Vintage Air - new install
08-12-2015, 01:27 AM
#1
Safety Car
Thread Starter
Vintage Air - new install
Over the last two years or so vacillating between going with or without AC in the '64, it finally came down to - heck with it.......I WANT IT!. .. .
Roasting on long road trips was the convincer.
Vintage Air getting the nod quite a bit here on the forum as a good system to go with made the choice easy. Installation was pretty straightforward. Though not hard to understand and follow the instructions could use some fine tuning to better suit a DIY first time installation.
Some things to be aware of are the 'IN' connection at the drier where the #6 hard line connects to. Since both sides of the drier connection receive #6 fittings, it's easy to have the drier 'IN' and 'OUT' reversed.
Routing the 4 hoses per VA instructions through the right side former vent and factory blower motor hole was a hassle. VA supplied AC hoses are way longer than need be. Two 5/8" heater hoses need to be installed, also. Some soapy lube helps the hoses slide easier through the grommets.
The other hassle was installing the evaporator case underneath the dash. VA instructions say to lay the evap case on the floor and install #6 AC and heater hoses to the unit. Easier said than done, of course. .. The #10 AC hose still needs to be connected, as well. This stiff hose is routed around the back side of the motor unit on the firewall side of the evap case, then connects at the front of the evap case. None of this is 'news' to those who have already done a VA installation, of course.
The best way to install the evap case is by itself. Remove the motor unit from the back of the evap case, make the 4 necessary hose connections, slide the evap case sans motor unit up underneath the dash and install support brackets. The motor unit is held on the back of the evap case with 6 screws, 3 per side. The motor case has cut-out holes that allow the unit to be slid in place. The back 3 screws need to be semi installed, then the motor unit slid into place. The front 3 screws are easy to reach to tightened down. Not so the back screws.
Now on to installing the duct hoses. Everything up to this point has been a tight fit. No let up - same with the duct hoses! . . I got a nice forearm cut reaching up under the dash by 'feel' to install the duct hoses. A combination of squeeze, wiggle, rotate, and slide on to the duct outlet at the evap case end gets it done.
These parts were needed to effect the VA installation. Ordered from Paragon:
1782 - left side alternator mounting bracket
1235K - left side alternator adjusting brace
12586 - alternator relocation harness (VAK 6365, Lectric Limited)
1813 - two groove harmonic balancer pulley
1681 - upper radiator hose
From Rock Auto:
15535 - AC Delco V groove belt
15585 - AC Delco V groove belt
Some things the VA instructions mentioned doing I didn't do. The 2 dash control ***** need to be drilled out to accept a 'D' clip. I didn't feel like doing it that way. Instead, a hobby belt sander was used to grind the control switch stem to size that the factory **** would accept. The same was done for the right side ****, though on this **** the stem needs to be threaded. An 8/32 thread, IIRC. . . If I were doing this again I would use an 8/32 screw threaded into the ****, then cut to length. Then cut the switch stem, drill and tap to accept the screw thread from the ****.
The hood release handle was relocated more to the left. The right side bracket hole of the hood release handle support was moved left and bolted into the left side hole. The handle pull has just enough working clearance to not bind up against the side of the kick panel.
The other modification the VA instructions mention is to cut 6 inches off the front right side floor plate console. Didn't want to do that, either. The floor plate was installed without cutting off the 6 inch piece. Clearance is tight between the stepper motor and floor plate leg where the 6 inch piece would have been removed. About 1/16 inch clearance between stepper motor and floor plate leg. A piece of foam tape was put in place for a bit of cushion.
After the AC hoses are cut to length, 3 hoses will need to be final crimped in place.
The VA dash vents weren't installed.
A local AC shop made the 3 finish crimps on the AC hoses. The system was evacuated and charged with 134a. .. Time to enjoy some nice and cold AC for a change!.
John
Some pics of the install:
Roasting on long road trips was the convincer.
Vintage Air getting the nod quite a bit here on the forum as a good system to go with made the choice easy. Installation was pretty straightforward. Though not hard to understand and follow the instructions could use some fine tuning to better suit a DIY first time installation.
Some things to be aware of are the 'IN' connection at the drier where the #6 hard line connects to. Since both sides of the drier connection receive #6 fittings, it's easy to have the drier 'IN' and 'OUT' reversed.
Routing the 4 hoses per VA instructions through the right side former vent and factory blower motor hole was a hassle. VA supplied AC hoses are way longer than need be. Two 5/8" heater hoses need to be installed, also. Some soapy lube helps the hoses slide easier through the grommets.
The other hassle was installing the evaporator case underneath the dash. VA instructions say to lay the evap case on the floor and install #6 AC and heater hoses to the unit. Easier said than done, of course. .. The #10 AC hose still needs to be connected, as well. This stiff hose is routed around the back side of the motor unit on the firewall side of the evap case, then connects at the front of the evap case. None of this is 'news' to those who have already done a VA installation, of course.
The best way to install the evap case is by itself. Remove the motor unit from the back of the evap case, make the 4 necessary hose connections, slide the evap case sans motor unit up underneath the dash and install support brackets. The motor unit is held on the back of the evap case with 6 screws, 3 per side. The motor case has cut-out holes that allow the unit to be slid in place. The back 3 screws need to be semi installed, then the motor unit slid into place. The front 3 screws are easy to reach to tightened down. Not so the back screws.
Now on to installing the duct hoses. Everything up to this point has been a tight fit. No let up - same with the duct hoses! . . I got a nice forearm cut reaching up under the dash by 'feel' to install the duct hoses. A combination of squeeze, wiggle, rotate, and slide on to the duct outlet at the evap case end gets it done.
These parts were needed to effect the VA installation. Ordered from Paragon:
1782 - left side alternator mounting bracket
1235K - left side alternator adjusting brace
12586 - alternator relocation harness (VAK 6365, Lectric Limited)
1813 - two groove harmonic balancer pulley
1681 - upper radiator hose
From Rock Auto:
15535 - AC Delco V groove belt
15585 - AC Delco V groove belt
Some things the VA instructions mentioned doing I didn't do. The 2 dash control ***** need to be drilled out to accept a 'D' clip. I didn't feel like doing it that way. Instead, a hobby belt sander was used to grind the control switch stem to size that the factory **** would accept. The same was done for the right side ****, though on this **** the stem needs to be threaded. An 8/32 thread, IIRC. . . If I were doing this again I would use an 8/32 screw threaded into the ****, then cut to length. Then cut the switch stem, drill and tap to accept the screw thread from the ****.
The hood release handle was relocated more to the left. The right side bracket hole of the hood release handle support was moved left and bolted into the left side hole. The handle pull has just enough working clearance to not bind up against the side of the kick panel.
The other modification the VA instructions mention is to cut 6 inches off the front right side floor plate console. Didn't want to do that, either. The floor plate was installed without cutting off the 6 inch piece. Clearance is tight between the stepper motor and floor plate leg where the 6 inch piece would have been removed. About 1/16 inch clearance between stepper motor and floor plate leg. A piece of foam tape was put in place for a bit of cushion.
After the AC hoses are cut to length, 3 hoses will need to be final crimped in place.
The VA dash vents weren't installed.
A local AC shop made the 3 finish crimps on the AC hoses. The system was evacuated and charged with 134a. .. Time to enjoy some nice and cold AC for a change!.
John
Some pics of the install:
Last edited by mrg; 08-12-2015 at 10:18 PM.
08-12-2015, 05:40 AM
#2
Team Owner
Nicely done.
My Vintage Air Gen IV system came with LH alternator brackets but I did buy a separate conversion electrical harness for that side-to-side swap from Lectric Limited. I toyed with having the A/C nozzles hanging free as you have done but wasn't sure I could route the PS duct hose up over the evaporator so I dropped the idea.
If you give a slight twist to that upper radiator hose (second picture above) you can force it off that upper alternator adjustment bracket BTW.
You'll love the system.
My Vintage Air Gen IV system came with LH alternator brackets but I did buy a separate conversion electrical harness for that side-to-side swap from Lectric Limited. I toyed with having the A/C nozzles hanging free as you have done but wasn't sure I could route the PS duct hose up over the evaporator so I dropped the idea.
If you give a slight twist to that upper radiator hose (second picture above) you can force it off that upper alternator adjustment bracket BTW.
You'll love the system.
Last edited by Frankie the Fink; 08-12-2015 at 05:43 AM.
08-12-2015, 07:23 AM
#3
Melting Slicks
The hardest thing on mine was the duct work. I'm wondering if it would have been easier to connect the duct hose before installing the box. If you have big hands and arms you might want to recruit a smaller Gumby like helper for this job.
08-13-2015, 02:03 AM
#6
Safety Car
Thread Starter
No matter what it was under the dash was a tight squeeze to fit or connect things up. Hard to say if pre fitting the ducts to the evap case outlets would make the job go easier.
I'll be sure to put a twist in the upper radiator hose. .. Something easy!
Thanks, guys.
John
I'll be sure to put a twist in the upper radiator hose. .. Something easy!
Thanks, guys.
John