Mexican Bob

Does anybody know if there are any issues with using a '77 'late' drier in place of an early '77 A/C drier? The late driers are $57 and the early ones are 260...

TIA

MxB

'75

The early 77 dryer is actually a VIR, valve in receiver. The 77 late is very different, it uses an accumulator dryer and an orifice tube. Totally different system. You could get a VIR eliminator kit for the early 77 for around the same as a rebuilt vir.

GUSTO14

I seem to recall rebuilding the drier on a friends early '77 back in the mid 80's. Are rebuild kits no longer available? I do remember it being relatively inexpensive as well.

Good luck... GUSTO

Mexican Bob

Thank you for the reply. My initial pricing checks show the rebuilt VIR to be about $100 more expensive than the VIR replacement unit. My existing VIR is rather 'ugly' with surface oxidation, but could be cleaned up with some effort. The question is whether or not it is 'functional' after sitting out for years.

I guess another question is what is the 'good' solution for this particular year vehicle? I've heard a number of people say that the original AC system wasn't very 'good' in terms of providing decent cooling and, in my opinion, a good AC system is a necessity.

I tried searching for 'retrofit' systems, but apparently, the '77 (neither late nor early) seem to be offered in kit form.

Apparently, I also need to convert to R-134. Any suggestions? Recommendations?


MxB

GUSTO14

Bob, as someone that bought a 1977 new, I can tell you first hand that the original system was more than adequate for the small cockpit of a Corvette. Many times the wife would ask to turn if off as it was much too cold for her even on the low setting. I would have to adjust the temp by adding heat to bring the temp up for her. I kept that car for a number of years and only sold it to buy a 1985 when they came out. Both of these cars of course used R-12. Years later after putting the '85 in storage for 9 years I converted it to R-134 and it has performed more than adequately since.

If your '77 has the drier that can be disassembled, you should find little more inside than a bag of desiccant. As I recall, that and a couple of "O-rings" were all that came in the rebuild kit we used to rebuild a friends '77 in the later 80's. If yours has been exposed to the atmosphere for some time as you suggest, I'm guessing that the desiccant has absorbed a good deal of moisture and would not be able to remove additional moisture from a closed system if recharged. At the very least, I would remove the bag of desiccant and using an oven restore the desiccant by drying it out. If you decide to go that route, PM me and I will instruct you on how to do that.

Vintage Air sells a modern A/C system designed for the C3 Corvette. (Until 1977 A/C was an option in the C3.) The shop I use has installed a number of these systems with great success in C3 Corvettes. One of them was even a factory air car that previous owners had essentially abandoned and many of the components were missing. I can tell you this, it will definitely clean up the engine compartment as it completely eliminates the evaporator and most of the ancillary equipment from the engine compartment. The compressor is the highly efficient and compact Sanden Compressor used in a variety of vehicles today.
http://www.vintageair.com/2014catalo...08-15%2017.pdf

Good luck... GUSTO

Mexican Bob

Thank you for your comments. Not to be rude, but the PDF from Sanden specifically states:

Complete Gen IV kit for 1968-76 Corvette

...which I've seen and, obviously, worried about the 'support' for a '77.

Maybe there is no need to 'worry,' but I tend to focus on every detail as if somebody actually intended it to be an absolute rather than a 'rule of thumb.'


MxB

GUSTO14

Bob, in 1977 the A/C controls (along with a number of other things on the center console) were changed. The Vintage Air system utilizes the A/C control panel from the '68-'76 Corvette to operate their Air Conditioning package, so that could be a problem unless you modified the center console to accommodate the earlier A/C controls.

Vintage Air does provide an excellent tech line service to answer any questions you might have regarding their systems. I've used them extensively to help when installing their systems in different vehicles. If I were interested in a more modern system for any vehicle they don't specifically list, I wouldn't hesitate to call them and ask some questions. The great thing about them is their customers become an excellent resource for solving problems someone else may encounter. They may already have a work-around for just such an installation.

Never-the-less, good luck with your project... GUSTO

Rotonda

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...in-a-77-a.html

The above thread details the steps necessary to install a Vintage Air unit into a 77. I live in southern Florida and have never been unhappy with the result.

minitech

For the under hood parts including the compressor your early 77 is really a 76 system. The interior controls are different than a 76.

Go ahead and call Vintage air now and see the support before you buy one. They are excellent with support.

Before putting too much money in change to Vintage Air. For 77 and later you can set up 3 ***** instead of your heat a/c sliders

Doug's 77

I just went through the same thing on my 77. I replaced the VIR with a eliminator kit from nostalgic air. If I had it to do over I would replace the evaporator and receiver drier from a 78-82. The compressor would just depend how stock you want to keep it. The compressor on the 77 is the same as 78-82 and will work well.