A/C on the hot rod cruiser

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Longgone

Longgone

John/68 Barracuda & Dart
Joined
Jul 12, 2005
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Location
Newport News, Virginia
How many of you guys are running A/C on your hot-rodded cruiser? I`m thinking of adding it to my 68 Barracuda. The car is driven mostly in the summer when all of the shows are in swing but here in southeastern Va. it gets very hot and humid. It`s great to go cruising but no fun at all when you`re stuck to your seat with sweat dripping off your nose. I`ve skipped many events because I don`t want to spend an hour in the sauna before I get to the show. I`m really considering either getting an aftermarket A/C unit or selling this car.

IM000836 (Small).JPG
 
Vintage air is what ya need longgone, A friend of mine has installed many at the rod shop he worked at and said they are complete and hazel free.
I here ya bud :clock: It's been 99f here this week and Victoria has not moved and ether have I.
I picked the hottest week we have had to start my dental work.
I am looking forward to some input on this thread myself
 
Yellowdartdave, I see you`re in Florida. A/C is a must there. LOL! Great car Dave! One thing I`ve noticed with the Vintage Air system is the fact that they use the opening for the heater motor to run the plumbing through the firewall. With a raised block (440) there`s very little room to get anything through that heater motor opening.
 
I have the classicautoair system on my 68 Barracuda convert. It was very easy to install and they give you every nut bolt and screw that you need. All I needed to buy was the R134. Mine blows 34 deg.
 
I'm lucky like Dave, My Duster has factory A/C.

I have all the stuff to convert a car so I am going to convert my Scart ('72 Scamp w/ '70 Dart nose) to A/C.

I'd go for the conversion. Let the diehard car muscle car guys sweat their asses off.

Chuck
 
Longgone said:
Yellowdartdave, I see you`re in Florida. A/C is a must there. LOL! Great car Dave! One thing I`ve noticed with the Vintage Air system is the fact that they use the opening for the heater motor to run the plumbing through the firewall. With a raised block (440) there`s very little room to get anything through that heater motor opening.
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You can run your lines through the side of the passenger side through the removable cover inside the front fender and up and under the k frame or around depending on your likes and right up to the compressor.

It works especially well if you change the alternator to the driver side and have the compressor on the passenger side.

That really cleans up the engine bay.

Vintage Air is the way to go and it works great by the way......you may also consider tinting the windows as this greatly reduces the heat in the car.

Mop
 
I'm in VA too and know what you mean about the hot and humid. The wife and I are definitely spoiled by having A/C in the daily drivers so had to add A/C to my 65 GT convert. The early A firewalls are the pretty much the same other than specific cut-outs for the A/C and the larger blower motor. So it wasn't too hateful to modify - cut the holes for the A/C lines, enlarge the heater hole for the larger blower and drill the specific mounting holes for the A/C unit. It all looks like the factory did it. A template worked just fine for specific cut-outs and mounting holes. I think 67 and up used different firewalls for A/C equipped vehicles.
 
Good info in this thread, My 72 Dart was converted to 134a, it works, but not that well. I am looking into my best options for it.
 
Tnplumber said:
Good info in this thread, My 72 Dart was converted to 134a, it works, but not that well. I am looking into my best options for it.
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Usually when an A/C doesn't get very cool it is either the water control valve is not closing all of the way so heat from the heater core is warming your air or the dryer needs to be replaced.


Chuck
 
I wish my factory setup worked... unfortuantly I don't know much about a/c repair...

Has anyone added a modern/smaller compressor to a factory air setup? Is it even possible, and would it provide any advantages? I did find reman compressors on RockAuto for around $125...
 
I'm in the process of building a custom A/C setup for my Barracuda. At the time I started, I didn't know ClassicAir had a surefit system. I am creating my own custom setup using a Vintage Air servo controlled airbox, a "spare" dash I had (radio area was already cut up), and an assortment of original and aftermarket parts.

The idea is to keep the car looking mostly original under the hood (yes that is a fake blower motor-just the shell, original vents under the dash, as well as the Vintage air controls mounted in the dash. I will use the Classic Air parts for under the hood and have some custom hard lines bent where they run over the fenderwell. Here is my progress so far.

VintageACbox.jpg


repodashpad2.jpg


heater plate.jpg


nodash.jpg


heaterfittings2.jpg


enginecomp.jpg
 
Here is a shot of the Classic Auto Air unit under the hood. As you notice, their heater box/AC unit exits where the blower motor would be. I'm taking my heater lines through the original heater ooening (custom plate I built out of stainless steel parts) and my A/C lines are passing on top the of the passenger wheelwell. I will use the more modern compressor as seen below.

Classic Auto Air.jpg


Classic Auto Air2.jpg
 
Wow! The setup from Vintage Air costs almost 1300$ from Summit! And the classic Air one is just as much, pricey pricey. Just makes u wonder how much your willing to spend to stay cool. Im interested though if anyone has a lil more budget friendly that dont nearly cost the price of a rebuild. lol
 
340mopar said:
Usually when an A/C doesn't get very cool it is either the water control valve is not closing all of the way so heat from the heater core is warming your air or the dryer needs to be replaced.


Chuck
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I'll look into it, thanks.
 
John, it's definatly been hotter and more humid than normal this year. Didn't see you at the Tidewater Mopar show last weekend. Let me know if you decide to put AC in the car, I'll bring beer and watch. To damn hot to work on the car! :-D
 
jaws, how well did the lines for the condenser line up with the factory holes? Can you take a picture of the hardlines, or are they identical to the website photos I posted a couple of replys up?
 
:sunny: I have a Classic Air setup in the box just beggin to be installed in my Demon. Subscribed to this great thread 8)
 
Demon 408 said:
John, it's definatly been hotter and more humid than normal this year. Didn't see you at the Tidewater Mopar show last weekend. Let me know if you decide to put AC in the car, I'll bring beer and watch. To damn hot to work on the car! :-D
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Yes it`s been awful. I missed the last TMC bbq/show and Mopar Madness at Dinwiddie. I`ve also experienced two deaths in the family in as many months. Needless to say I`ve had quite the sh*tty summer. I think the only work I`m going to do on the car will happen in an air conditioned garage. How about you, much progress on the Demon? Did you ever get that loop installed?

jaws said:
Classic will take about a day, start to finish.

Some pics of my install.
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Nice, did you modify a fan shroud to work with that radiator? It doesn`t look like an original.

rob_robinson87 said:
jaws, how well did the lines for the condenser line up with the factory holes? Can you take a picture of the hardlines, or are they identical to the website photos I posted a couple of replys up?
Click to expand...

That makes me wonder, do factory A/C cars have a different radiator core support from the cars without A/C?

6pk2goDemon said:
:sunny: I have a Classic Air setup in the box just beggin to be installed in my Demon. Subscribed to this great thread 8)
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I hope you post some pics once the install begins. I`d like to see the set-up with a six pack.
 
Longgone said:
Yes it`s been awful. I missed the last TMC bbq/show and Mopar Madness at Dinwiddie. I`ve also experienced two deaths in the family in as many months. Needless to say I`ve had quite the sh*tty summer. I think the only work I`m going to do on the car will happen in an air conditioned garage. How about you, much progress on the Demon? Did you ever get that loop installed?
Click to expand...

Sorry for your loss, my condolences. I did get the loop installed, see pics of exhaust and loop here: http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=97994

Demon is running and I've driven it on the street, but I'm still working out the small bugs.
 
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