Air Conditioning Upgrade Whats The Best Way....
 

I HAVE A 78 WITH FACTORY AIR COND. (THAT IS NOT WORKING) I THOUGHT AS LONG AS I HAVE TO GET HER COOLING AGAIN I MAY AS WELL UPGRADE THE SYSTEM. IS THIS A DIFFICULT PROJECT TO DO? AND WHAT IS THE BEST TYPE TO GO WITH? WHO CAN STEER ME IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION? :willy: TOM BENJAMIN (I AM SO GLAD I FOUND THIS SITE)

I've got a '79 with a bad compressor and starting to look around, another member brought this site up and from what I've read it looks interesting, http://www.duracool.com/Duracool/acsolutions.html
lets see what else come up.

OK, do a search on man threads here and elsewhere on the C4 blower motor upgrade...that includes the fan and a home made 3/4 inch spacer..the we go for the motor wiring especially on the 30 amp high speed fuse under the hood near the horn relay on drivers' fender liner...
then we go for the ground side of the blower motor, worth another volt or more power....

the the obvious cleaning of the pressure side of the a/c evap leaves and road trash get in there....

the elimination of the outside air door up/under the pass fender w/s cowling....just remove it with the 3 5/16th hex heades bolts and cut off the flapper controll...and then rebolt/seal it shut permanently, then remove the innter pass kick panel flapper housing....permanent recirculation then...

make sure the insulation under the rugs is good, use thick stuff from Lowes Depot, cut to size...see other threads....

obviously you want the freon to be 134 these daze, and so to changeover, another thread. do a search again....

doing all the above plus sealing ANY AND ALL firewall holes, and the a/c ductings to the firewall will do wonders for your a/c effectiveness....

freeze your ass outta that damn car....serious...

but you starting with a tired stock car, you gotta go the whole monte' or you time wasting....

:thumbs: :cheers:

I never had a whole lot of success with my stock set-up. I'm down in Dallas and A/C is very important to me. Here's what I did with no success:

1) Took it to an A/C place and they filled with R12, checked for leaks, etc.
2) Put in the C4 motor and squirrel cage with the spacer as others have mentioned.
3) Put new foam/sealant around the passenger side air door and made sure it was functioning properly.
4) Put the reflectix from Home Depot/Lowe's under the carpet.
5) Took my airducts apart behind the dash and resealed with duct tape.
6) Cleaned out the evaporator from debris/leaves.
7) Sealed any holes in the firewall.

I believe I did just about everything that had been talked about but the system was still far from acceptable. In the middle of the day in August, it was still a sweatfest. The air never seemed to blow all that hard and when the A/C was off you could feel hot air coming out the vents.

I finally gave up and plunked down the $1200 for Hot Rod Air. I'm installing now and will let you know how it ultimately works out in a couple of weeks.

I've mentioned this before and I'll do it again. Install a shutoff valve,
1/2 inch 1/4 turn valve on heater hose coming off intake. Will improve
performance of A/C,whether your temperature control valve is functioning or not. Do this along with other suggestions, helped mine a lot.Steve if you want I'll post a picture

I installed a C4 blower and fan, but I sectioned a spare housing rather than using a spacer. It blows like a tornado on high. To help prevent heat transfer, I lined the inside of the case with Reflectix.

The modern plastic control valve that Delco sells now works much better than the original stamped steel part.

Try to search Vintage Air.
http://www.vintageair.com
Avner

If all a/c parts are working properly in a C3, you don't need to modify it. I live in S. Florida and my '76 blows 40 degrees at the vents and keeps me quite comfortable despite the high humidity and temps down here. :flag:

Slight hijack question here. My compressor is not engaging. Am not getting any voltage on either of the two wires yet the fuse is good. Am I missing something here? It is also a 78.
Thanks

If your referigerant charge is low, the pressure switch will not "make" and give power to the clutch. Also could be a bad switch in the A/C heater controls.

Thanks, haven't had the freon checked yet, will do that.

i agree on sectioning case to get most out of that mod; where did you buy the "Reflectix"? is there a particular type? you did mean to say install on the inside of the case?
part number or appliation handy on the new control valve?

thanks batman . . .

I replaced the R4 compressor with a ND 6P (8.2 C.I. & similiar to Sanden 508) which uses less HP & works great. Compressor, custom brackets & hoses to stock A/C system w/ R12. Note how the A/C lines go off to the side & then straight forward & back.
http://ganeys.home.sprynet.com/77ACs.JPG

I have a 77 & modified Max. A/C High only to have adj. speeds like Normal A/C in the 70s. Also changed Low to Off.

77 factory A/C works fine w/ both the original & ND compressors.
:cool:

Make sure the evap. case underhood is sealed & if a heater a shutoff valve should be in the heater hose.
The evap. case underhood can be insulated esp. towards the engine.

A back glass tint could help 78-.

i know some one down the road in trinity if you need an A/C man . . .

Reflectix is reflectix. It's sold in a few different types of packaging, but it's all the same stuff. I found that the rolls for automotive use were cheaper than the home use rolls at ACE. I used 3M Super 77 adhesive to glue pieces cut to fit on the inside of the case, then applied foil tape to the seams to smooth it out and hold everything together better. It should help keep excess heat from soaking through the case and into my nice cold air.

I don't have a clue on the part number for the plastic valve. I bought it at AutoZone about seven years ago, it was what came up in their computer for a 77 with A/C.

thanks again batman!

i had looked up reflectix on the net and found a lot of products and was'nt sure . . .

Just stop at a store like Lowe's, ACE or a contractor's supply. It's not hard to find, and not very expensive.

If you need a qoute on an A/C system contact Willcox Corvette and we will gladly give you one.