Aftermarket A/C for '66, /6 Dart

[ws76133]

I'm looking at a rust-free, 80,000 mile /6, 1966 Dart. The only negative is it doesnt have air conditioning. Vintage Air doesn't have a kit, and a search didn't turn up any other companies making an add on A/C for the car.

Does anyone know of such a kit?

 

[scatpackbee]

Classic Auto Air might have a kit for a slant 6.

They're out of Texas too.

 

[slantsixdan]

This is a bigger, more expensive job than you might realise. There is no model-specific kit for that car, but you can put together a system that'll work as well as the system the Dodge dealer would've installed if you'd brought the car to them after purchase. It'll involve an under-dash evaporator unit and a bunch of carefully-chosen other parts (parallel-flow condenser, etc). There's a mount/drive kit to put a Sanden compressor on a Slant-6, but it's not very thoughtfully designed and tends not to work very well without modifications. You'll need to upgrade the radiator and fan; see here and read all five parts of this article. You'll also need to apply carefully-chosen window film, extensively insulate the car body, and find and plug all the existing holes (there are many) if you want the A/C to do more for you than sit there making noise and drinking gasoline. Read this and here and links from those.

 

[Capt46]

Simple solution,,,,

 

[BillGrissom]

Keep searching. There is another thread about AC compressor bracket options for a slant six. It is very detailed w/ many photos (I contributed some). Of course, you can always use the factory RV2 and brackets. Dependable, but a massive beast. I think any year should fit (thru early 1980's), but be careful w/ truck engines since some had the alternator on L side. A Sanden is better and there were factory brackets for ~1978 Aspen/Volare slants, which you can see in the thread you will find. A knee-knocker is the cheapest option for the cabin unit and you can buy new (~$100 ebay).

 

[slantsixdan]

you can always use the factory RV2

From '62 until the late-'70s changeover to Sankyo/Sanden and then Nippondenso compressors, the compressor on Slant-6 cars with factory or (Chrysler-built) dealer air was the V2, not the RV2. They're similar, but not the same.

I think any year should fit (thru early 1980's)

No, he'd need one of the two bracket setups meant for the pre-'67 A-body. The later brackets space the compressor out farther away from the engine, and on an A-body through '66 that puts it right smack into the battery. Could move the battery to the trunk, but now we find ourselves lost at the intersection of Pointless and Silly.

 

[BillGrissom]

The Sanden brackets (Aspen/Volare) also put the end of the bracket real close to the battery. In a test fit, I had 1" clearance in my 64 Valiant, and that was after cutting off the bracket corner. 1967+ cars have a wider engine bay, so perhaps more. During "engine braking" (going downhill), the engine rotates towards the battery (rubber mount deflects), so a bad day to punch a hole in the battery's side. If I were to use the brackets, I would consider a narrower battery, which are starting to appear in new cars (~8" wide). Instead, I fabb'ed Sanden brackets for that car. All discussed w/ photos in the article someone will search and link here to be helpful, so I shouldn't be ranting again.

 

[slantsixdan]

All discussed w/ photos in the article someone will search and link here to be helpful

…yeah, somebody oughtta do that. Preferably somebody who has some keywords from the thread in mind. But who might that be? H'mm. Who, oh who, oh who…

 

[slantsixdan]

Another possibility: buy or assemble a bracket setup for the old brick-shaped York/Tecumseh compressor. A variety of those were available for the Slant-6, and even if you can't find one any more, they're stone-simple to fabricate. Then toss a readily-available Sanden adaptor on it and probably sidestep the problems with the commercially-available aftermarket Sanden bracket setups.

 

[BillGrissom]

…yeah, somebody oughtta do that. Preferably somebody who has some keywords from the thread in mind. But who might that be? H'mm. Who, oh who, oh who…

OK, you guys shamed me. I googled "forabodiesonly slant six AC compressor Volare" and the link below popped up first. All the pictures and info anybody might want, plus I added one.
Air conditioning options?