I am going to be swapping out my OLD AIR evaporator for an underdash unit. The unit has not served me well. I bought it used and have been fighting to get it perform decently for a long time. Best it will get down to is 60 degrees at the vents. NO leaks, good receiver, good condensor, good compressor, proper amount of freon, and insulated very well. So she's a goner. I can go about 26" wide - 12" deep and 6" deep. That said what brand/model name UNDERDASH AC units has anyone had good success over a period of time, say greater than 1 year??? I am looking to do the changeover pretty good and it has been in the high 90's here this week in Nashville and it's only June. So Dark Blue truck, brown complexion guy, and high humidity DOES not make for an enjoyable cruisin' to cruise in or shows. So come on give me some "road experience" opinions. I am going to put the factory heater back in for heat and defrost. Appreciate it all
I used a 60s sears under the dash a/c in a 53 Olds with success,I took it out of a 62 Olds on a saturday and installed it in the 53 the next day and would of had it charged and working if I did not have to get a line modified but by the middle of the next week it was working and keeping me cool.
I think new under the dash units are being made and have no idea on how they work but the old stuff works great and it was in the olds when I sold it and still put out cold air.
I found a '70s Pontiac Lemans in the JY with a J.C. Penny unit in it. I bought the whole outfit and adapted it to the '50 Merc I had at the time...worked great and was still goin' strong when I sold the car. Nothing fancy, but man it was CHEAP. I have also seen guys use rear air units from vans for this type application. Those were incorporated into custom built housings and consoles. Also worked good for cheap.
Roadrunner, Thanks, I have had it checked by two professional shops and the unit works for a week or two and then it goes back to either not cooling or either not putting volume out at the vents. the only two parts not new are the compressor and evaporator. I just want it to cool well and for almost 6 years that has been a losing battle. Thanks for the pointers.
I have that very same Old Air unit in my sedan delivery, I can get around 45 degrees at the vents, because of the size of the interior of my car, it doesn't really cool the whole inside, like I would like it too. I would think in a pick up it would do better, I had an under dash unit BEFORE I bought this one, worked real well, I probably should have kept it.
I have 3 hot rods all with 66 mustang under dash units. To date I have never seen any of the older under dash units have a coil problem since there all copper. About the only thing I ever did was change out an expansion valve and replace the cone screen with it. There still plenty of them out there and its a fast install to say the least.
In 1988 we trailered a '64 Sport Fury from San Antonio, Tx. with a 1965 chevy 1/2 ton , to NW Illinios. It was 108 degrees, and with a 3 row radiator and a Sears under dash unit. There were hills that I was doing 65 mph down and by the time I got to the top of the next one I was down to 50 mph. Everybody kept their cool. Most of the time you won't need to have it tunred all the way down.
I grabbed a rear air unit from a conversion van that also has a heater in it and that might work too,it mounted on the floor under the rear seat and had vents on the board that mounted on the seat frame under the cushion so there is another possibilty.
I have installed a bunch of Vintage Air complete units in my cars and they work well. Instructions aren't worth a damn, but it does blow cold.
Thanks RMT. I am going to talk to a gentleman that sells automotive ac at a show this upcoming weekend. I sincerely appreciate it guys. I know the HAMB would be the way to cool air
I've used under dash units I got at the local auto air place under work truck dashes they worked great and are made for 134A.
I have installed more then a few Vintage air units in customer cars. I have never had one come back with problems and they always blow cold. They have many different sizes, since your putting it in a pickup the smaller units will be more then enough.
I bought a NEW A/C from OldAir in Fort Worth. It was a complete waste of money. It blew 37 degrees but did not even began to cool my 57 Chevy. I will NEVER buy from them again
Maybe this is not your case, but R12 and 134 systems operate in different ways from each other. The same in concept, but the gases do not act the same. Alot of people that covert them try to run them at the same freon12 capacity that the manufacturer label says to put in. It seems the more 134 you put in, the worse it performs. Too much heat at the condenser will cause poor function as well. Get the truck nice and hot. Turn the garden hose on the condenser while A/c is running. See if it makes a difference. It should.
Donald, you know I am a Vintage Air fan, but I just had to comment on your magazine racks. Pretty neat. Joe
Okiedokie, Thanks for the comments on the rack. Wife got them from an office that was closing. I bought this on Saturday TO REPLACE THIS Looking to install it mid July. Might be looking for some wiring help. The current unit was put in 03 by a friend who has moved away. Here is the schematic.
I want to run ac my custom 300 four door any ideas? PArts list or compressor for the 460 would b helpful thanks!
There is a hamber on here I think his name is Lucky. He sells AC stuff and from what I have heard has good quality stuff
About a week ago there was another HAMB'er that had just finished installing a vintage under the dash unit in his car, a mid-50's Ford coupe. He gathered all of the parts together, used R12 and it looked great and worked super. I don't remember his name, but maybe others will. I think he was from Sierra Vista, AZ?
I think the mistake many make when using R34 is not using the bigger condenser up front. I know a guy who put one in his 59 elcamino about a month ago. His friends were giving him a hard time since he was 84 and had the car many years. He used a A5 compressor and R12
Tuck just installed this in his Ranchero. He was raving about it on IG. https://www.vintageair.com/custom/product-pop.php?pn=672001-VHY
Found the post from 8/17/20..put on by Hamb member with screen name of "Squirrel". He is from Sierra Vista, AZ. Really a clean, sanitary installation!
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