Help figuring out what to buy for Air Conditioning

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Swan Song

Swan Song

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I have a 1976 Dart swinger that came factory with no air. 318LA / Automatic
It now has a 360LA.
I live in florida and need AC and am not made of money so I need to get the solution right the first time around.
I am fine with an under dash universal kit but what specifically do I buy?
Can anybody help me as I do not have much experience with this stuff yet.

Thanks a ton.

SS
 
It is hard to beat the units from Classic Auto Air. If you are a decent shade tree mechanic you can install it yourself. Mine works great. Although the instructions are not very good. CAA does need to improve their instructions.
 
s-l1000.jpg
desert cooler
 
You will also need to tint the windows. The DIY kits will work.
 
You could also find a donor car with a/c and remove the system from it. The racers out there are always pulling the a/c out of their cars and are pretty happy to give the stuff away. If you need it NOW then as mentioned, Classic A/C is your friend. If you have time, put a wanted ad over in that section of the forum.

Also, these guys are awesome

Site Search

They helped a TON when i rebuilt my a/c
 
harrisonm said:
It is hard to beat the units from Classic Auto Air. If you are a decent shade tree mechanic you can install it yourself. Mine works great. Although the instructions are not very good. CAA does need to improve their instructions.
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Regarding Classic Auto Air do you think that their kit for earlier model darts would work on the 76? I think theirs are made for 68-72 darts.
 
Swan Song said:
Regarding Classic Auto Air do you think that their kit for earlier model darts would work on the 76? I think theirs are made for 68-72 darts.
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Probally so, but give them a call to find out for sure...
 
Another combo; this is what is on my sons 340 '65 Cuda; I can get you some mounting pix on Monday if you like.

- Vintage Air 672001-VHY under dash unit; here are the instructions that shows all the parts:
http://www.vintageair.com/Instructions2013/902001-VHY.pdf

- Sanden Compressor - Peanut style 4S15NCPP or one of these; the side exits or the peanut helps get the compressor close to the head if you mount it in front of the head.
http://www.vintageair.com/2013catalog/2013 VintageAir Catalog Webpgs 68.pdf

- 03262-VUC condensor coil
- Dryer 547000 and hoses
- Mounting backets (there are various kits)
- Switch (need to find a PN)
- Probably some more hoses
 
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Wow. Thats a great list. Thanks for the details. My dart shoudnt be far off if I go with the under dash setup. Thanks!
 
Swan Song said:
Regarding Classic Auto Air do you think that their kit for earlier model darts would work on the 76? I think theirs are made for 68-72 darts.
Click to expand...
I can only guess that much of that is for the re-use of the original controls. IIRC, the 73 and later controls layout was different.
 
nm9stheham said:
I can only guess that much of that is for the re-use of the original controls. IIRC, the 73 and later controls layout was different.
Click to expand...
I figured about the same on that. I bet if I went with an under-dash kit and didn't try to plum it into the existing defrost/heat systems I could do it pretty easily.
Classic Auto Air called me back today and told me they could get me a kit put together for that car model for $950.
I would just need to buy a belt that was sized for my rig and then take it in to get the lines vacuumed and freon put in. Sounds pretty good. I just need to save up now.
 
make sure your cooling system is up to the task. The condenser is going to dump a bunch of heat up front.
 
The pieced system from Vintage Air cost a bit more than $950 so that sounds good. Did they tell you, or will the send you via email a complete parts list? Make sure you are getting brackets and such. If you get a list, throw it out here for others to see and check.
 
Remember that if you consider factory A/C removed from another car as stated above, there are firewall differences between A/C and non A/C cars. I believe it would be simpler to go aftermarket.

Cley
 
The other thing you need to be aware of is that some magnum/ manifold combos don't have the stat housing in the correct spot. And, if it IS in the correct spot, it could still be a problem...........for more modern compressors. That is if you have a bracket kit designed for the offset/ magnum manifold, it's not going to fit an LA and vice versa.
 
I went with the Vintage air setup in my 68 Barracuda Notch. They don't make one specific for my application so I went for the Gen IV Magnum...well, I'm disappointed at best. It blows cold air for sure, just not much of it and is very loud. The vent louvers don't stay where you adjust them...they will eventually move to their lowest position and will move to the extreme left or right position. The heater control valve eventually melted its self at the wire terminal connections because of the extreme heat from the solenoid valve...a known problem fixed by an upgrade to their newer motor controlled valve. Seal your car up to stop outside leaks and tint your windows or it will be useless. The kit was incomplete lacking some brackets and cold outside air vent plugs...they forgot to include the binary switch and the stepper motor for blend was bad as well. I was ready to rip the whole thing out and throw it in the dumpster to try instead a system from classic auto air...havent yet....still might...unhappy!!!
 
A Sanden compressor is best, and used in all current after-market kits, but those cost ~$1000. Aspen/Volare cars used Sandens for a few years in the late 1970's. I have brackets for one for a slant engine from a ~1979 Volare. Seems like they also would have also been used on 318 engines, but haven't searched. That could be a cheap approach. You can buy new under-dash units for ~$110 (ebay). Universal condensers ~$55 (ebay). You would have to fab your own AC hoses, but you can buy hose and O-ring fittings and use Oeticker stepless ear clamps (yes, all ebay) w/ a cheap nail puller to crimp them.
 
I have an a/c system from Classic Auto Air works very well and it is a Sanden compressor. As some have stated the condenser does put off a lot of heat. Do your reasearch on an adequate cooling system.
 
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