Technical R134A replacement on the horizon?

A lot of us grew up without AC in our cars and homes. But as it became more widespread in use, more people adopted it until it became the normal thing to have, especially in places where the summers are pretty hot. When I was in my 20's I didn't own a vehicle with AC, now in my 60's I don't want one without it. I have just started planning for Vintage Air in my car, will be ordering a unit sometime soon when I figure out what I want.

 

I did NOT survive - I have an open heart surgery to prove it .

Russ

 

My Dad installed A/C on our '57 Chevy wagon in 1958 while I was in the hospital being born. He would run the A/C on the return road going back to the pits after making a pass at the drags .

 

R123YF is not a drop in replacement for R134a, and it does not use the same fittings.
Also you should not mix the 2 using the same equipment/gauges/hoses.

 

There’s a lot of folks talking about how we don’t need ac etc. I’m good with that for you. If you don’t want AC that’s cool. I want AC because I’m turning 54 and the older I get, the less I like suffering.

I haven’t had heat or AC on any of my rides EVER. I have done my time, earned my suffering badge, whatever you wanna call it. Now it’s about being comfy.

AC came out pre-65, So, it’s not a traditional issue. I just want I make sure before I’d drop the coin on gauges etc. that I can support my purchase.

No biggie guys, thanks for the input.

 

My wife won't ride in the cars without it.

I'm keeping my AC, unless y'all want me to live a life where every trip is a solo one, where I have to endure triple-digit heat in the summer, with a poor quality defogger, in fog country for the rest of the year.

 

Well shit, Ive still got a surplus of R12 and a big ol brand new 30lb can of 134 and here they go changing on us again... Only one old car with ac and it came from the factory that way in 64.. Funny thing is Ive read plenty here about the factory AC's not being worth a darn at their best. Chances are that car gets Vintage Air and will have to buy whatever new stuff comes along again. Oh well...Root if ya end up needing a bit of the old stuff give me a shout

 

Manifold gauges are not overly expensive.

My vacuum pump doesn't care.

I don't evacuate, the shop across the street takes care of that for me, and their machine does both, with auto-detect.

When it is time to move on, I will move on.

R134a service won't die immediately, so I will just buy R1234yf manifold gauges, and make sure I have an adapter for my Argon tank that fits.

 

Each to there own on the AC I really don't care. It gets above 100 here to last summer it barely got below 90,I still like driving my 57 with the windows open I just love that YBLOCK sound. By the way I will be 56 in a couple of months so I'm no spring chicken either.

 

I plan on driving my 55 coast to coast. It’s not going to be sitting once it’s finished. World tour.

 

How about if we ban any kind of ban, except here on the H.A.M.B......

 

We have already had one moderator comment on the appropriateness of this thread.

Please do not drag it into a place that is expressly forbidden under board rules.

 

This is today, right now. This is why AC.

I cannot show up to work in this, without it.

 

If you have vent windows, you don't really need ac.

 

I read the whole thread and it sounds like it won't be a problem to keep using it.

• Servicing of existing vehicles using HFC-134a with HFC-134a will not be impacted and will continue to be allowed.

As far as A/C, to each his own according to his own needs, such as location and climate, age and health, and your passengers needs. I lived up north in South Dakota until 12 years ago and drove a roadster for over 50,000 miles all over the U.S. with my wife, including three 4500 mile round trips to the LA Roadster Show, usually coming back through the Mohave Desert. On our way back in 2005 it was 116 degrees when we stopped in Needles, CA to get gas, while we traced old Route 66 up to Oatman, AZ. We drank ice water and ate the ice the whole day and it was so damn hot I kept the cowl vent closed to keep the hot air out!

I drive through the desert from Prescott to get to Pomona and it's not getting any cooler out there. I'll still do the drive by myself in my no A/C roadster (when I get it done) because to get the whole roadster experience, you have to feel some pain. So some of my closed cars have or are getting A/C for those trips and there's nothing wrong with being comfortable and wanting to run a lot a miles through the Southwest in the summer. On a recent trip back from the LARS it was 119 degrees between Blythe, CA and Quartzite, AZ in my late model pickup after hauling a load over to the LARS swap meet. So I doubt that vent widows will help much out there!

Maybe A/C is not strictly traditional but a company in New York City first offered installation of air conditioning for cars in 1933. Most of their customers operated limousines and luxury cars. On October 7th 1935, Ralph Peo of Houde Engineering, Buffalo, New York, applied for a patent for an "Air Cooling Unit for Automobiles". U.S. Patent 2,099,227, was granted on November 16, 1937. In 1939, Packard became the first automobile manufacturer to offer an air conditioning unit in its cars. These bulky units were manufactured by Bishop and Babcock, of Cleveland, Ohio and was ordered on approximately 2,000 cars. The "Bishop and Babcock Weather Conditioner" also incorporated a heater. Cars ordered with this option were shipped from Packard's East Grand Boulevard facility to the B&B factory where the conversion was performed. Once complete, the car was shipped to a local dealer for delivery to customers. I'm sure some customs were using it in the 50's so it was used in cars of the era. A quick search here finds pages of threads about putting Ipods with Bluetooth in hot rods, so maybe we should be putting tube radios in our period correct hot rods too, right?

 

No A/C in my ride but must admit some of the the creature comforts are a matter of good health for many, & nothing wrong with arriving at our destinations fresh & relaxed & odor free after toiling over/under our prized possessions.... enough said !

 

Might be enough for a vapour-compression radiant roof cooler: https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/roof-cooler.1222968/

It was 97°F in Cape Town today. I wasn't near an air conditioner, stationary or mobile, all day, and I hate the heat!

 

Betting most folks that say you don't need AC have never taken a trip across the country in the summer. Face it, a LOT of these hot rods are nothing more than the equivalent in the bike world, a bar hopper. Never goes more than a couple hours from home. My GMC is truly being built as a daily. Which means heat, defrost, wipers and AC. And just like my 54 it will be driven in single digits and snow as well as triple digit heat.

 

I put a/c in my '47 Plymouth back in the r12 era. The car has been parked in the garage collecting dust since 1996 or so. Looks like if I EVER get back onto it I didn't miss out by not converting to r134a.

 

I have poor man's AC, rolling down my windows, open the cowl vent, crank out the front windshield, and down the rear window. works great and costs nothing !

 

Wish I could can some of this up for ya....

 

Some of your heat escaped and has been attacking us, in Winter!

Would you please send someone out to retrieve it?

 

In July/August around here it’s usually triple digits for 30-45 days. The humidity isn’t terrible. Seems like it it usually around 45%. It just feels like a blast furnace when I have the windshield rolled out.

 

When it was over a 110 degrees in my old roadster, having the cowl vent open made it feel like I was in a air fryer! I kept it closed and used internal air conditioning (I ate a lot of ice)!
I'm glad I was in my late model the day I took this pic on I-10 between Blythe, CA and Quartzite, AZ. I saw a lot of dead cars that day.

 

That's all you need up there......that and good windshield wipers! I love it up there in the summer, I usually come through Washington in July on my way up to Port Angeles to take the ferry over to Victoria for Northwest Deuce Days. I usually spend a week or two up there just wandering around the state seeing the sights and friends before heading east through the Cascades.
.

 

If your moving , stuck in traffic , they're no help !

 

Because in our youth our "day" didn't begin until 10pm and ended around 4am...never had to worry about the
sun or have a sun visor....great times...

 

You may have it! If you have any spare blizzards, on the other hand ...

 

All jokes aside, I’m a fan of AC. Ive installed a few vintage air set ups for folks and enjoyed the ease of those set ups.
I’m just too cheap to install one in my own rides, that would probably almost double my investment in em
For tools, purchase the stuff to handle the refrigerant ya plan to use.
I haven’t touched a can of R12 in 25+ years.
But I’ve also been spoiled by working in shops with the newest equipment.

 

A pal on another web site just mentioned he runs propane in his AC!! (Small world!)
Although it's explosive........is it more dangerous than sitting on top of 10 gallons of gasoline?!
(Think about that for a minute!)
6sally6