The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The HiPo Shop Which ac is the best one?

I've seen the vintage air and the old air ac's does anyone have any experience with either one. I need the under dash unit only. I have been told by a hot rod shop that vintage air doesn't sell a 55-59 kit anymore.

I used Vintage Air but it was yearsssssssss ago w/out problems.
As far as if they have one for your truck, call them && get the answer from the horses mouth, don't always believe everything a "shop" will tell you. because according to their WEB PAGE they still have them....joe

That's true I just called them and they still sell them Sachse Rod Shop misinformed me for some reason.

I had problems with a Hotrod Air unit and their tech support. I won't vendor bash here but if you want details, PM me.

I have an Old Air system in my 54 truck.....installation and fit were great. The big difference I've noted between the Vintage and Old Air units is that the Old Air hose connect fittings are accessible from the engine compartment while the Vintage air connections are inside the cab.....under the dash. Old Air is much easier to install/service but the exposed fittings detract from a "clean" look firewall.

The Old Air 3 speed fan is very powerful on "Hi" to get things cooled down quickly and the "low" setting is very quiet....more like an OEM system.

Dave

Thanks Fla54chev You haven't had any problems with the old air system. Did you get the electronic control or cable operated control? I was told that the electronic control had a heater bypass valve in it and the cable operated did not. Thanks for the info, JK55Boy

I have an Old Air system in my 55.1
It has the electronic control's.
It includes a heater control valve.
Like Vintage, you can call Old Air and talk directly to a knowledgeable person.
Since you're so close, you can also just drive down to their place.
Just off I-35 a little south of Mrs Baird's bread.

That's why I picked the Old Air system, they are so easy to work with in person.

regards,
Leon

I got the cable controlled model. Didn't want to have to depend on the electronic controls. There are two cables; one that controls the defroster circuit and the second which runs up to the hot water shut-off control valve located in the engine compartment. Their is also included, a manual shut-off valve that stops all flow of hot water from the engine to the heater. I can't speak to the efficiency of the heater circuit as I haven't found it necessary to plumb it in!!

As for problems; none....installation was simple using two existing holes from the old heater box as a guide. All hose connections are made from inside the engine bay so you don't have to work under the dash once you've installed the evaporator box. Their dual-purpose bracket (included) allows you to mount both the compressor and the alternator on the driver's side of the engine. The only thing that I really didn't like about the Old Air system was that the high pressure line runs across the firewall and is highly visible. All their lines are already crimped so unless you fabricate your own longer high pressure line, you're limited at where it can be run. All of the lines to the condensor are pre-formed and mounting/plumbing it are straight forward. No cutting holes in the core support; drill a couple 1/8" lower bracket mount holes and you're in business.

As for operation.....it's efficient, brings the cab temp down quickly and most importantly once you're cool, the low fan setting lets you carry on a normal conversation.

On my install, I fabricated a simple alternator mount bracket that lets me run it on the passenger's side of the engine. In addition, I am running a two-groove harmonic balancer from Buffalo Enterprises. This allows me to run the alternator/waterpump/balancer with one belt and the low mount compressor with a separate belt. With the a/c compressor mounted low on the driver's side I could run a power steering pump mounted on the upper position of the compressor mount bracket. It would be driven off the 2nd groove on the compressor. I have some pictures of the setup in my Webshots albums. Doing it this way gave me good clearance between my fan and the drive pulleys; something that you need to consider. Hope this helps.

Dave

I have old air in my 54 no problems.

I'm leaning toward old air I talked to both booths at the GoodGuys show and I think for the money that's the best deal. I talked with Rick there and he seemed like a good guy . When I get the money that is what I'll buy . He came off the price 100.00 dollars at the show I just didn't have the money yet. With the vintage air I would have to buy the controller separately thats 200.00 more. I think I'm gonna go with the cable operated control though ,it's just less chance of problems for the two sevo controlled dampers and the two potentiometers that control them in my opinion.

Thanks for the info guys John