Swapping A/C to a non A/C car... and vise-versa

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TheDemonator

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I have a 71 Demon that is a factory non A/C car. I also have a 72 Dart that has factory A/C.

How difficult would it be to swap everything out so the Demon has A/C, and the Dart will not have A/C?

Momma says that the 72 Dart must go... but I would like to get some good items from it before it goes away!

I suppose it would be a great help if I could locate a manual that would cover the removal and replacement of all of the parts I would need to swap out.

Thanks in advance!

Brian
 
i dont think it would be hard. get the under hood stuff (compressor, condenser, lines etc) then the ac/heat box from under the dash with the controls and vents and you should be able to put it all on your other car easy. i think the under dash box will be a bear but you can do it. i gotta get mine out and sell it for a non ac box. so if you have the non ac box for sale let me know. if you wanted to save some work send me the non ac box and some shipping money and i will send out my whole ac set up box compressor and all. its just taking up space. it might be a lil before i could get the box out tho
 
So... are you saying that if I were to send you my non A/C box, that you would send me an entire A/C system from your car? Including the A/C vents?
 
I just did a swap from non a/c to a/c.That was easy but going the other way is where the problem occure.The blower motoes sit in differant spots.also the a/c opening is lager for the bower motor. Mark
 
Thanks Dartcuda1... I am thinking that doing the parts swap with tyler S18 may be the logical way to go.

That way we both get what we are looking for to make our cars the way that we want them... and doing it for the cost of shipping is good too!
 
Thats cool,Its good to hear there are good people on hear that is in it for the love. Mark
 
Now all I have to do is get the 72 Dart out of my driveway, and into someone elses!

Shouldn't be too hard to do since there have been two instances where people have left notes on the car asking me to call them if the car was up for sale... getting it gone will please the wife!
 
Believe it or not, there's different firewalls for A/C & non-A/C! My car was originally an A/C car and I deleted it when I restored it. That's when I learned about the firewalls.....

My car was back from being painted and I realized the difference. I wasn't about to re-install the A/C at this point as I had the evaporator opening welded up before it was painted, so I had to get creative.

CarStuff068-vi.jpg

This is what a non-A/C heater box looks like against an A/C firewall. I was able to use the J hook to hang the box inside the vent opening, but only 1 stud aligned with the existing opening. Plus the blower motor opening is a bit large....

Barracuda300-vi.jpg

What I did was take the stock blower motor retainer from the non-A/C set-up and reverse it and used it as a mounting plate for the blower motor behind the firewall. The plate on the right is a piece of 3/16" aluminum plate I cut into a new retainer that is large enough to cover the larger A/C style opening in the firewall. Between the inner original plate and the new one sandwiching the firewall, you have a nice, solid mount. I also cut a new gasket from a sheet of thin white foam like the factory material.

Barracuda320-vi.jpg

Once it's all bolted in it's not very obvious things aren't stock. BTW: This is one of the few pictures I have where you can see the actual color of my car. In every other picture the Turquoise looks more blue than green.

TTI024-vi.jpg

Stick an engine in there and who would know? 8)

As for converting from non-A/C to A/C, break out the sawzall....and maybe the welder.
 
i didnt know about the firewalls. maby hold onto the duster for a week so you still have it all if it dosent work with me. i think it will tho. i really hope it dose lol for both of us what will be different for him to go to ac and me to go to non ac. and where will my heat come out lol. just floor and defrost? or are there any vents that blow at the ppl? lol
 
The non A/C in my Demon just blows out of the defroster and onto the floor... the cars did not come with "vents".

If you still want to do this, let me know.
 
Hay john you did it the easy way.The guys I know had to bring out the sawsall.My car was non a/c and I went to a/c so it was easy for me.Thats all I had to do is cut a larger hole for the blower motor and cut the rest of the holes for the evap. the heater core went into thr same place.I used a template for all the holes.If anyone is going from non a/c to a/c I will give you the template. Hear is some pictures of it when I was done cutting the holes and test fitting the a/c unit. Mark

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TheDemonator said:
The non A/C in my Demon just blows out of the defroster and onto the floor... the cars did not come with "vents".

If you still want to do this, let me know.
Click to expand...

i do want to do it. i just want to make sure it will work for both of us i thunk it will just fine i did some more research lol
 
dartcuda1 said:
Hay john you did it the easy way.....
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I agree, it was eariser to cover up that to cut. The conversion you posted looks like it worked out good for you.

<sigh...> But WHY did they have to use 2 different firewalls?
 
I don't think that the actual firewalls are different... they are just cut different to fit either the A/C heater box, or the non A/C heater box.

But I could be wrong... which has happened to me... usually when I am right in the middle of whatever it is that I am working on at the moment!
 
ya i think they are cut different sizes so ya i am pretty sure this will work. if you still wanna do it i will box everything up except the box this weekend and see about getting that box outta the car
 
black with chrome accents i believe. i know almost all of the interior of the car is really good so i think the chrome on them is close to perfect lol. this car is in good shape and was truley a grandmas before i got it
 
dartcuda1 said:
Hay john you did it the easy way.The guys I know had to bring out the sawsall.My car was non a/c and I went to a/c so it was easy for me.Thats all I had to do is cut a larger hole for the blower motor and cut the rest of the holes for the evap. the heater core went into thr same place.I used a template for all the holes.If anyone is going from non a/c to a/c I will give you the template. Hear is some pictures of it when I was done cutting the holes and test fitting the a/c unit. Mark
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Mark,
I am adding factory a/c to my non factory a/c 65 valiant. Is this the template i need? if so, i would like to get a copy. I would also like any and all advice that you can offer on the transplant. The donor is a 65 barracuda, and has a complete a/c. It also has a clutch fan with a 65 part number, is this correct or added? Also, the car has a sway bar. Is this required due to the extra weight or just a coincidence that it has it. thanks!!!
David
 
bamacuda said:
Mark,
I am adding factory a/c to my non factory a/c 65 valiant. Is this the template i need? if so, i would like to get a copy. I would also like any and all advice that you can offer on the transplant. The donor is a 65 barracuda, and has a complete a/c. It also has a clutch fan with a 65 part number, is this correct or added? Also, the car has a sway bar. Is this required due to the extra weight or just a coincidence that it has it. thanks!!!
David
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The firewalls for the 67-up are different that for the early A's so I don't think his template will work for you. Like you I'm adding factory air to my non-ac 65 Dart GT. I made a template for all the extra holes and that made it much easier. For the blower motor (already noted is a lot larger than a non-ac motor), I actually cut out that part of my Dart's firewall and spliced in the motor section from my donor firewall (66 Dart). Everything fit perfectly thanks to the template for the extra holes and careful measuring and adding the blower sheet metal. Since at the time I was not planning any other ac conversions, I threw the template away :cry: After I got my Dart wagon, I decided to add ac to it so I have to start all over. In case my son wants factory ac in my/his 65 Barracuda, I acquired a complete system so another tempplate will be handy to have. The factory ac dash bezels for both the 65 Valiant/Barracuda and 65 Dart were some of the hardest parts to track down
 
I have located a 65 barracuda with the entire a/c system intact EXCEPT for the dash. I have bought it and will be removing it in the days to come to put into my 65 valiant. The firewall is intact and i will make a template from it before i cut the metal. I will share that with you. explain what all needs to be incuded in this firewall tracing/template.
also, question: do i need the alternator brackets and all the pulleys on this other car? what about the clutch type fan? I know I will overlook something. I wish there was a manual for this. maybe between the two of us we can write one.
What sources are there for working on or rebuilding these? Thanks, David
 
bamacuda said:
I have located a 65 barracuda with the entire a/c system intact EXCEPT for the dash.
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Ummm bummer for the dash as the HVAC control bezel is hard to find. I found one for the Valiant/Barracuda style dash and 1 for the 65 Dart dash and took quite awhile to find them.

bamacuda said:
I have bought it and will be removing it in the days to come to put into my 65 valiant. The firewall is intact and i will make a template from it before i cut the metal. I will share that with you. explain what all needs to be incuded in this firewall tracing/template.
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My original template I made from something like posterboard. Other than the blower motor area, I used it to mark location and size of all of the holes I needed to drill - like for the fittings for the AC unit, drain hole and all the mounting studs. I did it from the inside, since the car is gutted. I have had everything mounted and the inside stuff fits perfectly.

bamacuda said:
also, question: do i need the alternator brackets and all the pulleys on this other car? what about the clutch type fan? I know I will overlook something. I wish there was a manual for this. maybe between the two of us we can write one.
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Assuming your donor is a V8, alternator bracket is the same as for non-ac. Do grab the compressor, idler pulley, water pump pulley, and the crank pulley as they are unique for AC. Also grab the condenser (although I see they are available brand new), ALL the hoses, the one steel line from the dryer to the condenser and the dryer. If the donor is a slant, disregard about the crank and water pump pulley - will not fit a V8. The dryer lies on the inner fender in a horizontal position rather than a vertical and thus is unique to the early A Body. Later vertical ones can be used but that results in both hose and hard line fabrication. The dryer will need to be sent out and cut open and new desiccant used.

bamacuda said:
What sources are there for working on or rebuilding these? Thanks, David
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Don't remember right off hand but there's an outfit down in FL that will rebuild the dryer and refurbish the hoses. If you're planning on converting to 134, new hoses with the barrier material in them is a good idea. I'm staying with R12, which is what these systems were designed to use and is still available (my local dealer has it in stock in a big 30l pound container). Hope this all helps; otherwise drop me a PM and I'll' give you my number and can hash it out on the phone.
 
cool, yes it is a v8 car and so is mine. What about the finned cooler in front of the radiator? And cool enough, I found a dash trim piece and controls at a swap meet one time. whew! saved there. Thanks for the info, David
 
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