What brand of ac units did those of you who have ac install. Has anyone used a unit from another car, if so what was the donor vehicle?
Vintage Air hands down for me. Great system, IMO it's the top of the line and reasonably priced. Easy install for a do it yourselfer and working perfect after 5 years, great tech support.
ditto here
Which mdl of VA did you use? I seem to remember someone saying that to install ac, you loose the right fresh air vent. How did you block off the opening?
I used the Gen IV. I welded my vents shut, but I had other reasons as well. Not positive I had to.
two examples of Gen IV in '57s
I actually installed a 65-66 Mustang evaporator in mine. I had the unit rebuilt by Classic Auto Air and it was converted to use R-134a. Both vents remained as is, but I removed the heater to allow the unit to be installed as far forward as possible to clear the shifter. Removing the heater was not really necessary. The hose connections were on the left side and that allowed the use of the right vent. I had leakage issues and the evaporator did not have o-ring fittings so I went with a Vintage Air Mark IV evaporator. I had to block the right vent. I made a sheet metal block plate with a foam rubber gasket. I put a piece of flat bar with a drilled and tapped center hole on the cowel side of the vent and bolted the block off plate in place. No welding or drilling/cutting the original opening.
Put a VA in mine, (Gen III). VA will lend you an empty box of the type you purchase for mocking purposes. You have no idea what a superior idea that is! Most in-dash units will require one or both of the air vents to be closed off. Either in dash units will require shortening the glove box.
No welding required if you are VERY lucky and find the stock Ford block off plates they used on factory air cars, be advised they are made of unobtainium!
Thanks for the input. I was wondering what everyone was using. I was tempted to go old school hot rodder and adapt something used, but am very afraid it wouldn't perform properly once installed. That brought me to the VA train of thought.
I like the look of the second under dash unit Lynn posted because I don't want to install vents in the dash and also don't want to fab a panel to bolt under the dash. Is that the complete inside unit and could the original heater be retained?
I siliconed the vent flappers in place. I do miss being able to open them for fresh air intake into the vehicle when driving w/o AC.
The heater was included. Not sure if that was one of your questions.
I do recall, I had to mock up my hoses and clock my fittings, took them to a local shop and they crimped the fittings on for me.
You do lose some glovebox space as mentioned earlier.
I had to modify my last post, #8, as I saw I hadn't completed my thought.
I'm not worried about the glove box space.
My original glove box was crispy so I bought a AC glove box. It fit like it was made for it!
We keep calling the units A/C, and I guess technically it's still correct, but in my mind (what's left of it), I don't think of heat being a part of A/C, but in fact it is, so as wirenut mentioned, the VintageAir units include the heater, and my GenIV unit heater works great.
Guess we should call them HVAC units?
Quote from: terry_208 on 2021-05-14 16:14
Thanks for the input. I was wondering what everyone was using. I was tempted to go old school hot rodder and adapt something used, but am very afraid it wouldn't perform properly once installed. That brought me to the VA train of thought.
I like the look of the second under dash unit Lynn posted because I don't want to install vents in the dash and also don't want to fab a panel to bolt under the dash. Is that the complete inside unit and could the original heater be retained?
That is the entire evaporator and I think you can retain the original heater. The Mark IV Vintage Air unit is a metal reproduction of a popular add on unit from the '60s (I think)! Mine works VERY well, I used it yesterday. Here is a link.... check the dimensions in the installation instructions.
https://www.vintageair.com/search-results/?sqry=mark%20IV
I've installed two GEN IV HVACs in my '57s. I like the GEN IV and will install a GEN IV in the next project. I really like the cable converters that allow the use of OEM heater controls to be reused on the outside with new stuff on the inside. But I installed the second one different than the first. I used Teflon lined, braided stainless hose for the majority of lines but used more tubing in the second install. The first, I used a bulkhead fitting in the side of the A pillar (under the cowl drain). It is a cleaner look but no very serviceable. It also cost a lot of money and is hidden. There are eight fittings plus the bulkhead adapter. A lot of expensive fittings and too many potential leaks. The second install eliminated the bulkhead, pasted through the firewall and used bendable tubing to go through the core support. The tubing bends tighter for a neater and more reliable install. I also found that the Sanden pumps come with dual pulleys and one belt is barely enough. The only disappointment with the GEN IV is the fan is quite loud for as little air that it moves. It does move more air than a factory, '57 heater but not as much as new OEM fans. Once the car is cooled down and the fan is not on high, the air moves around fine with tolerable sound level. I have wanted to compare the air movement and sound level with the under dash Mark unit.
These all look good to me. Decisions, decisions, I like some parts of all the units. The part of the under dash unit that I like is I can assemble the interior and later add that unit. Using the Gen IV with heater means it needs to be installed before the dash.
When I install ac, I don't believe I want to go through the A-pillar. Although it does makes a very clean install. Does anyone have have pics of the hoses running through the firewall, please?
Thanks for all the responses and pics. It provides lots to think about.
i ran my lines through the heater block off plate so I wouldn't have to drill holes in the cowl. I used a bulkhead connector (a black one) and I also used EZ clip fittings and hoses. Vintage Air sells these in a kit but you can buy them separate and get what you need. The advantage is that you cut to fit and make the line connections up yourself. The hoses are smaller in outside diameter and are much more flexible, they use double o-rings under the hose with a crimping tool to get the correct clamping pressure. I really like the system design. If I was to do it again I would "hide" the hoses.
Thanks to everyone for the ideas, advice and pictures. Together they make things easier to understand.
Lynn, by "hide" do you mean run along the inner fender on the tire side? IRRC, the heater hose ran along the engine side of the inner fender.
Hello Terry, I am sure I will catch some flak for this but don't your window cranks work. Sounds like a lot of work and cash just to be as comfortable as you are when driving one of your new rides. For me I like my 57's, 65, and 31 to be just like they were when I was in high school. If I lived in Texas Calif. or some other very warm places maybe I would change my mind But for me its all the windows down or top down, a couple of cool ones beside me and go back in time when these cars were a lot newer and we were a lot younger and a good time was right in front of us. But thats just me, I like things simple and the way they used to be.