What would you say is the cut off year for using a swamp cooler?

Been wondering what's the latest car you'd run a swamp cooler on? I'm asking because I have a line on one for a descent price and was wondering if it'd look silly on the side of my Galaxie as I don't have air conditioning. That and they just look awesome to me.

 

Id run one up to a '64 on a galaxie....but they could have had real A/C so...

 

I'd say mid-fifties...

 

i would have to say mid sixties, but beleive it or not. last week i was following a old farmer in a say 80s toyota and he had one mounted on the side of it , they are still neet

 

I personally only like a swamp cooler on a decked-out lowrider bomb style car with a sunvisor and spotlights and stuff, so I'd have to say early to mid 50's for my personal taste. It's still technically period correct for a 60's car though.

 

I'd put one on a 54, but not anything newer. IMHO

 

BUY the damn thing , put it on & go from there. kool is cool.
B.B.

 

Do we really care what others think? I pitty the fool that sweats excessively at the expense of some jack offs opinion

 

I wonder if any are being used in turd or 4th world countries to this day? It might be fun to see if there are some "interesting" applications out there. Gary

 

It's better to be comfortable and laughed at then uncomfortable just to make others happy. You can always pull it off and put it in the trunk at shows if you think it might not be considered cool at that show.

Dad had an almost nos one in a storage shed for years but it came up missing when he went to look for it for my 51 Merc. It's probably still cruising around Renton on someone's car.

 

if you decide you don't like it you can always remove it, but i'd say go for it!

 

I remember seeing them in cars in the late 60s. Go for it

 

I'd say use it. But to complete the look...
Hang one of these in front of your grill.
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lol i almost bought one at the last swap meet. dont tempt me! lol

 

I remember installing a "hump" mounted swamper on a '63 Cad for one of my customers . New car but lacked factory A/C. . Worked pretty well , but noisy as hell. We sold the dickens out of those Desert water bags as the easterners were paranoid about "The Great Mojave Desert" and the vultures running gas stations in Baker, Ca !!Auto club finally set up some sting operations and got several operators busted for fraud.

 

I hear they're very popular in the warmer regions of Turdistan

 

Now that's funny!

 

They were being used in the 60's but IMO they don't suit 60's flat topped type of cars. On a bombed curvy 40/50's car they look okay. Not much use for them here

 

Ditto to that!!!!!

 

Hmmmm....Or you could be dumb ass'd kids like we were back in the middle 50's. We'd roll up the windows and drive around that way in our Un-airconditoned rides. Pretending that we were cool and could afford air conditioning.

Snaptwo...I've got a couple of those swamp coolers that plug into the cig lighter. 6 volt even. I use one in my 52 Olds...(No factory a/c) They work Ok. Not worth a damn right now with all the humidity we have right now. But They'd work out your way.

Back to the original question....Yes you could run with one, to maybe the early 60's.. Maybe on a common cars. But usually not Caddy's, Olds, Buicks or maybe some Pontiacs and some Chrysler products because you could get factory a/c. Some of the common cars had factory air, but they were scarce. Even on trucks up to the early 60's.

If you do go with a window mounted, for God's sake, don't mount it in the rear window if you have a 4 door driver. Now that really looks dorky.


HellRaiser

 

I LIKE EM , i would buy one if i could find in good shape.
B.B.

 

Mid 50's but no newer than that IMO

 

54 should be the cut off year. 55 and up, those swamp coolers just don't look right except on V.W. bugs.

 

run it had one on my o/t 66 bug

 

Yep, that's the only folks I remember ever seeing them using them here in So Cal. Pretty much for the Low Rider crowd
Other than the dorks who are now hanging them on VW's - along with lots of other crap like Big Ass roof racks

 

Nailed it hotroddon!
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Not something you see a lot of here in Western PA..... The is a really NICE custom mid-50's Olds that has one.... it attaches to clear plastic ducts that appear to go into the trunk & then out thru vents on both sides of the car..... the REAL DEAL not just a can on the side of the window.

 

If I ever bought a car with one on it, I'd take it off before I drove it home..I guess I don't "get it".
Makes the car/pickup look lopsided, and bulky.

 

Look again.....That's an original A/C in there. There's a Frigidair evaporator in the trunk. Those plastic tubes coming up are the vents for the cold air to come up thru, not out. Those side vents you saw on the side of the car are for the outside air to be routed down to the evaporator.

The evaporator is in the trunk, not in front of the radiator, so there has to be air flow to it..Those plastic tubes routed to the vents OVER the driver and passengers, not thru outlets in or under the dash.

Look before you leap!!!!!!


HellRaiser

 

This is a swamp cooler that straddles the center hump, and plugged into the cigarette lighter. Mine is 2 speed and is 6 volt.

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HellRaiser