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I'm just finishing up a 64 c10 pickup w/ a 327...it does not have factory A/C but I live in AZ and must have it to survive. Any suggestions on the cheapest way to get A/C going. I'm not familiar with A/C parts. Can I borrow from another V8 vehicle? Where is a good place to buy aftermarket A/C units? I have a 66 c20 cab w/ factory a/c but no condenser...can I take it from one vehicle and put it in the other? Any help at all is great.

Thanks

you can get aftermarket setups, but they run $1000-1500 from many suppliers. I have added a/c to two 64's using the OE setup from a donor truck(mostly cause I dig the center vent & pull knob controls)-not too hard, these systems were designed to be installed at the dealer level as well as factory installed. I used a condensor setup from Old Air Products, it fit like it as made for it & is designed for R134A. brian

josh, all air conditioners do the same thing. you can uyse your stuff from the c20 with no problems, if you can find a place to mount the stuff. fab up some bracketts or what not, and mount the stuff up. check a local a/c supply for a condenser that will fit in your target location (usually in front of the radiator) then have custom hoses made to connect the components. after you have everything under the hood from a junk yard or ebay or whatever is cheap check out:

http://www.southernrods.com/brand_category.php?query=Southern+Air
or
http://www.oldairproducts.com/shop/index.php

from these guys you can buy the under dash or a hidden behind dash unit and switchs for $200 - $600 depending on what you want. dont pay $1000+ for a full aftermarket system, peice it together with whats cheap!

good luck.
btw this is the under dash i have in my 63 c10:
http://www.southernrods.com/categor...cooling-systems/products/product-19.html

it is kind of an eyesore but keeps me cool in Dallas traffic!

I've found it actually cheaper to buy an $1100 Vintage Air system than to retrofit or repair an older system. Classic Industries sells them.

Wow, that southern air system is CHEAP. That'd be worth custom fabricating some ductwork for and hiding it behind the dash. Looks like all self-enclosed, with no engine-driven compressor.
Is that the case? Kind of like a house window-unit air conditioner repackaged to fit in a car?

No,,Hotroddad, you will still need a condensor,compressor & lines-but some of those can be bought locally or salvage yard. Still cheap a/c tho,,Brian

Brian,
I'm about to go gut a '79 truck for A/C parts. Anything in particular I should be looking out for other than to get everything I can pull off of it?

Definately get the compressor, lines, & brackets, the condensor might be too large to fit in a 60-66, but get it anyway. A 79 should still have the long A6 compressor-a gashog but will work a long time. Brian

Hot Rod Dad $1000 for a kit is too much to pay. im sure you can get the components through an online vendor for $500 or less and the salvage yard would be even cheaper than that. this stuff is so generic and universal its very easy to peice together your own "kit" from any manufacturers parts for less than half the vendor price. hell if you really want a kit i'll by the stuff and send it to you in one box and pocket the difference

Once I get all of this stuff collected can a local shop "purge" everything, recharge the system and make it useable?

One more thing...in '79 they wouldn't have been using R134A can these components be upgraded to use the newer gas?

The up grade consists of different oil in the compressor, cleaning out the lines,condenser,and evaporator with denatured alcohol and compressed air and replaceing the fill ports.

Cool!

what toyvo said... the fill fittings are different between 134s and r12... r12 can still be purchased and is a more effecient system, but youll pay more for it. upgrade kits can be bought at your FLAPS for $20 - $40 IIRC.

to clean an old system they will vacuum it out and they will also be able to detect any leaks. be aware theres a good chance the hoses will need replaced, its a good idea to do so anyways and you can expect to pay $100 for the hoses. I would reccomend you install all the components and then go to your a/c shop and have hoses made to fit perfectly.

also may as well purchase a new drier they are cheap and it wont smell bad like a used one probably will.

good luck!

Rookie,
Sorry to hijack this post, but when it appeared I just so happened to get a chance at the A/C parts off a '79...the price? 1 case of Miller Lite longnecks (cold of course). Since I was going to be out there anyway I managed to talk the guy into throwing in the vaccuum booster as well. Maybe I'll throw in another case just so I don't feel too bad. Hard deal to pass up...A/C and power brakes for the price of a case of beer.

Wow...thanks for all the responses...I'm out of $$ temporarily but luckily its just in time for the fall and the weather here is great. I'll definitely use the advice next summer. And Tex...don't worry about it. You helped out someone else too. Later guys.

This is not low buck advice but you might stick it under "if I ever win the lottory". Vintage air in San Antonio is the priciest but they do most of the product developement with an actual car on site and have super tech support. Many others wait for Vintage to bring something new out and then make a knock-off of it. The easiest mounting and nearly invisible unit is from Air-Tique in Cleburne, Texas but, it uses all vacuum pots to actuate the different functions which is not good on long cammed rods. Finally, Old Air Products in Ft Worth has some econo offerings that work OK. Selection is good but tech support not up to Vintage standard. Remember that with R134A freon that condenser size is very omportant, it just doesn't work great with a small condenser. Not such a problem with a pickup but a killer for a big old 4dr sedan.