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Any 71-2 AirGrabber Cars that added A/C

RJS

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Anyone with a 1971-2 B-Body that has an AirGrabber/RamCharger and added A/C??? Or for that matter an A/C car that added AirGrabber/RamCharger??

Love to see pictures and hear the details before I start this adventure. I posted a picture of my old car but the one I'm doing has a 26" radiator with upper hose on right side.
Thanks Ron

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I've done it on a 70 Air Grabber Roadrunner... The Bouchlion Sanden brackets with the ports mounts to the passenger side fits... It's tight but it works..
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I've done it on a 70 Air Grabber Roadrunner... The Bouchlion Sanden brackets with the ports mounts to the passenger side fits... It's tight but it works.. Routing the hoses I used a 180 degree fitting on the high side hose so the hose passes behind the compressor... Your dealing with a low deck so there should be a little more room.
Very good to hear so on a 70 it's basically the same so the compressor will clear the ducting on the hood when hood is closed.
The big wrench in this could be my 400 has a RPM intake on it which is higher so hoping by using a 440 baseplate will bring it back down enough for all to work properly. The baseplate and lid will be reproduction and will be modified if needed.
Ron
 
I just went back & edited my post.... It's been twenty years since I did that install & I got the hose routing wrong, being a 70 B both hoses exit to the passenger side... I've used the 180 fitting on allot of installs so it's a good method but not what I used on that car...
 

Michael i forgot about that video, seen it a while back. yes that is an option but still hoping to make this happen with compressor in correct position on drivers side and did plan to order it black or paint it black to camouflage it a bit more.
I know to do this it can never appear as 100% stock but my intake, carburetor and headers aren't but I tried to hide them.
My best hidden part is my crank rods and pistons!!
 
I just went back & edited my post.... It's been twenty years since I did that install & I got the hose routing wrong, being a 70 B both hoses exit to the passenger side... I've used the 180 fitting on allot of installs so it's a good method but not what I used on that car...
If you get a chance post up your 70's engine compartment please.
Ron
 
Michael i forgot about that video, seen it a while back. yes that is an option but still hoping to make this happen with compressor in correct position on drivers side and did plan to order it black or paint it black to camouflage it a bit more.
I know to do this it can never appear as 100% stock but my intake, carburetor and headers aren't but I tried to hide them.
My best hidden part is my crank rods and pistons!!
Black compressor does help camouflage the install..

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I've seen AC "dealer installed" on 69 N96 cars using a ford/York compressor.

Those are fairly easy to find. The custom mounts, OTOH......
 
I've seen AC "dealer installed" on 69 N96 cars using a ford/York compressor.

Those are fairly easy to find. The custom mounts, OTOH......
Those are too funky looking for me but thanks
Ron
 
Look above... In the first post...
I like the 70 routing, wonder if I should go that route. On the purple car do they give you enough so as to get the left high side in front of thevalve cover or to much of a curve?

Ron
 
Not an air grabber car. However, I have had an A/C with factory compressor and a six pack for 30+ years.

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My friend Gary mounts the aftermarket A/C compressors under the alternator,no interfearance with the Air Grabber setup at all.
 
My friend Gary mounts the aftermarket A/C compressors under the alternator,no interfearance with the Air Grabber setup at all.
Bouchlion sells brackets to do that.. I know a couple people who have done it & they both say they wouldn't do it that way again, The alternator is driven off the A/C compressor & both are driven by a single belt.. On a hot day the head pressure rises causing the first belt to slip so not only does the A/C not keep up but the alternator doesn't charge...
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I like the 70 routing, wonder if I should go that route. On the purple car do they give you enough so as to get the left high side in front of thevalve cover or to much of a curve?

Ron
The compressor ports are a couple inches back from the from of the valve cover so either you go over the valve cover or you have to do rigid lines... That car was a friends, he sold it & the new owner wanted A/C installed before it shipped. I didn't have time to do it as clean as I would have liked.. I wanted a longer rigid line for in front on the condenser, I would have liked to make a shorter hose for the high side, that hose was made for a different job but was available & would work so it got used.. I posted that picture more because of the black compressor than anything else...


On the 70 routing, I agree, it worked well..
 
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I also used the 180 connector to run under the air cleaner on my 71. I also have a 440 air grabber base so I popped it on to see how it fit. Plenty of room above the compressor. 440 with RPM intake. Classic auto air brackets. Edelbrock AVS carb. I don't have a ramcharger hood so Can't verify the seal fit.



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Bouchlion sells brackets to do that.. I know a couple people who have done it & they both say they wouldn't do it that way again, The alternator is driven off the A/C compressor & both are driven by a single belt.. On a hot day the head pressure rises causing the first belt to slip so not only does the A/C not keep up but the alternator doesn't charge...View attachment 1325848
Gary never had any issues,even on the Power tour,and on the track at Watkins Glenn. Gary didn't use a kit,he fabbed it himself,A/C has its own belt,not linked to the alternator.
 
Before delivery, the Plymouth dealer had an aftermarket A/C installed on my parent's special order 1971 Road Runner with air grabber hood. The inside vents fit the curve of the lower dash perfectly (did not seem to restrict the "leg room" at all). I believe the brand of the A/C was something like "ARA".

However, one time in the McDonalds parking lot, Mom stopped for a few minutes with the A/C "on" while she had the shift selector in "drive" with her foot on the brake and the engine overheated. This problem may have been because the vehicle was not ordered to be A/C compatible (i.e. tinted glass all around, heavy duty cooling system, shroud, different water pump impeller, maybe different ratio belt pulleys, viscous drive fan, etc.)

To make a long story short, parents eventually removed the A/C and gave all the parts to the friend they sold the vehicle to a couple of years later (Road Runner was sold for $2,000.00).
 
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