have some things pop up as my car is an amalgamation of parts spanning the course of 6+ decades, but the stuff that should have fit regardless was anything but.

The old box came out without much fuss. Pull the coolant hoses, blow some compressed air through the heater core to get the bulk of the fluid out to prevent too much of a mess, cap them, and pull the 4 nuts on the blower motor housing and the thing almost fell out on its own. I didn't have the J hook that holds the box to the cowl inside the fresh air vent, but that doesn't surprise me given the car's history. The controls were a little more entertaining to get out just because it's hard to get tools up behind the dash, but someone cut a big square hole in my dash for a modern radio at some point in the past, so at least I had a little better access. Got them out as well and had all sorts of new room under the dash to play with.

And that's about where the fun ended. 30-60 minutes into the project I was thinking I might be able to make pretty good time, but the new kit had other ideas. I called my dad to come over and give me a hand holding the box in place so I could get the bolts started on the engine bay side and that's where everything went downhill. The instructions are kind of vague on exactly what bolt holes you are supposed to use. I thought they were supposed to be the existing blower motor holes, but there was no way the box was going to line up with them based on where the tubes were coming through. They were rubbing hard on the bottom of the blower motor hole. I looked at the instructions again and it makes it look like the box mounting holes are above the existing ones in the firewall, but I had none present on my car. I got the bright idea to use the seal plate they include in the kit as a reference as it had four holes that I thought lined up with the four smaller holes used for the factory heater block off plate (spoiler alert, they are closer, but also don't line up as it turns out). I drilled two new holes in the firewall and try to lift the box into place once more only to find out I was now hitting the bottom of the cowl with the top of the box. So back to the drawing board. It looks like it had to mount in the original blower motor holes (would make sense), so I decided to start cutting out my firewall to elongate the blower motor hole to provide clearance for the tubes to come through. After some hole saw surgery we finally get the box up into position and now the tubes are pointing straight at the #8 coil on my engine (a 5.7 Hemi swap). This one I give a pass as the kit was not designed with this particular engine in mind, but all the same it meant something was going to have to change. So out the box comes one more time so I can bend and tweak the tubes to come out closer to the middle of the blower motor hole like they should have been to start with. So now the box is finally in the car and I go to try to figure out how to install the bracket on the back that holds up the other side of the box. I lift it up and mark the backside of the cowl for where to drill. They give you self tapping screws with the kit, but there was no way to hold the box in position while also trying to drill as the hole is behind the dash and you need a 90 degree drill to even have a chance. Maybe a stubby impact would work, but I don't have one. As it turns out, I also don't have any stubby drill bits, and everything is just barely too long to get in there. I snap an old bit off to shorten it and finally get a hole drilled, but when I try to get a screw started in the hole through the bracket I see just how badly the angle of the bracket doesn't match the angle of the cowl surface it mounts to. So once again I'm bending brand new parts out of the box to fit the way they are supposed to to begin with. The final bit of fun I have is while putting stuff away to work on for a later day. I started looking at the heater controls I took out of the car and the instruction manual and they didn't seem to line up. As it turns out, apparently despite my car being a 67, someone in the past swapped in 68+ heater controls. Not super surprising given the rest of the dash was also 68+ (at least the speedometer cluster as it's a press on instead of a screw on cable). This probably won't be an issue in the long run as I think I'm going to do something a little different for the controls anyway, but it's just another cherry on top of my weekend sundae. I also can't use one of the A/C fittings they provided as the bend angle just isn't going to work for my with my compressor, but I'll accept that one as well since this isn't an engine they have a kit for. I think I can use all the others without issue, so I'll figure it out. Haven't even touched the condenser yet, so looking forward to how much fun that's going to be as I know my car doesn't have an A body radiator in it...

So long story short, it was not a good day. The biggest issue is the position of the heater and A/C tubes on the provided box do not line up with the mounting holes at all. I had to bend them up a good 1/4-1/2" to even clear the bottom edge of the blower motor hole, but to be centered they probably need to be bent up closer to 1". The support bracket angle is also under bent to line up flush with the cowl. The last issue I still haven't quite tackled yet is the condensation drain tube hole. They imply you are supposed to drill a hole straight out from the drain nipple into the firewall and put a 90 on the other side. Well, guess what's directly on the other side of my firewall? That's right, the front brake line. I'm glad my dad caught that one before I started drilling the hole. I also happen to have a cylinder head/engine block right there, so I don't think I could have fit the 90 degree elbow there anyway. So the plan at the moment is to put the 90 on the box and drill the hole in a more vertical fashion through the floor to clear the engine.

So yeah, I'm not super thrilled with this kit at all for the price, but at the same time I don't really like any of the other options out there, so I'm just making it work. I really preferred the idea of all the connections coming out at the blower motor hole, which would have been fine if they actually came out there. I don't know what car they used to design their kit, but I can't imagine it would be that different than mine. You'd think they would have some QC that would better position the tubes relative to their mounting bracket. A simple jig would tell you if you're even close.

 

[junkyardhero]

a thumbs up not for the nonsense you had to endure but for the honest and detailed report of the kit, parts and pitfalls of the job.

i'm about to "retrofit" my 68 with some of their parts. it's a job i'm not looking forward to.

 

[Map63Vette]

a thumbs up not for the nonsense you had to endure but for the honest and detailed report of the kit, parts and pitfalls of the job.

i'm about to "retrofit" my 68 with some of their parts. it's a job i'm not looking forward to.

Yeah, I was expecting to have to tweak some things just because my car is weird and the kit isn't built for the 5.7 in the car (and my own tastes for how I want to control it), but I was surprised it was so far off out of the box for basic fitment. I've read accounts both ways of it either going in with no problems or being a total nightmare. I probably should have slowed down and collected my thoughts between issues instead of trying one thing, then backpedaling and trying something else. In the long run I probably should have just bent the tubes out of the box and been done with it as that would have kept me from drilling more holes and cutting up my firewall. Would have been more like a 5 minute fix instead of my multi-hour ordeal, but hindsight and all that.

The drain tube still has me scratching my head though. I really don't understand where they think you are supposed to drill the hole. It's already almost right on a ridge stamped into the firewall, and with the brake line right on the other side that's a pretty precarious location. It's not like you can really move the box around that much either, so just strange to me. Hopefully the system at least works well once it's fully installed.

 

[ESP47]

I don't recall having all the issues you're having on my 68 Barracuda. The tubes from the heater core definitely sit low in the blower motor hole and required me to bend them up a bit, to the point where I'm wondering if there will be an early failure at some point but everything else went fairly smooth for me. I don't recall having issues attaching the box under the dash or with the drain tube. It was close to the brake line but it wasn't directly in the way. I think the most difficult part for me (other than the heater control mod) was manipulating the plastic cover on the firewall to fit the screw holes in the firewall. It was definitely ill fitting but worked out in the end and the goofiness won't be noticed by anyone other than myself.

I have a magnum engine and couldn't use either of the AC hoses they supplied. I just got my new hoses crimped and installed recently so I need to see if it holds vacuum and charge it up and see what I've got here in the next few weeks.

 

[Map63Vette]

I don't recall having all the issues you're having on my 68 Barracuda. The tubes from the heater core definitely sit low in the blower motor hole and required me to bend them up a bit, to the point where I'm wondering if there will be an early failure at some point but everything else went fairly smooth for me. I don't recall having issues attaching the box under the dash or with the drain tube. It was close to the brake line but it wasn't directly in the way. I think the most difficult part for me (other than the heater control mod) was manipulating the plastic cover on the firewall to fit the screw holes in the firewall. It was definitely ill fitting but worked out in the end and the goofiness won't be noticed by anyone other than myself.

I have a magnum engine and couldn't use either of the AC hoses they supplied. I just got my new hoses crimped and installed recently so I need to see if it holds vacuum and charge it up and see what I've got here in the next few weeks.

I do think I could probably make my setup clear the brake line as it is a flexible hose out of the box, but my engine's proximity to the firewall makes that a bit of a moot point anyway. I'm more just surprised they'd have you drilling holes that close to begin with.

I hear you on the cover plate as well. That was one heck of a tight fit and I didn't see all the fun my dad had struggling to get it on past my valve covers with how tight the holes are. I had thought the holes in the cover plate would match up with the 4 smaller holes already in the firewall, but I found out when I made the template to drill the two extra mounting holes for the box (that I didn't end up needing) that the holes in the cover plate didn't line up with the ones in the firewall either. I could get two of them to match, but then the other two were something like 1/4" off. I ended up just using one existing hole and letting the others drill themselves as all the screws in the kit were self tappers anyway.

Just seems like they would have checked fitment on more of the parts more closely. The tubes shouldn't be that low in the hole and there is plenty of room on that cover plate to make the holes line up with what is already on the firewall.

I don't think I'm even going to bother modifying my stock heater controls at this point. I technically don't have the right kit at the moment, though it appears the only difference between the 67 and 68+ is the blower switch mounting. They both use the same cable bracket that you attach to the controls, even though the controls look different between the model years. The mode and temp controls are just potentiometers anyway, they aren't anything fancy. And the blower switch is just a 4 position switch as well as it looks like they are controlling the blower via PWM since there is no blower motor resistor present in the system (at least I'm guessing not, I haven't cracked open the controller to look, but it would seem very odd to put one there with no cooling around it). My plan was to just print a plate to direct mount the sliders in the kit behind the factory cover plate. I won't have the same amount of travel as the factory slots provide, but I don't think I'll care that much. They sell universal knob style controls as well that I could just mount in my custom center console as another option, but I don't think I want to spend any more on this than I have to. Not using the factory mechanical control bits should save me some room behind the dash for hose routing. I'm also planning to mount the center vents in the radio cutout I have to get them up higher where they can blow on my torso and face better. Need to size those up and see what it will take to 3D print an adapter. Once it's all done I might try to get some pictures of the install to show what I mean.

 

[ESP47]

I do think I could probably make my setup clear the brake line as it is a flexible hose out of the box, but my engine's proximity to the firewall makes that a bit of a moot point anyway. I'm more just surprised they'd have you drilling holes that close to begin with.

I hear you on the cover plate as well. That was one heck of a tight fit and I didn't see all the fun my dad had struggling to get it on past my valve covers with how tight the holes are. I had thought the holes in the cover plate would match up with the 4 smaller holes already in the firewall, but I found out when I made the template to drill the two extra mounting holes for the box (that I didn't end up needing) that the holes in the cover plate didn't line up with the ones in the firewall either. I could get two of them to match, but then the other two were something like 1/4" off. I ended up just using one existing hole and letting the others drill themselves as all the screws in the kit were self tappers anyway.

Just seems like they would have checked fitment on more of the parts more closely. The tubes shouldn't be that low in the hole and there is plenty of room on that cover plate to make the holes line up with what is already on the firewall.

I don't think I'm even going to bother modifying my stock heater controls at this point. I technically don't have the right kit at the moment, though it appears the only difference between the 67 and 68+ is the blower switch mounting. They both use the same cable bracket that you attach to the controls, even though the controls look different between the model years. The mode and temp controls are just potentiometers anyway, they aren't anything fancy. And the blower switch is just a 4 position switch as well as it looks like they are controlling the blower via PWM since there is no blower motor resistor present in the system (at least I'm guessing not, I haven't cracked open the controller to look, but it would seem very odd to put one there with no cooling around it). My plan was to just print a plate to direct mount the sliders in the kit behind the factory cover plate. I won't have the same amount of travel as the factory slots provide, but I don't think I'll care that much. They sell universal knob style controls as well that I could just mount in my custom center console as another option, but I don't think I want to spend any more on this than I have to. Not using the factory mechanical control bits should save me some room behind the dash for hose routing. I'm also planning to mount the center vents in the radio cutout I have to get them up higher where they can blow on my torso and face better. Need to size those up and see what it will take to 3D print an adapter. Once it's all done I might try to get some pictures of the install to show what I mean.

If you change your mind and wind up modifying the stock heater controls, do a search on that because I believe the wire on one of the pots is too long and doesn't allow the correct amount of travel. There's definitely a lot wrong with this kit but it's not like we have many options. The tubes sitting too low in the firewall hole is probably the most annoying aspect of it, considering how testing the product on a few cars and making some measurements could have prevented that easily.

The driver side vent tube gave me the most hassle now that I think of it. There is no where for the vent tube to travel cleanly through the steering column area and back to the AC box. I had to take a length of PVC tube and strap it to the back side of the steering column bracket up in the dash and then connect the hoses on each side of it. If you try running the flexible tube back there I'm pretty sure the wiper linkage will eventually tear it up.

 

[TrailBeast]

I do think I could probably make my setup clear the brake line as it is a flexible hose out of the box, but my engine's proximity to the firewall makes that a bit of a moot point anyway. I'm more just surprised they'd have you drilling holes that close to begin with.

I hear you on the cover plate as well. That was one heck of a tight fit and I didn't see all the fun my dad had struggling to get it on past my valve covers with how tight the holes are. I had thought the holes in the cover plate would match up with the 4 smaller holes already in the firewall, but I found out when I made the template to drill the two extra mounting holes for the box (that I didn't end up needing) that the holes in the cover plate didn't line up with the ones in the firewall either. I could get two of them to match, but then the other two were something like 1/4" off. I ended up just using one existing hole and letting the others drill themselves as all the screws in the kit were self tappers anyway.

Just seems like they would have checked fitment on more of the parts more closely. The tubes shouldn't be that low in the hole and there is plenty of room on that cover plate to make the holes line up with what is already on the firewall.

I don't think I'm even going to bother modifying my stock heater controls at this point. I technically don't have the right kit at the moment, though it appears the only difference between the 67 and 68+ is the blower switch mounting. They both use the same cable bracket that you attach to the controls, even though the controls look different between the model years. The mode and temp controls are just potentiometers anyway, they aren't anything fancy. And the blower switch is just a 4 position switch as well as it looks like they are controlling the blower via PWM since there is no blower motor resistor present in the system (at least I'm guessing not, I haven't cracked open the controller to look, but it would seem very odd to put one there with no cooling around it). My plan was to just print a plate to direct mount the sliders in the kit behind the factory cover plate. I won't have the same amount of travel as the factory slots provide, but I don't think I'll care that much. They sell universal knob style controls as well that I could just mount in my custom center console as another option, but I don't think I want to spend any more on this than I have to. Not using the factory mechanical control bits should save me some room behind the dash for hose routing. I'm also planning to mount the center vents in the radio cutout I have to get them up higher where they can blow on my torso and face better. Need to size those up and see what it will take to 3D print an adapter. Once it's all done I might try to get some pictures of the install to show what I mean.

I had some of the same issues with the left end bracket, as it lacked about an inch to contact the cowel.
I ended up flipping the bracket upside down and re bending it to mount to the bottom of the dash.

Mine is all electronic with no cables (servo motors)
They didn’t have a control panel I was happy with, so I had them just send the knobs and I made a new panel to mount them in.
Worked out pretty good.

 

[Map63Vette]

If you change your mind and wind up modifying the stock heater controls, do a search on that because I believe the wire on one of the pots is too long and doesn't allow the correct amount of travel. There's definitely a lot wrong with this kit but it's not like we have many options. The tubes sitting too low in the firewall hole is probably the most annoying aspect of it, considering how testing the product on a few cars and making some measurements could have prevented that easily.

The driver side vent tube gave me the most hassle now that I think of it. There is no where for the vent tube to travel cleanly through the steering column area and back to the AC box. I had to take a length of PVC tube and strap it to the back side of the steering column bracket up in the dash and then connect the hoses on each side of it. If you try running the flexible tube back there I'm pretty sure the wiper linkage will eventually tear it up.

I haven't gotten to the tubing yet, but I had seen that brought up several times. I have a 3D printer and have seen some people that have tried to print some ducting to do more or less what you did with the PVC setup. I'm also not running a speedometer cable anymore and might even convert more of my dash to displays at some point, so that might save me some more room to route stuff, but I'll have to come up with something in the meantime. I'm debating if I even want to put the one vent all the way on the left side or not. I like my fresh air door and plan to keep it. I've read where one guy just used velcro to attach the vent to the bottom of the dash so he could move it out of the way to open the fresh air door. I like that idea but way thinking I may use magnets instead. Since I'm planning to put some vents where the radio goes I might just put the left driver vent as far left as I can get it while still being on the right side of the steering column, but I'd have to see where that ends up and if it makes any sense. I have also seen the comments about limited travel on the controls, which was another reason I was debating just mounting the pot directly to the dash instead. I modeled up a mounting plate last night, but need to do some more measurements as I think I need to move the pots closer since they have such short tabs on them.

I had some of the same issues with the left end bracket, as it lacked about an inch to contact the cowel.
I ended up flipping the bracket upside down and re bending it to mount to the bottom of the dash.

Mine is all electronic with no cables (servo motors)
They didn’t have a control panel I was happy with, so I had them just send the knobs and I made a new panel to mount them in.
Worked out pretty good.

View attachment 1716398636

Never thought about attaching to the bottom of the dash. I like that idea a lot more, but I guess too late now. I wasn't thrilled with all the random new self tapped holes I'm putting in my car, let alone ones in the cowl, but it's not like my car is anywhere close to stock anymore. I'm more or less looking to do something similar to what you have with your knobs, just with the slider pots they include in the kit. I think I can get them mounted behind the factory faceplate, though they have about half the travel of the stock controls, so that will be a little funny looking. Seems like it would be way easier to design a panel to direct mount the controls like that over figuring out how to attach them to the stock mechanicals, but I'm guessing the limited travel probably had something to do with that. I have thought about measuring the resistance to see what range they have and looking to see if I can find different ones, but not sure how deep down the rabbit hole I want to go on modification.

My second idea was to actually make it an auto climate control system and have a microcontroller operating the controls. I have a "programmable resistor" IC from an old college class that has something like 1024 steps, so I could just add a temperature sensor and have the microcontroller auto adjust the temp and fan based on what it's reading, but that might be hard on the servos depending on how often I update them. More just a novel idea to keep in the back of my mind for fun.

 

[TrailBeast]

I haven't gotten to the tubing yet, but I had seen that brought up several times. I have a 3D printer and have seen some people that have tried to print some ducting to do more or less what you did with the PVC setup. I'm also not running a speedometer cable anymore and might even convert more of my dash to displays at some point, so that might save me some more room to route stuff, but I'll have to come up with something in the meantime. I'm debating if I even want to put the one vent all the way on the left side or not. I like my fresh air door and plan to keep it. I've read where one guy just used velcro to attach the vent to the bottom of the dash so he could move it out of the way to open the fresh air door. I like that idea but way thinking I may use magnets instead. Since I'm planning to put some vents where the radio goes I might just put the left driver vent as far left as I can get it while still being on the right side of the steering column, but I'd have to see where that ends up and if it makes any sense. I have also seen the comments about limited travel on the controls, which was another reason I was debating just mounting the pot directly to the dash instead. I modeled up a mounting plate last night, but need to do some more measurements as I think I need to move the pots closer since they have such short tabs on them.



Never thought about attaching to the bottom of the dash. I like that idea a lot more, but I guess too late now. I wasn't thrilled with all the random new self tapped holes I'm putting in my car, let alone ones in the cowl, but it's not like my car is anywhere close to stock anymore. I'm more or less looking to do something similar to what you have with your knobs, just with the slider pots they include in the kit. I think I can get them mounted behind the factory faceplate, though they have about half the travel of the stock controls, so that will be a little funny looking. Seems like it would be way easier to design a panel to direct mount the controls like that over figuring out how to attach them to the stock mechanicals, but I'm guessing the limited travel probably had something to do with that. I have thought about measuring the resistance to see what range they have and looking to see if I can find different ones, but not sure how deep down the rabbit hole I want to go on modification.

My second idea was to actually make it an auto climate control system and have a microcontroller operating the controls. I have a "programmable resistor" IC from an old college class that has something like 1024 steps, so I could just add a temperature sensor and have the microcontroller auto adjust the temp and fan based on what it's reading, but that might be hard on the servos depending on how often I update them. More just a novel idea to keep in the back of my mind for fun.

From what CAA told me, I got the impression the pot slider mods can be replaced with the knobs like in my pic.
I didn’t like those slider mods because it seemed kind of hokie.

My car is far from stock as well, so the knobs were fine with me.
The panel I made matches my dash anyway.
Maybe ask them about switching to the knobs if possible.

One other thought mine has climate control built in.
Set the temp knob and it switches between heat or ac when needed to maintain that temp and compressor only activates when the ac turns on.
Hard to imagine yours doesn’t.

One other thought.
The blower is annoyingly loud on hi.
I was really disappointed about that, so I made an insulated panel that covers from the bottom of the dash to the firewall and from the kick panel to the center of the new heat/ac box.
Just shaped it around anything below the bottom of the dash.
Much better.

 

[Map63Vette]

From what CAA told me, I got the impression the pot slider mods can be replaced with the knobs like in my pic.
I didn’t like those slider mods because it seemed kind of hokie.

My car is far from stock as well, so the knobs were fine with me.
The panel I made matches my dash anyway.
Maybe ask them about switching to the knobs if possible.

One other thought mine has climate control built in.
Set the temp knob and it switches between heat or ac when needed to maintain that temp and compressor only activates when the ac turns on.
Hard to imagine yours doesn’t.

One other thought.
The blower is annoyingly loud on hi.
I was really disappointed about that, so I made an insulated panel that covers from the bottom of the dash to the firewall and from the kick panel to the center of the new heat/ac box.
Just shaped it around anything below the bottom of the dash.
Much better.

Good to know on the blower motor! I suspected you can could the controls out as the system appears to be fairly modular. I'm guessing the sliders/knobs are probably just 10K variable potentiometers or something like that, maybe a different range, but simple enough to swap out. Interesting note on the temp though. I didn't see anything in the system to indicate that it would have the capacity to measure temperature, but I haven't gotten it all hooked up yet either. I was working under the assumption that the potentiometers were more or less direct control over the servos. You have to calibrate them at initial install, but in theory it would be something like 0 ohms = water valve fully closed and 10k ohm = water valve fully open. Same idea with the vent doors, though you're now controlling two separate ones. So 0-5k might be the floor to defrost door and then 5k-10k would be the defrost to vent range.

The compressor control is a weird one to me as well reading over the manual. Per the instructions the compressor is "on" at all but 90-100% heat (so you get dehumidification), though I know there is a thermostat in the housing that controls the TXV that would effectively shut the compressor off in cold weather. But if you turn the heater on at say 50%, I would think it would heat the box up to the point that it might open the thermostat for the compressor to start running. I get the point of running it for dehumidification, but I'm not sure I like that being the "default" setting, which is why I was planning to add an extra switch to my setup.

The wiring that comes with the kit controls the compressor in two different ways. The clutch is run off a relay and there are cutoff features on both the coil side of the relay and the power side. The high pressure switch for the system is run inline with the clutch on the power side of the relay, so the compressor will shut off if the pressure gets too high regardless of whether the controller is asking it to run or not. The coil side of the relay has the thermostat inline with the controller itself, so both conditions have to be true for the compressor to kick on (box warm enough and controller commanding it). My plan was to put an extra physical toggle switch in that chain as well, so I can manually shut off the clutch relay if I don't want the compressor running, regardless of what the controller wants to do. I might just completely cut the controller out of the equation anyway as I plan to have my Megasquirt do some of the control as it has more functionality I'd like to use like rpm cutout, cycle time between restarts, fan control, etc. Will have to experiment with it a little to see if the controller gets mad not seeing a signal, but I don't think it should be an issue.

 

[Map63Vette]

Well, the hits just keep coming with this one. I got the chance to try to test fit the condenser after work today as I wanted to rough route my hoses to figure out what hose ends I need since the ones that came in the kit aren't going to work with the Hemi compressor. I'm not sure what it is about my car, but it seems like everything just has to be different or special. I knew my radiator was way oversize from stock, but it's almost big enough that I can actually mount the condenser on its own mounting holes and have the radiator mount outside of it if that makes any sense. Going to be tight one the passenger side though, so the backup plan is just making some new brackets.

Speaking of new brackets, both the instructions that came with the kit and the brackets both leave something to be desired. The instructions say to mount the brackets on specific holes, but show different holes in the pictures where it's calling out the positions, so I'm not sure what to think. I had to move them to different holes anyway to line up with my core support, but there's a bigger issue there. On my core support, the stock radiator mounting holes are ~26" apart. With the brackets mounted on the condenser, the mounting holes on them are only ~24" apart, so either something changed between model years or someone put a really interesting front end on my car. It has a 69 grille mounted (not well, granted), but I thought the core support was kind of welded in there from the look of it. Maybe not, but all the same I'm pretty sure it would have to at least be an A body piece of a similar year range. Does anyone know if the radiator mounting holes changed between the years? The brackets are just flat pieces of thin metal with some holes drilled in them, so it's not like it will be hard to make new ones, more just annoying that I paid for a full kit and keep not using pieces that come in it.

The actual A/C line mounting seems like it will probably be good enough, though it's pretty tight and I'm a bit worried it's going to rub on stuff. I'll probably see about cutting some rubber line to put around the bend aluminum lines to protect them. I had to bend the lower condenser port to even get it to line up with the hardline as well, so I'm getting less and less impressed by the day with this whole setup. I better need to wear a puffer coat and stocking cap when I have this thing cranked up for it to be worth it by the time I'm done...

 

[Map63Vette]

Back with another episode of "Will it fit?"!

So over the weekend I finally got the vast majority of the rest of the kit fit up so I could route and cut the hoses to size. I already knew I needed to do something about the condenser brackets, so to make my life easier I just removed the whole front grille. Definitely advise doing this for anyone interested in the condenser install as it makes things way easier. I attached the hardlines to the condenser out of the car and measured roughly where they were relative to the passenger side mounts to get an idea if I needed to shift the condenser around any to line them up better, and fortunately the mounts provided in the kit for the passenger side at least seemed to position it fairly well. I did go ahead and drill a new set of holes in them a little further inboard though, as the radiator I have in my car is wider than stock and the bend in the mounting flange was just on top of the stock mounting holes. Drilling new ones let me bolt the condenser to the core support totally independently from the radiator. On the other side I just made longer brackets out of some scrap metal I had that was roughly the same thickness as what they provided. I probably extended them a little further than I needed to, but I didn't feel like optimizing them as much as just installing them. They were probably about 1.5-2" longer than what was provided in the kit, but they work with the factory mounting slots in the core support as those were already inboard of the mounting flanges of my wider radiator. I did add several pieces of rubber hose over the hard lines in spots where they were really close to other parts as I wanted to minimize any rubbing and wear that could occur on the softer aluminum tubes. So all in all, the condenser install actually went fairly well.

Fortunately, the new hose ends I ordered with different angles showed up while I was finishing up the condenser install. With everything in place I mocked up the soft lines and got them cut down to size and pre-assembled for crimping. I think it should all work out okay and still allow me some amount of serviceability to parts on that side. I will still have to move my oil filter, which is going to be interesting. I have a remote setup that's mounted right where the dryer in the kit goes, and I have pretty limited options of where to move the oil filter otherwise. Once I get the dryer mounted I'll have to see what I have to work with for the oil filter. I'm hoping I can just move it further back on the fender and maybe down a bit to clear the line from the dryer to the firewall.

On the inside of the car, things got fun all over again. I started off with the wiring, which wasn't too bad. I knew I was going to change some stuff about it anyway, but nothing major. Main difference was just removing the relay they include in the kit as I was planning to add a relay in my engine side fuse box for the compressor clutch instead. I wired it up through the factory chassis bulkhead connector on the same pin as the original A/C clutch for the fun of it. So all the power side of the compressor is in the engine bay and the control side stays in the cabin. I also just didn't connect their controller to the compressor at all as I'm running it all through my Megasquirt. So my setup will use a typical toggle switch (probably mounted to my console, I haven't decided yet) to supply 12V to the thermostat on the unit, which then goes into my Megasquirt. The Megasquirt then grounds the relay in the engine bay to supply power to the compressor clutch. The pressure switch is mounted on the ground side of the clutch. I did de-pin the water control valve connector to pass it through the firewall through an existing hole I already had from what I first installed the Megasquirt. Fortunately I had just enough cable length to make it work. The controller is currently sitting on top of my tunnel under the dash. I'm not sure if I'm actually going to hard mount it or not, but I do plan to extend my center console I'm making to cover it and clean up the mess of wires and stuff I have going on there now.

The ducting, oh boy, the ducting... It didn't start off well, though I learned some lessons that made it not as bad in hindsight. I tackled probably the worst one first, which was the driver's side defrost outlet. They give you an adapter to reduce the duct down to their hose size, but the duct comes out right on top of the gauge cluster to begin with, so there's no room to put the adapter on. I first tried taking the vent out, but I couldn't get to all the hardware for the same reason. I really didn't feel like pulling my whole cluster for the umpteenth time (I've messed with it far too much trying to get my speedometer to work with my electric speed sensor). As it turns out though, all you really need to do is loose it and tilt it forward, which gives you enough room to get a straight shot on the adapter. The cluster still kind of presses against the hose when it's all installed, but I imagine the stock hose couldn't have been too much better. The passenger side was a little easier as I still have the glovebox out. The other vents aren't terrible, but the hose is a very tight fit on the outlets and it's hard getting both hands up under the dash to get them on. I'd recommend potentially trying to pre-install them before you slide the unit under the dash if you can. My passenger side outer vent is still just hanging in the footwell for now, but I think I'm going to try to sink some neodymium magnets into the surrounds they give you to attach it to the bottom of the dash instead of screwing it in. The center vents I routed to the hole where my radio used to be and I think that might work quite well. The driver side outer duct I haven't done anything with yet. I know there are some issues with how to route it past the column, but I didn't feel like tackling that one yet as am not even sure if I want to route it that far or not.

With everything attached and wired up I turned the key and tried to pair the bluetooth with my phone for the calibration (not strictly required as you can just press a button on the unit as well, but I figured it would be nice to see the readouts). Once again, the instructions are lacking in this department. It would try to pair with my phone, but was asking me for the PIN code. Typically it's either 0000 or 1234 or something basic like that, but neither of those worked and guess what? They don't tell you anywhere in the instructions what it is. I couldn't find it on the website either, they just mention being able to change it, but not what the default is to start with. I even tried looking at the instructions for a more popular kit like a Mustang thinking that maybe those would be more up to date since they likely sell more, but it wasn't there either. Put in a support ticket and just manually calibrated in the meantime. At least everything seems to work fairly well. It blows air and you can hear the servos moving around and you can fell the vents diverting appropriately. Haven't checked the water valve as it's kind of a 2 person job to listen for it, but I'm guessing it's probably okay. I did hear back from their support team this morning about the Bluetooth code. Evidently the default code is 654321, so I'll give that a go over lunch and see if I can pair with it. Hoses should be getting crimped today, so I'll be one step closer to (hopefully) cool air in the car. Supposed to be in the 80s and maybe even 90 this week, so it's well timed. Fingers crossed everything seals up and I can get it charged, though I'll need to sort out my oil filter location before I get too far ahead of myself.

 

[str12-340]

your litany of challenges sound very, very familiar and the folks at CAA were not much help (didn't ever seem interested in getting info so that they could fix the kit problems). One of my biggest issues was with the Bouchilon kit CAA sent for mounting the compressor using original factory AC pulleys. The double pulleys that were on the specified crank pulley and Alternator did not line up with the double compressor pulley (exactly one groove off). After going to CAA, who sent me to Bouchilon, the answer I got was "it only needs one belt". After trying that, I found that regardless of adjustment the compressor squealed like a pig whenever the compressor engaged. A new crank pulley and spacing the alternator out, lined up the double belt grooves, which of course, put the forward belt in interference with the PS/ water pump belt, meaning new water pump pulley and spacing the entire PS bracket system forward. Finally it works like it should have to start with, but no thanks to CAA/Bouchilon. And all this from system that was labelled a "Perfect Fit Kit"... HAHAHAHA!!! When I read your projected time frame for the install in your first post I just howled. I hope that you tested the function of the box and controls (as they suggest) before putting it all in, because you will find issues there and they can't be effectively fixed with the box and controls in place.

 

[Map63Vette]

I didn't bench test it because I didn't have power handy at the time, but I can get to all the servos fairly easily if needed. I actually haven't had any problem with the function of the unit so far, it has all just been fitment issues. The worst of it was just mounting the box itself. The condenser was at least half right, and the hard lines actually worked, which was almost surprising to me at this point. If it weren't for all the crap I went through getting the box in the car, I think I probably could have done it in a weekend. Overall I think I basically spent one day mounting the box, then one day doing the condenser and the rest of the interior fit up. Still just crossing my fingers the A/C will actually work once I get it all plumbed up. I have pretty much everything I need now, aside from time. Supposed to be in the 80s and possibly even 90s this week, which would have been real nice to test it out with, but I never have any time when I get home from work, so it looks like it's getting pushed to the weekend to finish up.

 

[RogerRamRod]

I think somebody on this forum wrote up extensive information on modifications needed and potential edits to the instructions and offered it to Classic, if I remember correctly, they showed zero interest.
One day I may jump in and attempt an install, but for now I am more interested in getting my car to a reliably usable state. Once I have the bugs worked out and know I can trust the car to take a road trip or two, THEN I might pull the plug.

 

[Map63Vette]

I think somebody on this forum wrote up extensive information on modifications needed and potential edits to the instructions and offered it to Classic, if I remember correctly, they showed zero interest.
One day I may jump in and attempt an install, but for now I am more interested in getting my car to a reliably usable state. Once I have the bugs worked out and know I can trust the car to take a road trip or two, THEN I might pull the plug.

Yeah, I went digging through threads as well before I took the plunge. I knew I was likely going to have to do some work and I knew I was going to modify some stuff to suit my engine and build anyway since they don't even list the modern 5.7 in their options, but I didn't realize that so much of the kit wasn't going to even fit stock to start with. The box not bolting to the firewall is still the most egregious error to me, and not something that any amount of change to instructions would help. They could better clarify that it's supposed to bolt to the same holes the old box came out of, but that doesn't make the parts magically actually fit those holes. The condenser brackets are also still just a mystery to me. There is pretty much no possible way I could have used what they supplied in the kit as they weren't wide enough to even span the opening the core support, assuming I didn't modify the hardlines. If I wanted to rebend the lines I could have shuffled the condenser over slightly and drilled some new holes in the core support, but it really makes me wonder what their prototype car looked like that they based the kit on.

I know my car is a bastard child that's filled with all manner of parts that don't properly fit it, but the base body structure should still be 67, which is what the parts are supposed to bolt to. Oh well though, at least the worst of it is over (hopefully). Just need to hook up my hoses and drain/fill the system. The sad thing is I don't think there's really much for better options out there. I know Vintage Air makes a generic system, but the plumbing on that could be tough as you'd either need bulkhead connectors or you'd have to pass hoses through the firewall, and I really preferred the idea of the connections all being in the engine bay for easier access. The underdash units are the same way, but I'd have to keep my heater with one of those, and space is already at a premium for me. I'd probably still buy a CAA system if I were to do it all over again purely for the way they run their lines, but I might try harder to modify the system to work than to modify my car to match the system. I'm not sure I think it's worth what they are asking for it price-wise with the way it's currently designed though.

 

[Map63Vette]

Sometimes it just feels like my car doesn't want to have A/C... Finally got everything installed Friday and hooked up my vacuum pump to get things pulled down to check for leaks. Ran it for a good 15-30 minutes and it was sitting at 30 in on the gauge, so shut everything off to let it sit and walked away for a bit to do other stuff. Came back to it sitting at only 20 in, so had a bit of a think. I pulled vacuum again and this time figured I'd close all the valves off and let it sit, then open them up later to see if the leak was in the system or the gauges. Came back again and when I started opening things, you could hear a leak, so back to the drawing board one more time. I had only tightened the hoses as much as I could by hand, so I grabbed a pair of pliers to snug things up. Pulled vacuum one more time and shut off as many valves as I could while leaving the low side port gauge open, so the only leak point should be the service port itself or the hose from it to the gauges. Came back in the morning and it was still holding steady at 30 in, so looked like I was going to be good to fill it. Got the first can hooked up and started loading it into the system and could only get maybe a half can with nothing running before pressures equalized, so pushed the car out of the garage to start it up and get the compressor going. Flipped the compressor switch and I got nothing, so started double checking my wiring. I later learned that I don't think I've actually enabled the compressor output control on my Megasquirt yet, but that was only the start of the issue. Grabbed the meter and started checking things and it looked like it was all wired fine, so just decided to bypass the relay and hotwire the clutch on for the time being (the pressure switch is still in the system, so I still had some kind of safety). Pop the jumper wire in the relay, see the brief arc, and still nothing on the compressor. Check the fuse and sure enough, it's blown. Check the resistance on the compressor coil and it's a dead short, so looks like my used compressor wasn't all it was cracked up to be. It has great compression based off of how many times it blew my dust cap off when I forgot about it while turning it over by hand. Looked to see if I could buy just a clutch kit and wasn't having much luck, or prices just weren't that different from a full compressor, so I ordered a new one on Rock Auto. A little while later my dad finds some clutches on Amazon for a reasonable price, so I cancelled my order (though it looks like it already shipped, so I guess I have a backup plan) and ordered up a clutch kit. Figured the return shipping on the compressor saves me the cost of having to buy another can of refrigerant if I had to break the system open, so fingers crossed I can finally get it all working later this week when stuff shows up (just in time for the temps to drop into the 60s...).

On a brighter note, I did get my oil filter relocated in a place I'm pretty happy with. I ended up mounting it to the small brace between the k frame and the lower radiator support. Plenty of room, nice hose routing, in decent airflow so it could get some cooling, easy to access, still protected, and hopefully minimal mess during a change. I did have to order some new hose though. Probably better I did as my fittings were spinning inside the hose (they are push lock style), so I think they were starting to seep. Was going to use some used hose I had, but it was similarly aged and on the stiffer side, so I wasn't super comfortable with it. Looked at buying some more and found that it was only rated for 180 degrees to begin with, so probably a blessing in disguise that I had to replace it. Bought some Aeroquip AQP series hose that I believe should be higher rated, though it also won't be here till mid-week, so the waiting game continues.

 

[Map63Vette]

I finally got the full kit installed and charged the other night. Well, mostly installed. I still need to get the last driver side hose and vent routed/plumbed, but planning to look into that some more this weekend. Also planning to update my controls and center vent mounting now that I have a bezel to play with, but the system is functional. I can at least say that it does appear to work quite well if nothing else. It blows good and cold and has pretty good airflow, so all in all I'm moderately pleased. Still annoyed at all the random stuff that came up and the ill-fitting bits, but at least the function is there.

 

[scatpackbee]

Please let us know if you get evaporator freeze up after about 1 hour of constant operation like I experience.

 

[Map63Vette]

Okay, I'll keep my eye out. It's only supposed to be in the 60s for the next week or so, compared to the 80s it was when I was putting the kit in (lucky me), so haven't had the need to run it all that long yet.

 

[str12-340]

OP and scatpackbee: let me know how you get the driver's side vent hose to the vent. I originally put mine over the column only to find out, when I turned on the wipers, the arm grabbed the hose and caused all sorts of mayhem... I still haven't fixed it, so have a loose hose spewing cold air on my feet. I seem to remember scatpackbee had a solution he was trying a few years ago.

 

[scatpackbee]

What I did was cut the top off 2 16.9 oz Coke bottles and used them to reduce the ducting diameter size to 3/4” or 1” (I can’t remember which diameter duct I actually used) to sneak above the steering column. What I used was aluminum ducting used for carb pre-heat on a VW Beetle.

Even though the duct diameter is reduced to that vent, I find it still blows out sufficient air.

I also Velcro’d the driver’s side vent to the bottom of my dashboard so I can easily move the vent to open and close the fresh air duct.

I used one of the hoses below.

 

[69Chrgr]

Man, this was a great read. I just spoke with CAA yesterday as I am in the middle of rewiring my 68 Barracuda, and it's also getting a G3 Hemi swap. I am in the middle of replacing all of the firewall insulation and was under the impression that the heater/AC box just used the existing blower motor hole and mounting holes. I also purchased an NOS lever/controller for the controls for the CAA potentiometer setup. Thank you to the OP for posting all of this. Do you have any pics of your install?

 

[69Chrgr]

@Map63Vette - So it looks like the blower motor doesn't fit flush to the firewall with the expansion valve in the way? Did you have to cut extra holes into the firewall? Did they give you a template? Getting concerned before I pull the trigger here on the purchase. My original AC lines went through the firewall down at the bottom on passenger side. Thanks again for your write up.