More efficient ac pump?

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volaredon

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I have a fresh /6 on a stand....slightly built up, ready to go into my d150. At the same time I want to add AC to the truck which originally a non AC truck.
I have all the stuff for the dash from a parted truck that was factory AC. I have new lines for under the hood on ebay watch right now for my year of truck with the/6. I also have the lines from the parted truck, which had a 318. . I was thinking about cutting the crimps off and having new hoses put on the original fittings and re crimped if that would be possible, instead.

My question is, is there a compressor that will bolt in place of e original c-171 style, that draws less HP and still does a good job of cooling down the cab? If I'm looking at the possibility of having lines made anyway, it wouldn't be a huge deal to have them made to accommodate whatever compressor I might run. Just thinking out loud at the moment, I'm a ways out from worrying about ac at this point. Mainly body work and paint. I plan to have the cab repainted and to have the dash and HVAC parts pulled out while being repainted.
 
I have a fresh /6 on a stand....slightly built up, ready to go into my d150. At the same time I want to add AC to the truck which originally a non AC truck.
I have all the stuff for the dash from a parted truck that was factory AC. I have new lines for under the hood on ebay watch right now for my year of truck with the/6. I also have the lines from the parted truck, which had a 318. . I was thinking about cutting the crimps off and having new hoses put on the original fittings and re crimped if that would be possible, instead.

My question is, is there a compressor that will bolt in place of e original c-171 style, that draws less HP and still does a good job of cooling down the cab? If I'm looking at the possibility of having lines made anyway, it wouldn't be a huge deal to have them made to accommodate whatever compressor I might run. Just thinking out loud at the moment, I'm a ways out from worrying about ac at this point. Mainly body work and paint. I plan to have the cab repainted and to have the dash and HVAC parts pulled out while being repainted.
I actually just traded out my original compressor on my ‘73 Swinger and put the C171 in its place. It has been incredible. I can run under 210 engine temp at 90 mph with a 106 heat index and have to turn the a/c down because it gets unbearably cold in the car. I’m very pleased with the upgrade. I never could get my original RV2 to keep up and cool the way I wanted to.
 
Really any modern compressor is more efficient than the ancient Twin cylinder compressor. Sanden 's are the most used and have the biggest selection of mounting brackets available.
 
Really any modern compressor is more efficient than the ancient Twin cylinder compressor. Sanden 's are the most used and have the biggest selection of mounting brackets available.
 
The 78-79 Volare and Aspen with the Slant 6 were the first Mopar's to use the Sanden 508 compressor. It has a nice bracket setup if you can find the whole thing. It does use a 1 belt clutch though, so you need to find a setup complete with pulleys. PM me for more info.
 
What's the difference between the C171 and the Sanden? HP draw-wise.
This is an 80s truck which would have had a C171 to begin with "if it had come from the factory with air" which it didnt.
I have no problem with the RV2 on my old Fury. but because of the size and clumbsiness, I wasn't wanting to go there on this truck.
I did look on "Classic Air" (or was it "Vintage air"?) and they say that they have AC compressors that only use 5-6hp instead of 15-20. I'm not sure what model compressor they would supply/ or if it might work with factory AC hoses, or evaporator, or condenser.
from what I see, what they offer is to retrofit what they have in place of an RV2.
 
The C171 and the Sanden 508 are very similar, same size, just the mounting ears and line setups are different.
 
So one doesn't take more/less HP to run than the other? If that's the case I guess I'll find me a C171 so I can use stock type factory replacement hoses...
 
I haven't seen inside a C171, but perhaps you can find a youtube of a rebuild and compare to Sanden innards. My guess is that it has the same many double-acting pistons with swash plate, so should be as efficient. The only reason to switch to a Sanden might be for future availability or to have different ports. There is a long thread w/ many photos on AC compressor options for a slant-six. If you do go Sanden, the SD7 is newer and more common than the SD508 and has more pistons (smoother).
 
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