Demon "Classic Air" AC Install

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6pk2goDemon

6pk2goDemon

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6pk2goDemon submitted a new Article:

Demon "Classic Air" AC Install

Been working on a Classic Auto Air install in my 340 Demon for about a month now. It's way too hot here to drive these cars this time of year, so it seemed like a perfect time to finally make the well needed and overdue upgrade :)

First thing we did was remove the seats & floor console to make the underdash work more accessible. I would highly recommend this, as there is quite a bit of work to do under the dash.....

I spent some time with a couple of techs from Classic via phone even before beginning the install, as my car has a 6pk and requires a few mods to make this system work. They were quite helpful and I give kudos to them for that :thumbup:

Here's a couple of beginning pics.......

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Here's the old heater box that was restored, but now removed...

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And the new AC box in the kit from Classic

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This system uses your original heater control panel and sliding levers, but requires some minor changes....

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I pulled the carpet up from behind the drivers seat and lookie what I found there LOL. It's been lost for years....doh'

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Using your existing heater control panel with this kit keeps the factory look inside the car. You can see the new fan switch installed below with all the new wiring and new cables that they supply also.

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There's a plate supplied in the kit to cover the pass side fresh air vent which gets eliminated

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We pulled the existing and original insulation pad down off the inside firewall and had to modify it some to fit the new AC box.

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The AC tubes required some gentle coaxing to fit thru the firewall, but finally went in. Don't even attempt to try to do this step by yourself. You need someone under the dash inside the car and another person working under the hood........Be prepared for some frustrations :mad:

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The mounting bracket for the left side of the AC box wasn't even close to fitting, so we fabbed something up........Not a biggie

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Here's my little helper taking a break from all his hard work ROFL :D

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Continuing on inside the car, it was time to drill a few holes and mount the 3 AC vents supplied. Driver side single, center dual and pass side....

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Just can't find good help nowadays.........lazy POS :rolleyes: :)

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The kit came with a cheapo piece of clear rubber hose to use for the condensation drain. I wasn't about to install that in my black engine bay....

I went looking for something to use instead at Home Depot, O'Reilly and finally ended up @ a lawn sprinkler store LOL. I purchased a couple of 90* plastic fittings and a 1' section of hard plastic drip line. Had to grind off the ridges of the 90* fitting and painted it black. Came out nice and much better than what was supplied in the kit IMO.........

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Moving under the hood........Drained about 1 1/2 gal of coolant from the system. Removed the fan, shroud and disconnected the trans cooler lines. The top radiator bolts need to be removed and the lower bolts loosened, so the radiator can lean forward for the condenser installation. You don't have to pull the radiator to do this....

The condenser slipped in pretty easily and needs to be located as far towards the drivers side as possible. The brackets to secure the condenser are sandwiched between the radiator and radiator support, so no drilling required to mount it :D

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Since all the coolant hoses were coming off or being changed to add the AC, it seemed like a good time to modify the ugly hose clamps using some heat shrink tubing. It's a trick I saw in a thread here on FABO awhile back and liked how it looked, so.......

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Here's a couple pics of the Sanden compressor that came in the kit. I've seen these used on lots of hot rods, so I'm hoping it will be kool 8-) for the AZ desert :sunny:

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To answer some questions already posted above, the compressor is mounted directly above the water pump, just like it was designed in the kit. We did however have to "clock" it 90* towards the pass side to allow the needed clearance for the 6pk air cleaner

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We had to get a little creative with shims and spacers to get all the pulleys, belts, etc. to line up, but I think it looks pretty good......

fingers crossed :)

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The receiver/dryer mounted almost perfectly in the recessed area of the pass inner fender and the lines fed right thru the factory hole in the radiator support.

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Time to address the supplied AC lines now. We layed them out how we wanted them to run for a test-fit. The suction line wouldn't work for my application because of the compressor being moved 90*, so we marked the hose how we needed the fittings angled and I took it to an AC shop here in town (recommended by Classic Air). They custom made a line for me while I waited for $25 :D :thumbup:


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Here's a pic of the new heater hoses installed with the inline heater control valve.

Also of note, the kit is designed for both heater hoses to be 5/8 instead of one 1/2" and one 5/8" as mine was originally. So also needed to order a new fitting for the intake.......

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And here's the kinda cheezy plastic glovebox supplied with the kit. It's smaller than the original and doesn't fit very well, but its in........

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Read more about this article here...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Subscribing to this thread 6pkC as I am planning on doing the same down the road with my one Demon.
Since you have a 6 pack set up,will the A/C compressor mount below the alternator instead of up on top of the intake?

John
 
This is a Kool thread C :happy2: (no pun intended)LOL.I,m also interested on the location of the compressor.Details please..:D
 
SO after all this,You can NOW drive to Indy this year??? See you there--Steve
 
Your doing a great job 6pkC! Love the way your describing things and showing pictures as well. This will be a big help for me. Also when I get to this point in my project can I borrow your 4 legged helper?
 
Great thread , can you provide a picture of the pulley you used for the ac belt. Was it part of the kit ?
 
I need A/C in my car. This heat is brutal and it's not going to cool off. Friend of mine has A/C in is 72 Cuda. He pulls up at the car shows with the windows rolled up with the AC on. I give him the bird...... he knows why he laughs. I burn up every time I take my car somewhere during the summer.

Looks like a good install C
 
You will like this in your car 6PK. I have it in my Barracuda and love it. While you have your interior out, it a good time for some insulation on the floor. Helped alot in my car.
 
I'm going to put one in in my 68 Barracuda with a 440.
I think I may have to do something different the way it comes out the firewall close to the back of the passenger side head. The valve cover will be awful tight there.
Is there anything you wish would have upgraded or done differently ? Looks like an awesome job !

Thanks
Donnie
 
swifter said:
SO after all this,You can NOW drive to Indy this year??? See you there--Steve
Click to expand...

swifter.....we're hoping to make it again :)

jameskernz said:
I need to ask, how much for this kit $$$,???
Jim
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It's around $1300, but my kit was acquired in a trade several years ago :toothy10:. That's another plug I have for "Classic Air". They knew I didn't buy the kit, but were still interested in helping with the install.....:thumbrig: :thumbup: Great customer service IMO

j-miller said:
Your doing a great job 6pkC! Love the way your describing things and showing pictures as well. This will be a big help for me. Also when I get to this point in my project can I borrow your 4 legged helper?
Click to expand...

Thx very much John. U can have my 4 legged helper...He doesn't eat much LOL


EV2AAR said:
Great thread , can you provide a picture of the pulley you used for the ac belt. Was it part of the kit ?
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The pulley was supplied in the kit and I didn't take a pic of it...sorry. U can find a pic on their website though. It attached to the front of my existing crank pulley with 3 bolts. My crank pulley is non-stock and is billet aluminum, so that's why some add'l shimming was required I guess.


mullinax95 said:
I need A/C in my car. This heat is brutal and it's not going to cool off. Friend of mine has A/C in is 72 Cuda. He pulls up at the car shows with the windows rolled up with the AC on. I give him the bird...... he knows why he laughs. I burn up every time I take my car somewhere during the summer.

Looks like a good install C
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Thx mully....I'm hoping someone flips me off too :rolleyes: :sign5:. I know what U mean about the heat. Hopefully, this AC will extend my cruisin' season a couple of months.


jaws said:
You will like this in your car 6PK. I have it in my Barracuda and love it. While you have your interior out, it a good time for some insulation on the floor. Helped alot in my car.
Click to expand...

Really glad to hear U love it. It's not functional yet, so I can't comment :)
Gonna replace the carpet while the interior is out and thx for the tip!!



DonnieLawson said:
I'm going to put one in in my 68 Barracuda with a 440.
I think I may have to do something different the way it comes out the firewall close to the back of the passenger side head. The valve cover will be awful tight there.
Is there anything you wish would have upgraded or done differently ? Looks like an awesome job !

Thanks
Donnie
Click to expand...

Only thing I can think of would be paying someone else to do it....LOL...kiddin' :)
The install is not quite as easy as the website makes it sound, but that's not a surprise :rolleyes:

Thanks for your input and you may want to call Classic and ask them about this for a big block A-Body. I'm sure it could be done with some creative fabrication.
 
mullinax95 said:
Went and checked their website for my car. Sure enough

http://www.classicautoair.com/?q=67_69_Barracuda_Air_Conditioning_Mopar_AC.html

I was wondering if cars without tinted glass would need tinting for the system to work correctly? I have been told that the glass would need tinting or the AC would not work at all!! I didn't really believe that but I don't know for sure.
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Mulli, mine is in a rag top without tinted windows. Like I told 6pk, insulate the floor, a hard top might be better than mine as all I have is the cloth top. My unit blows 36 degrees running down the road.
 
jaws said:
Mulli, mine is in a rag top without tinted windows. Like I told 6pk, insulate the floor, a hard top might be better than mine as all I have is the cloth top. My unit blows 36 degrees running down the road.
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Yeah I see what you're saying. I can't remember how it got brought up but these two guys I was having a conversation with mentioned the glass had to be tinted in order for the AC to work properly. I didn't say anything but it left me like "What?". However my fields cuda that I mentioned about earlier his car is tinted. Not a real dark tint just enough where you can see it.
 
6pk2goDemon said:
And here's the kinda cheezy plastic glovebox supplied with the kit. It's smaller than the original and doesn't fit very well, but its in........

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Well that's not good for me. The glove box is where I installed the aftermarket fuse panel. I mean I would have to move the fuse panel closer to the front of the glove box. The fuse panel however is already wired and ready for a A/C so I guess that's a good thing. Oh well.
 
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