Early Slant Six A/C Success

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doc540

doc540

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Location
Beaumont, Texas
1961 Lancer

Good news: Found only one company that offered a SS (Slant Six) a/c kit - Nostalgic Air in Florida.

Bad news: bracket kit doesn't fit EARLY A-bodies where the engine is pushed close to the radiator and support.

Solution: modify an original SS a/c bracket

Moved the battery to the trunk (20' of 2ga jumper cable - Amazon $30) to roll the compressor and position the hose fittings.

Condenser fits well in the space behind the grill, in front of the radiator

Underdash unit (a/c, heat, defrost) is also a custom fit, but is very thin - no knee knocking.

If you order this kit please tell them you heard about it from "doc" in Texas. He's a good dude to work with.

Hope this helps someone.

lancer ac7.jpg


lancer ac8.jpg
 
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Interesting. What do you mean by an "SS" bracket?

"Solution: modify an original SS a/c bracket"
 
I bought a used, original SS - "Slant Six" a/c bracket set off the Forum, and the shop adapted the compressor bracket and strut support to fit the Sanden.

lancer ac9.jpg


lancer ac10.jpg
 
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Oh, I dig!!

I was going to use an original bracket / fab up a Sanden mount on my SB, but fratzhog lover came to my rescue with a complete aftermarket / replacement underhood "bundle"
 
A couple questions:
1. Why would the engine to firewall matter? Did the Nostalgia brackets have something that went all the way to the firewall?
2. Your AC belt appears to run on an "inner pulley", that mounts inside the damper. Did your engine already have that? I think the factory installed it only on AC cars. You must remove the damper to install it.

There are several threads on the Slant Six forum about AC compressor mounting. One option is a ~79 Volare/Aspen factory brackets for a Sanden (I have). I noticed you don't have power steering. I am currently working on custom brackets that mount to that p.s. pad on the block. Syed did similar on a 64 Valiant.
 
1. Not sure what you mean by "engine to firewall" issue. It's an "engine to radiator" issue. The 1961 Lancer and Valiant were early, Chrysler "compact" cars, and it's my understanding that creating room inside for 6 people meant shrinking the dash, putting the heater on the firewall, and, in general, shrinking the amount of room in the engine compartment to minimize the overall length.

The Nostalgic Air compressor mount system is designed for later Slant Six models where there was more room between the engine and the front grill/radiator/radiator cross support.

2. The crank pulley must've been from an A/C car originally. I can't say for certain whether or not the engine is original to the car. I only know it was rebuilt in the 1980's.

The issue all along for the 1961-1962 models is a cramped engine compartment.
 
Latest update:

1. don't over charge a small system - it raises high side head pressures

2. early A-Body, 30 amp alternator may be inadequate to run A/C blower and condenser fan

I had to go to a 60 amp today.

Test drive tonight, so far, so good.

Everything is bright.
 
Great result. Sorry, I misunderstood your clearance issue. Slants are tight up front. Notice that they cast the water pump housing into the block and offset it to allow pushing it back, so the outlet hose has to go upward into the bottom of the head. They also made the crank damper serve double-duty as a crank pulley. The AC pulley even bolts inward of the damper. In small blocks, the damper is flat and all pulleys bolt to the front of it. I agree that early A's have even less room. I don't think any early slant A's had a clutch-fan. I couldn't even fit one in my 1965 small block Dart, after I changed to the later aluminum water pump (1" thicker).

I assume you realized the 60 A alternator by switching to a 1970's square-back one, since a direct bolt-up other than grounding the extra field terminal if you keep the original Vreg. I do recall old upgrade kits for the earlier round-backs. The original round-back in my 65 Newport has always kept the battery charged, even w/ Holley fuel injection and an AC under-dash blower, but I don't have an electric radiator fan which is the main load.

I am currently fabb'ing custom brackets for a Sanden compressor for my 64 Valiant. I'll post when done. It bolts to the power steering pump pad, which I see your kit uses to ground one of the struts.
 
Latest observations:

Here in the primordial swamp heat of the Texas Gulf Coast, this unit is just marginal on a 90+ degree day with 100% humidity.

Because the car is black, the windows untinted, and no insulation between the roof metal and headliner, it gets VERY hot inside when parked.

And this A/C system struggles to overcome the heat that's been generated inside.

However, if starting from a shaded garage and cruising at highway speeds, the system creates a bearable environment, but nothing like any modern, factory A/c system.

The interior/cabin area of a '61 Lancer is fairly large, so that adds to the challenge of cooling it down and keeping it cool.

Perhaps it's because the underdash system is a dual "heat/cool" system, the cool system is less efficient than a "cool only" system.

Regardless, we can now at least drive the car during our SETX summer months which extend from May through September.
 
Hi - looking at the thread below...where is the extra field terminal on the upgraded alternator? I do not recall grounding an extra field terminal on mine....thanks!
:thumbsup:

I assume you realized the 60 A alternator by switching to a 1970's square-back one, since a direct bolt-up other than grounding the extra field terminal if you keep the original Vreg. I do recall old upgrade kits for the earlier round-backs. The original round-back in my 65 Newport has always kept the battery charged, even w/ Holley fuel injection and an AC under-dash blower, but I don't have an electric radiator fan which is the main load.
 
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