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My 79’s ac has not worked since I bought the car 26 years ago. It is finally time to replace the l48 and th350 with a crate motor and 700r4. I was going to just remove the ac. It appears in 79 there was a firewall heater box cover non ac cars which zip sells. Does anyone know if I can swap the panels after removing the ac evaporator or is any other work required? If any one has deleted the ac on a late c3 and has some input let me know.
I've started to do this with my 80. I sourced a 75ish non-AC heater blower cover (the part that goes in the engine compartment), and pulled the giant box and all AC parts out of the car. I coudn't give them away when I tried. I think the part is the same from 68-79 (last year for AC as an option, but very rare). See the diagram below.
You'll also need a different heater element, if you want that. I have a C4 blower fan ready to go (I'll 3D print a new cover/adaptor), but here's an aftermarket kit with everything, though possibly not the best of everything.
I was wondering if I needed to switch to the other heater core, which I probably ought to change it out since it is likely the original one anyway. Is that the only changes you are making (heater box cover, heater core, and blower motor)?
The other question was on the wiring. There are 2 different blower motor resistors depending on if you have ac or not. Can you just leave the wiring and vacuum set up as is after removing ac components and still have the system function (heat, defrost, and vent)?
I haven't gotten that far yet. The fan will not be controlled by the resistor, but rather with this motor controller. And there will be no vacuum controlled components at all. I'll either use servos, manual cables, or fix them in a set position All I really need is defrost, so I'll make sure that that passage is open, and probably the center ducts.
The mixing flapper is cable controlled (modulates hot vs fresh air). I'll have a manual hot water valve in the engine compartment heater core loop, replacing the bypass that is there now (yours is vacuum controlled, and probably leaks, but you'd never know).
Right now, I just have the non-AC duct cover, which frees up a lot of engine compartment space, and gives me a spot to mount an engine compartment fuse box and cooling fan relays. No heat or AC at the moment.
If you look at the kit from acdelete.com, it seems that you'll be able to keep your existing system as is, once you replace the heater core.
Last edited by Bikespace; Nov 22, 2019 at 02:56 AM.
From: Some days your the dog and some days your the hydrant.
Royal Canadian Navy
I just removed my ac compressor and condenser only. Left everything else as is. I still get heating. If I ever decide to sell my car it will be easy to reinstall the comp'r and cond'r to get the ac functioning again. Your way, not so easy.
I got rid of all the AC stuff and the heater. I drive my car spring, summer and fall (except in very hot weather) and never missed any of it. Not worried about selling the car.
When I did an engine swap in my 77 I removed all of the original ac-heater system.
With the engine out of the car there was plenty of room to simply fiberglass the opening
in the firewall smaller, to the size required to install a non ac box from an earlier year.
Then I found the wire in the console that powers the fan all of the time in slow speed and removed it.
That's now my off position.
Ac delete
