'73 A/C resto questions

[vegiguy]

Were all the A/C lines made of steel - including the long small one running along the passenger side inner fender - or were some made of aluminum? I know the lines that had the mufflers on them were made of steel because they rust. Were all the steel lines painted black or left zinc or cad plated?

Does anyone have a picture of an ORIGINAL A/C set-up for 1973 (probably '74 would be the same) they could post? So many of the pictures of engines I've seen show A/C systems with the rear line's muffler removed (as the person who redid my car's system did). Some show a straight pipe coming off of the long fitting on the A/C compressor and the hose doing the bending; some show a bent pipe and the hose being straight back to the firewall fitting. I'm wondering how the rear line actually looked originally. The 1973 factory shop manual seems to show a straight rear pipe (with the muffler on it of course) and then the hose doing the bending back to the firewall fitting, but that picture is so small it's hard to make out a lot of detail.

How was the A/C compressor coil wire routed from the coil so it doesn't rub against or get caught in the pulley? I'm guessing there are clips similar to what was used to route the manual transmission's back-up switch wire away from the shift linkage to route the wire up and over the top of the compressor, probably the passenger side since this is where the wiring harness is. Am I right, and if so which bolts were they installed under?

 

[idrivemopar]

Here are some shots of my 73, I rebuilt my entire original system with just upgrade for 134a including doing the hoses because the rubber has to be changed for use with 134a.

The closeup view of the pipes going into the fire wall shows the pipe with and without the insulation for the sensors.

The clutch wire runs over the top of the compressor to the back side where it plugs into the blue wire coming along between the intake and the valve cover.
Here is the clutch wire route.

Here is a shot of the pipes going into the fire wall, and you can see the capillary for the expansion valve.

Here is a shot forward showing the routing from the compressor

Here is the wide view of the engine compartment.

Close up showing the pipes into the firewall, and the capillaries for the expansion valve and the one for the thermal cutoff which is used for 134a conversion because the EPR valve is removed from the compressor with 134a application, not done with R12.

Again showing the insulation for the capillary and temp sensor.

Hope this helps!

 

[vegiguy]

Thanks, that's very helpful. What is the small (I believe 3/8" dia.) metal line made of that runs down the inner fender to the drier, steel or aluminum?

 

[idrivemopar]

I had it redone in stainless.

 

[vegiguy]

I had it redone in stainless.

What was it originally?

 

[idrivemopar]

I think the originals were just mild steel as I remember seeing some surface rust on the outside of it. However, it was not consistent so they must have been plated as well.