Who has rebuilt a '68 A-body heater box with A/C

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charliec

charliec

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I finally dragged out the old heater/AC box and started inspecting it for reconditioning. Pheeeewwww! Vacuum hoses, cables, doors, rods, linkage, switches, ballasts, you name it....everywhere!!! And just about every piece of fiberglass/plastic is cracked or crumbling. I assume that many of the parts are available for replacing the old worn out crap, but to be on the safe side, I would want to replace all the vacuum diaphragms, switches, etc. I'm thinking that I might end up building a whole new system one piece at a time. To be honest, I am much more comfortable working with heavy pieces of metal than I am with little DC motors and vacuum controls.

Who's done this before? Was it as daunting as it looks to little ole me? I'm almost inclined to go to the "parts wanted" forum and look for one already done.
 
IDK how different the 68 box is from the 65/66 factory AC box, but I got the early box rebuild kit from DMT, which consisted of all the interior insulation snd other stuff. I have 3 complete units so I picked the best box of the 3 to rebuild. I had a couple of NOS switches and dodads I bought years ago that i used. The hoses were in great shape so i reused them; likewise with the vacuum actuators. I see those actuators show up on eBay so that’s an option. I used a flush on the evaporator and condenser and installed a new heater core while it was apart. I sent my engine compartment components (hoses and compressor) to Classic Air in FL who rebuilt the compressor and restored the fittings and replaced the hoses with new. I used a NOS 67 - later switch assembly because all the ones I had all the vacuum connections were broken. I never did find one for an early A. The underdash box is installed, waiting for the rest of the system to get installed. I found a AC- specific manual for the 65/66 era which made the job immensely earier.
 
Take lots of pics before and while disassembling to help get hoses put back where they belong. I just had the evap cleaned and pressure tested. I did as Dartman said and just tested the actuators and reused them as all were in good shape
 
65 Dartman said:
IDK how different the 68 box is from the 65/66 factory AC box, but I got the early box rebuild kit from DMT, which consisted of all the interior insulation snd other stuff. I have 3 complete units so I picked the best box of the 3 to rebuild. I had a couple of NOS switches and dodads I bought years ago that i used. The hoses were in great shape so i reused them; likewise with the vacuum actuators. I see those actuators show up on eBay so that’s an option. I used a flush on the evaporator and condenser and installed a new heater core while it was apart. I sent my engine compartment components (hoses and compressor) to Classic Air in FL who rebuilt the compressor and restored the fittings and replaced the hoses with new. I used a NOS 67 - later switch assembly because all the ones I had all the vacuum connections were broken. I never did find one for an early A. The underdash box is installed, waiting for the rest of the system to get installed. I found a AC- specific manual for the 65/66 era which made the job immensely earier.
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Thanks. Can you shoot a photo of AC manual you have so I can possibly track one down for the 67-69 era?
 
toplscuda said:
Take lots of pics before and while disassembling to help get hoses put back where they belong. I just had the evap cleaned and pressure tested. I did as Dartman said and just tested the actuators and reused them as all were in good shape
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Thanks. I will certainly do that.
How do i test the accumulated actuators? I don't have a running engine yet.
 
I have ,Take your time and have fun. Take pictures before and during disassembly

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Oldmanmopar said:
I have ,Take your time and have fun. Take pictures before and during disassembly

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Thanks. The more I look, the more I think I'll take your advice. I've already located a few parts that I know I'll need, and I'll start testing a few more components to determine if I need others. A little "quiet time" in the office with a parts manual, shop manual and some perspective of seeing all the stuff laid out on the bench tends to calm me down and think that I can do this!!!
 
I rebuilt a 1971 dart A/C box. Pretty sure it is the same. Used DMT kit, worked great. Mark all your vacuum hoses. I think there are some threads on here about it.
 
you tube has a really good video that shows the heater box and the AC box . It made it super easy to do with the rebuild kit
 
I finished refurbishing the heater/AC box on the '68 Dart (Factory AC). I just need to re-do the vacuum hoses with new. I'm a little confused as to what size hose and what material to use. These hoses and barb fittlings look much smaller than what I'm used to seeing. The first stop at the local NAPA store was unfruitfull.

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The closest I can come to measuring the ID of the tubing says its 3/32"????? If I go to a more standard size, its going to be larger ID, and I'm afraid they won't fit tight enough on the barbs of the diaphragms.

As for materials, most products I see online are silicon based. I assume that's compatible for use in the engine compartment. Yes or no???

Does anyone have the exact spec for what these vacuum lines should be? I can't even find them called out in the parts catalog or illustrations manual.

I just need to find some new ones somewhere, and it doesn't help that I can't describe the proper size and material.
 
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I used the old hoses , I have a ac box off a c body there are the same . The lines are Color coded for direction they pull from
 
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