Any aftermarket A/C guys out there?

[RICH MUISE]

See previous post.
Did a guestimate on a hose size just for a pricing reference from Cool Hose...42", #10 O-ring 45 degree fitting one end, and a quick change 90 degree fitting on the other end. $45 bucks. Not bad.
"all components made in the USA"

[RICH MUISE]

Couple of general questions....How did you guys route your A/C lines with regards to the core support..under it? thru it below the hinges?
Where (which line) should the service port be located?
Thanks for the input.

[Ford Blue blood]

Depends on build style.  If you are building a daily driver it will need maintenance from time to time so everything needs to be looked at from a "do I have to take half the car apart to do this?" or is it a "slick" styled mostly show build where maintenance will be limited.  Building hot rods I like to run the lines together as much as possible, keep them out of view as much as possible and have the service ports on the hard lines at the compressor.  My 66 Falcon Ranchero with a 302 EFI was a driver, the lines entered the cabin through the fire wall on the drivers side of center, were tied to the fire wall/shock tower brace with Made For You mounts, compressor was on the upper drivers side of the engine, dryer on the radiator support on the front drivers side.  It was a bottom entry top outlet style with the trinary switch located next to the comressor in the high pressure line from the dryer to the evaporator.

You should have a service port in the suction line to the compressor and a service port in the line after the condenser but before the dryer.  They can be anywhere along those lines.

[BWhitmore]

Below the right hinge.  I needed to enlarge the opening slightly.  I used a bulk head fitting from Vintage Air on the right side of the firewall near the middle of the firewall. Service port is located on the suction line near the receiver/drier which is mounted on the right fender well. 

[RICH MUISE]

Two Bills...thanks for the replys....as usual, it opens other questions for me. Bill W..."enlarged the hole"? mine didn't have a hole below the hinge, which leads me to wonder what the few Fords with OEM A/C did to run the lines from the condenser, and if that is why you had an existing hole that needed enlarging? Of course that would probably mean that oem A/C cars had a different core support.
Bill K...Your recommending two service ports?  I did notice that service ports are available for all size hoses. The sketches in the Vintage Air catalog show the routing of all the components, but they have eliminated the service ports from those drawings, so I didn't know where they went. My compressor is at the bottom, so running the service ports off those hard lines wouldn't be a practical spot for me...particularly with our front opening hoods.
I wish I knew someone with an assembled '57 in Amarillo I could look at...need to make sure of where all the sheetmetal "and other stuff" goes before I start running anything....inner splash shields, front of the wheel well, etc.

[BWhitmore]

Rich - I enlarged the opening between the hinge and the core support.  The metal removed (about 1/4inch was removed from the core support itself.  I will try to get a picture and post it later today. 

[BWhitmore]

Picture of a/c hose routing near battery and over the core support

[RICH MUISE]

Thanks for posting the pic. I may do the same at the bottom since my compressor is at the bottom. Or may just pass under the core support close to the corner. There is room for the hoses between the frame and core support...as I mentioned earlier, I'm just not sure of how all that sheetmetal stuff gets assembled, so there may be something else in the way.

[Ford Blue blood]

Rich most systems (R-12) had two service ports.  I had purchased several case of R-12 when I found out that it was going away.  That was over 20 years ago, can was a buck, bought every one the Roses my kid worked at then had....but once again I digress. 

They make service ports that will go in the #6 line for the high pressure side or put a T on the dryer and put a service port on it along with the trinary.  As I recall you have the lines going into the cab at the right upper kick panel.  I would run the suction line from the kick panel on the outside of the inner fender as high as possible, over the tire and down to the compressor through the inner fender.  The discharge side of the compressor back through the radiator support under the battery box to the condenser.  The output of the condenser into the dryer and that line back through the lower radiator support and then through inner panel and up over the tire and into the cab.  Put the service port in the suction line where it comes into the engine bay from the inner panel. 

You can mount the inner fender panel and do all the fab work/routing and just leave it in place.  I believe you are far enough along to do that?

[RICH MUISE]

Lots of good info and ideas there Bill, thanks.  After I piddle with the tranny lines, I could put the fender wells on, yes. I have to do that pretty soon anyways as I need to figure out where the air intake and battery are going to end up.

[RICH MUISE]

Can't believe it's a month later and I'm still figuring the A/C lines out. The adapter block for the Ford A/C compressor(FS-10) is only available in rear facing or straight up  configuration. This would be ok I guess for top mounted compressors, but not for bottom mounted. So, looks like I am stuck with the springlock fittings and barrier hose for the two lines coming off the compressor.
I may not have had verticle room for the adapter block anyway...the exhaust manifold is just a few inches above the compressor.
Had the rest of the lines all figured out until Wighty came up with the hood hinge modification to eliminate the hood spring and slotted spring bracket. That modification leaves room on the core support for the A/C lines to run thru, so I'm going to do that instead of thru the panel behind the parking lights. All of the lines will be run inside the engine compartment now. What shows up top will either be the teflon/braided stainless or aluminum hard lines. The barrier hose I mentioned earlir will be under the air filter anyways and won't be seen.

[Ford Blue blood]

Good things take time....it is much better using time now rather then using time to "unscrew" a poorly thought out idea.   Cost a lot less too!  Which by the way I'm going to have to do with the Ranchero transmission mount...what seamed like a good idea at the time isn't now.  Fortunately it only involves some scrap steel and gas and welding wire.

[RICH MUISE]

Exactly..These A/C lines are quite a bit more expensive than I would have thought....sure can't afford to do them twice.
Speaking of welding gas...when I started mig welding 6 or 7 years ago, I think I paid about 16. to have the tank filled. It's the small size tank..about 18" tall. The last time it was about 34. to fill. This week it was 42. !!

[Ford Blue blood]

Exactly..These A/C lines are quite a bit more expensive than I would have thought....sure can't afford to do them twice.
Speaking of welding gas...when I started mig welding 6 or 7 years ago, I think I paid about 16. to have the tank filled. It's the small size tank..about 18" tall. The last time it was about 34. to fill. This week it was 42. !!

Check with your supplier about getting a larger 50lb bottle, cost the same to fill as the little one.  My last fill (May of 13) cost me 28 bucks.  That was for 75/25.  I did have to pay for the life time lease (125) but have saved that over the years on just gas never mind the seemingly constant trips to refill the little one.

[RICH MUISE]

I'll check into that next time....just not sure how much welding I'll be doing down the road.