Airo conditioning
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 984
Likes: 1
From: SAN FRANCISCO CA
Airo conditioning
i might be using my '71 as a dd and i need to know if there's any way to amp up the factory a/c for those dog days of summer. i obviously know that this will adversely affect performance and fuel consumption but that's not a huge concern for me right now. TIA 
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 3,334
Likes: 4
From: Midland TX
The C3 (especially early C3s) had notoriously bad air conditioning.
Some things you might do are:
* insulate floor under carpet. I bought some insulation from Home Depot and glued to the floor and then installed carpet over it. I think it is called Reflectix. It is silver foil with bubble-wrap stuff in between.
* block heater hoses going to heater core. The heater core is inside the passenger side compartment. There is a flap in the housing that is meant to regulate air going through heater or block it off. Coolant circulates through the heater core all the time and will put off some heat in the cockpit no matter if the flap is closed or not. I believe the 71 has a vacuum operated shutoff valve in the heater hose. You might check to see if you have one and if it is working. If not or not working, you might want to put a manual shutoff valve in the hose or unhook the hoses from the heater core and hook them together.
* check for leaks in the firewall. There are several seals in the firewall for vacuum hoses, wires, and cables to go through. All good places to let hot air in.
* check ducting under the dash for leaks. Mine was missing the drivers side duct.
Good luck.
Some things you might do are:
* insulate floor under carpet. I bought some insulation from Home Depot and glued to the floor and then installed carpet over it. I think it is called Reflectix. It is silver foil with bubble-wrap stuff in between.
* block heater hoses going to heater core. The heater core is inside the passenger side compartment. There is a flap in the housing that is meant to regulate air going through heater or block it off. Coolant circulates through the heater core all the time and will put off some heat in the cockpit no matter if the flap is closed or not. I believe the 71 has a vacuum operated shutoff valve in the heater hose. You might check to see if you have one and if it is working. If not or not working, you might want to put a manual shutoff valve in the hose or unhook the hoses from the heater core and hook them together.
* check for leaks in the firewall. There are several seals in the firewall for vacuum hoses, wires, and cables to go through. All good places to let hot air in.
* check ducting under the dash for leaks. Mine was missing the drivers side duct.
Good luck.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 7,720
Likes: 12
From: Chattanooga TN
What he said plus:C4 fan swap-do a search.
Make sure all the ducts and boxes are sealed properly. It is amazing what small underdash air leaks do to a/c performance.
Make sure it is charged correctly. R134 (if converted) is very finicky about charge level.
