Adding air con...suggestions please

[62phoenix]

I wonder if anyone could suggest an air conditioner unit for my 62 dart. It gets well over 100f over here for much of the summer. I like to try to find a compact sized unit that mounts under the dash.

Any1 got some ideas?

 

[Centerline]

A Vintage Air universal system (http://www.vintageair.com/) should work in your car without any significant mods. Just like any system though... they're not cheap.

 

[dryheat]

X2 on the Vintage Air. I installed their Gen II Compac in dash unit in a Datsun 510 so it should easily fit in a Dart.

 

[themechanic]

Classic Auto Air is another option.

 

[mosquito13]

i went with a used vintage air off fleabay, but the wing window works good too. pop for a pusher fan and hook it's relay to your break light switch. stop lights are where i needed the a/c the most and the engine temp kreeps up with the addition revs and the a/c radiator got no air flow to stay cool with no forward movement air flow.

 

[62phoenix]

Thanx lads...

I had checked these two sellers.

Are people removing the original heater box and installing a heat cool system, or cooling only?

 

[dryheat]

You'll need to remove the old heater box and install a heat/cool unit. You'll just need to figure out if you want a dedicated defrost function or not.

 

[62phoenix]

You'll need to remove the old heater box and install a heat/cool unit. You'll just need to figure out if you want a dedicated defrost function or not.

I figured that was the situation as it looks a little cramped to fit something into there! Probably a good idea to remove the box anyway, I bet the original heater unit must be getting close to needing some tlc.

 

[mosquito13]

under dash a/c unit. ran a/c lines in a "new" hole in the fire wall. left heater unit in place though no hoses running to it , but i live in florida... should mention i have a 64 440 so my application may not relate to you.

 

[747mopar]

I used Vintage Air "very nice". They offer a mock up evaporator unit for figuring out the mounting under the dash that is basically a hollow unit that really helps, it's $45.00 but you get it refunded once you return it and order the real deal. The GenII evaporators like I used have servo motor driven ducts meaning "no vacuum required" installation is pretty straight forward as well.

 

[-Ed]

You'll need to remove the old heater box and install a heat/cool unit. You'll just need to figure out if you want a dedicated defrost function or not.

Hi dryheat... I'm working on a 64 Fury and trying to figure this out as well.... I know this is an ancient thread, but do you mean that you have to "reassign" your vacuum tube from defrost to a/c if you switch out for an original heater box with a/c? What about the "Cool" button on the dash? Is it not vacuum?

I'm sorry if this has been beaten to death and I just couldn't find it.

Thanks!

-Ed

 

[Centerline]

This is a Vintage Air Gen II Heat, AC, Defrost unit mounted in my '64 Polara. Just remove the old heater box, and this unit handles everything with no vacuum lines needed. Its a universal unit so it took a little thought on the mountings but as you can see, it wasn't difficult. The only thing you need to do is block off the fresh air duct with a piece of sheet metal to keep the hot outside air from just pouring in. (I haven't done this yet in this pic because I'll be running the AC lines through there as part of a hidden installation.)

Remember AC units work by removing the heat from the air... they don't "cool". So by keeping hot outside air out it will cool much more efficiently.

 

[-Ed]

Thank you for replying to such an old post!

That's a fantastic looking install! You lose the original controls with this setup though, correct? Did the heater hoses sit OK in the original firewall cutout or did you hide those as well?

-Ed

 

[Centerline]

Thank you for replying to such an old post!

That's a fantastic looking install! You lose the original controls with this setup though, correct? Did the heater hoses sit OK in the original firewall cutout or did you hide those as well?

-Ed

I'm running the heater hoses through the stock location (on the driver's side) so it appears as original. The AC compressor is mounted low on the driver's side where the PS pump would normally be. This is a stock manual steering car.

The heater lines will run across the top of the box and connect at the passenger's side. I'll use a couple brass 90* bends on each one to make the turn.

 

[dryheat]

My 64 does not have dedicated defroster ducts ... they flip up/down. I went with just a heat/cool unit since I did not need the extra ducts.