a/c in a hot rod? Can't we all get along?

My 41 ford business coupe is the preferred car my wife and I take on any road trip longer than 50 miles. So, my wife's thermostat is on the waywire, I put a/c in the 41, she is happy again and riding with me!!!!!

I'm at a show, a guy and his buddy come up to the car, stare at the engine and say" Fucking a/c, this guy ain't a rodder", so I in my humble, unassuming manner say to the guy, "it's my car, sorry to offend you, where is your rod, I would like to see it so I can be sure to build my next car like yours and get rid of the poser hot rodder label."

He did the backward camel, his buddy laughed and said he ain't got one, had a 53 chevy but it was a POS. He swelled up a little and left.

Now I know I should just laugh this off, (I have), but got to thinking that the old saying, "if you ain't got nothing nice to say, don't say anything" might have saved this guy some needling from his buddy and a wounded ego. Just saying.

 

I'm with your wife. I'm selling my cars to get something a little more friendly for long trips. A/C is a must.

 

The other day the wife and I were sitting at a stop light and noticed a 30-31 "A" pickup across the intersection from us. It was painted a mono purple color, everything. The lights the horn the light bar etc. Well we start talking, me and the woman, I don't like that color, that looks like s%@t, I woulda not done that. Then it hit us, we were in our 53 chev pu with no paint job, needing lots-o-body work etc. Sometimes our mouth engages b4 the brain. Your guy shoulda kept his mouth shut but guess who was within ear shot. Know what I'm sayin?

 

it's hot as balls here in the summer with about 4 million percent humidity, so putting A/C in my '52 Chrysler T&C is something i am really, really considering. i'll be hauling around my wife, stepson and my 2 sons.

we were at WM last summer, on a 100+ degree day, when a guy and his family got out of their 50's Suburban. they looked miserable. it was then that my oldest son asked if the wagon was going to have A/C?"

i just don't know at this point.

 

My 50 is getting AC. I don't give a damn if it isn't traditional in some peoples eyes. If AC had been more readily available when "traditional" was new and innovative, everyone would have installed it. I want to DRIVE my ride, so comfort is king when its 100 degrees all summer

 

I would settle for a swamp cooler!

 

I'd hate to hear what he'd have to say about my car...it has fricken cruise control.

I always think of Thumper at times like this

 

I am into being comfortable. AC in both of my Rods.

 

I did the camera magazine thing for a few years and I discovered that I was starting to spend more time picking guys cars apart than I was enjoying what I was doing. I think that it had to do with the fact that I was spending so much time looking at other peoples cars and trying to find the perfect photo-op that I didn't have time to work on my own.

I just spent two days repairing the AC in the little jelly bean car that the wife likes to drive to work. She does not handle the heat well and we have been doing the triple digit heat index thng here for about a week.

Seems to me that you have more than one car, if you put AC in one (or all for that matter) who really cares. It is your car and you are driving it.

I don't particularly care for AC in my cars but I don't doubt that the otherwise traditional road car that the wife wants me to build will have an AC in it. Someone won't like it, let 'em build their own damned car. I probably won't like theirs either but I doubt that will make any difference in the world, I am just not that important.

 

I almost was turned away from a show up in Washington one time in the Plymouth for having tweed inserts in my seats and a nicely hidden A/C control in my dash... Told the little mouth breather to kindly look at the plates and then make his decision!!! AZ plates in the great Northwest speaks volumes, especially when your not just there for a car show, but there on business for several months.
It's killing me right now to have it off the road to repair some accident damage from last year Because it is my only air conditioned car, and damnit, it's hot here in Phoenix!

 

My 39 has a/c, and I have decided that my 55 Lincoln WILL have a/c real soon, it has been hot here lately....

IMO,,, As for your 41, anyone doesn't like it screw em....

 

LOL That is my standard answer to all of the know it all's at the event's..."Where is your's? Let's check your's out".... they will disappear real fast.

 

opinionated, ignorant, and owns a 53 chev pos.... that guy could be an FNG right here on this board.

Sometimes a little knowledge CAN be a bad thing.

 

If your a/c allows more enjoyment from your car more than to hell w/him. Here in Vegas its crazy hot, a/c is a must.

 

No A/C is why my slightly OT Jag spends most of the summer in the damn garage - cars of that era - especially European ones - were not built for the extreme temp and humidity we get here in the midwest.

Rod or no, if you live here A/C is pretty much a "must"....

But even looking past that, I agree that it's your car, your dime....up to you how it looks and what equipment it has. And thank God for that! Should every hot rod be exactly the same, have the same parts and style? Hell no!

I agree with the other poster who said if it had been as easy to do then as it is now, more cars would have had it back then too.

 

I helped a friend build his '30 'A' Coupe. (his way, not mine)
Full fendered, TCI frame, 350/350, 8" Ford, all nice. Vega steering...Nice, functional.
I wired the car, Painless kit...
He got a Vintage Air setup, really well engineered, all polished, I made a different bracket for the compressor that was a little more 'sani', and located everything in a favorable position. The A/C 'manifold' that plumbs the hoses thru the firewall was a tight fit...but all told, it came out nice.
We are in the Merced area, and the car is black with black interior. (and now it's "cool" to ride in)

I'm thinking about A/C for my F100, it's done its racing and still looks like a 'hot rod pickup'...no frills, just reasonably clean. Plenty of room for A/C in there, with the lower below dash vents available. I'm still thinking on it...

My '47 Ford 4 door sedan is a perfect candidate. 455 Olds has good manners as far as running cool, not working too hard with an A/C compressor running, and wife and I would like getting to an event without sweating...
I've serviced and installed A/C units in cars since 1957, but avoided installing it in anything I ever favored...it wasn't 'High Performance', and I was too 'cool' for it. LOL
I'm still 'cool', but beginning to warm up. (to the idea of A/C)

 

I put AC in the '50. My wife drives it, and here in Tucson AC is pretty important.
I'm not putting AC in the '29. I will, however slather the interior in that Dynamat like stuff. Makes a HUGE difference! Roof, doors, trunk....

 

Yep and 97.9 percent of the clowns that badmouth someone else's ride at a show or cruise night don't own a rod or custom but think that they are the experts on the subject.

One month and a day marks 42 years that my wife has put up with me and we went to our first rod run as participants 38 years ago this summer in the 48 in 100+ temps in Tusla. Anyone on here and there are several who were at the Street rod Nationals in Tulsa in 1973 will remember that it was HOT if they don't remember anything else. We have probably ridden 200,000 miles in the 48 and the 51 Merc we had over the years without ac and this time it gets AC mouthbreathers be damned. I'll hide the vents or put them in discretely and probably paint the compressor black rather than have it polished but we want to do some serious road trips in the next few years in the truck and roasting or freezing my ass off isn't in the plan just to please someone else.

 

When ya drive 600 miles to an event cruising back roads, and enjoying yourself A/C is a must. What's fun is when ya get there and you are cool as a cucumber, and dissapointed that the driving is done. I'd rather be driving than sitting.
I put A/C in all my cars. John

 

my 40 has AC. The old lady and me are in our 60's and it sure was cool driving to Columbus GG's without sweating. I don't give a shit what people think

 

You know the sayings.

Happy wife, Happy life or

If momma ain't happy, nobody is happy!

My 63 C10 has a/c, my 61 Ford will get a/c, the 36 Ford pick-up not. The wife does not want to go in that one anyway.

 

I don't have air conditioning,simply because I live in England and it's not a necessity. However, if I had to withstand some of the temperatures you guys over there have to I'd install it without thinking twice about it


as for traditional, the Packard motor company started to offer air conditioning in their cars in 1939. The Nash Ambassador introduced the first "fully integrated front end" confused system in 1954, and apparently by 1960, 20% of American automobiles had air conditioning as standard, with that figure rising to 80% in the hot south-western states. So, technically you could have whipped out and air conditioning unit and if technically minded enough, retrofitted it from 1939 onwards. That is of course, if Wikipedia is to be believed
Paul

 

Ever live in or around Houston Texas? Around here if you want to do something besides sit and look at your ride, your going to have A/C (Trad or not) if you can. One summer convinced me!

 

Fucking a/c, this guy ain't a rodder

I always wondered how you could tell. at the next show I go to I will be sure to inform all the people with AC in thier HOT RODs that they are not rodders.

 

uh....no, it's not to be believed.

It was an option, and it was expensive. Many new cars got AC added after the sale, either by the dealer or an accessory company.

We all know that real hot rods don't have roofs, so why would they need ac?

 

after running thru a few 100+ degree days on the hrpt this year and realizing how much glass and roof my wagon has, i am putting in a second a/c . enjoy your rod and do what YOU want.
i remeber as a 5-7 year old kid my parents had a mid 60-s plymouth wagon ,called it the "blue goose" . i can still remember going with him to pick up the wagon when we had our new MK IV underdash a/c installed

 

Perhaps you should move to WI!

Screw ANYBODY that doesn't like your car. Just like all the haters and naysayers on here. If you can't say something nice, don't say it at all. It doesn't bother me when two cars are talking amongst themselves, but when they confront the owner, that is just plain wrong.

 

Thanks Bobwop, I thought you were going to comment on the " my humble and unassuming nature" !!!!!!

 

I built a 51 ford for my wife and she said she didnt want anything showing that you couldnt get in the fifty's. we are going to go to salina [its about a 7 hr drive.] she said she didnt want a/c but now she has bought a hang on under the dash unit and I have the compressor mounted. I have a/c on my 33 ford coupe and it feels good in the weather we are having this year.

 

John
You reminded me of something that I figured out in the '80s. When I first moved into Mexico I had a balls to the walls no frills ruck. Of course that engine wasn't pulling anything but an alternator. So running windows down was the only option. When I would make a trip to about anyplce except across town I would arrive hot sweaty and filthy from road grime or mud or both.

Then I had the option to get a new vehicle, A/C, power brakes, and power steering. I lived 18 hours south of the border and my first trip in the new vehicle I did it straight through. I arrived clean cool and not totally exhausted.

You make a good point for A/C. I still think from a performance standpoint that the less your engine is pulling the better. But with the new compressors it is hardley noticable and it does have an off switch.

There are vehicles that an A/C would ruin from an asthetics stand point but when all is said and done it is just asthetics. If it bugs you don't run one if it doesn't then by all means let er fly.