Help, just did a search on here for info on this subject, found several comments but no results. Wanting to place the evap unit under the seat in a 40 pick up and vent through the seat box. other than taking a little longer for the cool air to get to your hot face, any one have results on doing this?
I installed a heat & air unit under the bench seat in my 1932 Ford pickup and it worked great. In a '32 pickup the gas tank is the seat riser so I removed it and built my own I also installed the dryer beside it, I cut holes for the vents in the riser and wired the knobs for the unit in the center of the seat riser, I also mounted my fues panel under the seat. Photobucket screwed up a lot of my photo's I hope this shows up. HRP \
Thanks for the info, hadn't thought of hiding the dryer there, is that an off the shelf one or was it shorter than the average dryers? My seat box is roughly 5 n1/2 "deep.
The dryer is short unit but I did cut a hole for it to drop down lower, the heat & air is just a small unit available from most of the company's, I would suggest Vintage Air. HRP
I like the dryer idea. I have not started on my GMC under seat setup, I will incorporate the dryer idea.
You won't have the direct cold air blowing on you but it will cool the cab off pretty good. Back in the mid 60's I had a 55 Buick with the underseat heater and that thing worked great. My friends always wanted to take it in the winter because the back seat area was just as warm as the front.
I've been to the Vintage Air seminar a couple times at the Louisville Nationals. VA stresses that you are going to be calling them for tech help if you don't have the vents located to cool your face and arms. Also, they recommend weather stripping doors and other openings where hot air can enter the passenger compartment to help with cooling.
Thanks Phil, I get where your coming from. That was part of the concern. I know the cab is small enough to cool quick enough on the road, but wondered how long to cool off from the floor up.
Remember, hot air rises, so most of your cool air will be low, on the floor. Small, short area might be ok, but a tall area like an stock tall T cab might be warm at face level.....
I did an underseat a/c in my '38 International pick-up in 1985 , it cooled the cab great but not me , you need the air to blow in your face to feel cool , I'll never put one under the seat again .
I like the idea of the unit under the seat. You could run a hose up each side of the cab behind the seat and have a vent near the back of your head similar to a stereo speaker.
Maybe fabricate something along these lines. I’ve got a couple on the outside vents in my bird. Hide away until you need it, and clearance to get in and out. Not perfect, but at least get the cold air up. 3rd item down. http://www.moal.com/02_prod/sub_05.html
Years ago, my buddy had a '78 or thereabouts Dodge passenger van that had an aftermarket a/c unit that did a poor job of cooling such a large cabin. We mounted an additional underdash a/c evaporator facing forward under the middle van seat. It really didn't help much. Hot air rises, cold air drops. You need that cool breeze aimed at your face
As a former product development manager for mobile HVAC products I can attest to the fact that many have already mentioned, and that is warm air rises, and cool air sinks, and it is essential to direct cool air towards one face/ chest area for best AC effectiveness.
Very true, but working with limited space, especially in a small truck cab and in my case wanting to retain the cowl vent for pleasant days under the seat was a no brainer. Getting back to the cooling issue, my fan had 3 speeds, low, medium & high, knowing that these cabs were never meant to have air, I installed insulation on the floors, doors & overhead, around the doors and windshield I used regular peel & stick half inch foam insulation. On a extremely hot day, mid 90's after about 5 minutes from initial start up sitting outside in the sun I would have to switch it over to low, If I were ever able to build another truck I wouldn't hesitate to do the exact same thing. HRP
You are entitled to your opinion. A hot day in Montana is 84 degrees with low humidity, a hot day in Texas is humid and 100 degrees or hotter. ,Some install air to make it more comfortable to drive, especially in place like Texas & Arizona, others may install it because of their health and still want to enjoy their old hot rods & customs, I have gotten older and at one time I would never think of putting air or heat in my cars, but I don't have to pass out from the heat driving 600 miles anymore, that's my opinion. HRP
People forget these trucks are about as big as a small closet inside. ANYTHING you can do to drop some cool air in there helps
To me great interior cooling always came with air flow. When we traveled in our 56 Ford in the late 50’s our dad would attach a sweating water bag on the outside edges of the grill so the air flowing into the car thru the vents would be cool. My brother and I would crack both rear windows so the flow came back to us too. With The 33 Ford he owned he would crack the cowl vent and lower the rear window 1/2” for flow also. A/C added to our old cars only recirculate the air in the car. I kept the right outside air vent on my 56 to add new air as I wish. On an underseat unit cracking a side window will definitely aid in the flow of cool air up on the body to make it more comfortable until all the air in the compartment is cool.
Mount it under the seat and don't tell anybody. Then get one of the old style dash mounted fans and aim it at you to blow and circulate the cool air. That way its traditional.
I have a 31 truck and yes it gets hot. I get having a/c, I'm in the business. I just think a/c should not be brought up here any more than mustang 2 and air ride
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