RatDog

I've been following the other thread about aftermarket A/C's with interest and I have a related question.

For me, A/C is not just a nice option for enjoying a car in Florida, it's an absolute must. With issues of damaging the originality of the car aside, what are the advantages and disadvantages of factory A/C vs. aftermarket A/C (reliability, performance, refrigerant, etc.)?

Thanks ,
-- Steve

magicv8

I have factory A-C. I think a properly installed aftermarket setup should be lighter, use less horsepower, and be just as effective.

Properly installed includes rad fan, shroud seals, and any changes to the suspension, battery location, and rad support that may be necessary to maintain the (factory) intended balance and function.

I have to state that my factory A-C is reliable, and it blows 40° cold air from the vents with R12. My local Chevy dealer does my A-C work. The last check up and R12 charge (3years ago) was $99. Other vendors usually like to gouge.

NEVERL8

I have factory AC in a 67. I have spent endless hours and mucho bucks getting the AC system to run as designed by GM (please note I am not saying "run as it should"). My car is a driver and hindsight being what it is I would not go this route again.

If I have an NCRS type car with AC, I would restore to factory specs.
If I have a driver quality car with original AC I would retain as much of the firewall and cockpit system as possible but put in a new Sanden compressor and hardware once the original started failing. I believe this means converting to R134A as well.
If I it was not an original AC car I would put in a complete Vintage Air system. I believe this requires R134A.

BADBIRDCAGE

Factory air systems take up a great deal of room in the engine compartment. I'm not sure but I would bet it also makes cooling the engine compartment more difficult.

Aftermarket air systems like Vintage Air do not require relocation of your battery and take up less room than the factory air box did. Vintage air is (or at least was) available in both R12 and R134A versions.

62Jeff

Cost - If you have a car without factory A/C, then correctly adding factory A/C to the car is significantly more expensive than adding aftermarket A/C.

RatDog

No, I definitely wouldn't add factory air to a car that didn't have factory air. If the car didn't have air (or if the factory air system was beyond help) I'd put on an aftermarket system.

The car I hope to find will be a recent full restoration with PS, PB, and A/C. I'm assuming that the restoration will have included rebuilding of the factory A/C, if it has factory A/C.

However, if I were to find a nice car that met all my other requirements but didn't have A/C, I'd put aftermarket A/C on it, not an original system.

I'm thinking if I remove A/C from the equation when looking for a car, I'm going to open up a lot more possibilities for cars having the other features I want and then I could add on an aftermarket A/C.

I guess my question really is, is it worth searching out a car with original A/C as far as reliability and performance or will aftermarket A/C be as good or better?

[Note: I'd be paying a shop to put on an aftermarket system (no skills in that area and too much arthritis in the hands ). So I'd need to factor costs into the decision as well. From what I've seen, it looks like a factory A/C system adds about $4K to the price of a '65 - '67.

Thanks for the responses so far. Good stuff!

-- Steve

Tampa Jerry

My 68 has a factory A/C system with a Sanden compressor. I am using R-12. The compressors are the same for R-134A and R-12. The only difference is the oil used. In my 68, I upgraded the fan and a few other components. Now the cabin is cold. Before, the A/C kept me from getting hot. I have a Vintage Air in my black/black 66 coupe in central Florida. I stay cool. At night its so cold my nose runs with the A/C on high. Jerry

64_365

Factory A/C in a mid-year causes you to remove the left front driver's wheel and then remove an inner fender panel in order to replace the battery.

Factory A/C is cool (as in nifty) but if I had it to do over again I would get a non-A/C car and add aftermarket air to it.

RatDog

Thanks for that .

I wasn't aware of the battery location issue. That, combined with the fact that I can consider more cars by not limiting my choice to factory air, has pretty much pushed me off the fence to the side of aftermarket.

The next thing I have to research is if there's a shop near me (central Florida) that would be able to do the installation (can't do it myself).

Thanks,
-- Steve

62Jeff

Be aware that from the pictures I've seen on the forum, aftermarket A/C systems make it difficult to get the battery out of the passenger side in a car that didn't have factory A/C.

RatDog

OK, now I'm thinking about a small trailer to hold the battery that I can tow behind the car .

-- Steve

62Jeff

Steve, now you are thinking!

Seriously though, I only own a factory A/C car, so my frame of reference for aftermarket systems is limited to what I've seen and read here on the forum and in person.

There have been various posts here from people complaining about the difficulty of removing the battery once the aftermarket A/C was installed.

That does NOT make aftermarket a bad choice at all, but if removing the left wheel on a factory A/C car to do a battery swap was enough to drive you into the Aftermarket option, I wanted you to be aware of the space limitations on the Aftermarket side as well, so you wouldn't be surprised.

Either way, from personal experience I can tell you that my 65 gets driven a LOT more with working A/C than without working A/C.

Jeff

RatDog

Thanks, Jeff. Since the climate in Texas is simlar to the climate in Florida, you can appreciate why I won't own a car there w/o A/C.

The battery issue isn't my only concern. The availability of a shop near to me that can work on a factory system or a shop that can install a Vintage Air system is another consideration.

-- Steve

Tampa Jerry

Call Curtis at Classic Air in Tampa. They were doing installs on the their products. I know they had a tech on staff and last I heard, he no longer works there. Give them a call to see if he has been replaced. Jerry

RatDog

Thanks, Jerry. I actually already had Classic Air in my bookmarks. I must have picked it up from a previous thread.

-- Steve

70mph@2200rpm

RatDog...when I purchased my 65 coupe in '09, the factory A/C did not work. I was told that maybe it was just a leak. $1,600 later, it worked fine. Everything was replaced but the compressor, and changed to R-134A. It blows cold enough, low to mid 40's when it's not real hot out, but on hot days, it blows in the low 50's.

Classic-Chevy-Guy

I have had great success on the rebuild of my Factory 64 system, with Classic Auto Air. Curtis is first rate to deal with and from their web site, it looks like they do installations.

The instruction sheets are online but my advice would be to have it done by someone who has done it many times and knows the "tricks of the trade" rather than doing it myself.

RatDog

Thanks for the additional posts .

They got me to thinking about another option that hadn't occurred to me . . . if the factory A/C doesn't perform well (or at all), replace/rebuild it with an aftermarket system.

Are there components of the factory system that can be used with an aftermarket system? I would think the cabin vents and controls could be used but what, if any, A/C-related items in the engine compartment (radiator, belts, pulleys, etc.) could be used with an aftermarket system?

Thanks,
-- Steve

wmf62

the sanden compressor can be used as a replacement for the original GM compressor, except for the compressor mounts and connections to the compressor, all other parts/pieces should be reusable.
Bill

RatDog

Thanks, Bill. Being able to do that should save a ton of money and it might even be something I could do myself .

-- Steve