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Thinking about putting A/C in my truck. Looking for ideas and thoughts and maybe some pics. Any help would be appreciated.

Mike

I'll tag on to your thread if you don't mind. I've been kinda looking for a few years now. Had a look at Classic and Hot Rod Air systems - condenser units all seem too big to tuck under the dash nicely. Compressor and under hood piping will work OK.

Vintage Air has a small unit that should fit under the dash of the 41-46 models.

vintage air is the way to go there small unit fits behind the dash on my 27 delivery truck. and cools good and i am in fla

I have a vintage air kit waiting to go in my 48 6400. Did a lot of research and reading for a few years before purchasing, seems most everyone with Vintage Air is pleased, and the service and support is supposed to be the best. I think the price is quite good but not dirt cheap either.

Grigg

'Britcon'...I think you will be very disappointed if you put your condenser under the dash.

Of course Britcom meant evaporator under the dash. I have used both Vintage and Old Air Products on a 41 to 46 with equal results. I have noticed that they will cool very well at 55-60mph but at 70mph not so good. Since there is no weather stripping, just windlace, I think the air rushing past the doors and other not so tight seams pulls out the cool faster than the a/c unit can replace it.

*L*....guess the condenser would likely fit OK.
Evaporator is what my brain said while my fingers didn't listen as usual.

I believe 'coilover' makes a very good point. My limited experience has been that without insulating the interior with a GOOD type of insulation, the A/C unit will work itself to death and still not keep you cool. Not only does the floor and firewall/toe board need this treatment but also the roof, doors, corner panels, and so on.
What I would like to see is a thread on a good way to beat the large expense of buying insulation that really works. I have seen such things as house insulation used for the doors. This doesn't work because as the car gets driven the vibration shakes the fiberglass and it ends up in a pile in the bottom of the door. Forget jute unless your into replacing floor pans.

i use the foil bubble wrap that you buy at lowes glue it in every place you can get to.with locktight glue makes a good sound deadner and insulation 4' x 30' cost about 40.00

Here are a few photos of the foil/bubble insulation from Pep Boys installed with foil-side outwards using 3M Super 77 Spray Adhesive.

I used a Hyper Cool II unit in the 46 and happy with it so far. Compact and fit nicely up under the dash. With that being said the wifes 52 Sport Coupe has Old Air products in it and performs great. I also have a Vintage Air unit I am installing in a 35 coupe which I expect will work equally as well. I will say the fan kicks butt on the Old Air Products unit.

Call John at Old Air in Fort Worth TX. I recently installed the "Hurricane" in my 1946. It is the same size as a stock heater (like a 12" cube). The other manufacturers are 18" wide and there isn't any room due to the recess in the center of the firewall. You would have to space it way out from the firewall. Then you will loose ALL of the glove box instead of 2". If I had put my unit lower it probably would have cleared the glove box.

It was not difficult to install. Unfortunately I have not taken it to get it charged with R-134 yet so I cannot talk about how cool it is. I have heat, defroster and ambient air at this point. I hope to be inspected and get plates in the next month so I can follow up later with how cool it works. Be aware that you need to insulate the cab first.

I have a 37 Truck. Would the AC unit in your car fit my truck? I really would like two underdash vents (upper corners) Left and Right. But would be happy with vents running along dash as well. Thanks for any info.

This thread is almost eight years old and the majority of posters are no longer active on the site. Who are you responding to? It’s almost always better to start your own thread.

Beebs, two years ago I installed A/C on my '37. It's not an easy task to get one under the dash and not be seen. I used a Vintage Air Mini with three outlets, one on each side of dash, and one under the key. I was also able to keep the cowl vent working and most of the glove box for storage. Send me your e-mail via private message and I can send you some pictures. Private message doesn't allow photo's and I don't want to take up band width here. Cooling and compressor mounting was the hardest part. Even little systems like the Mini make a lot of heat that needs to be dealt with.

Joe

Vintage air underdash unit in my 49 is totally awesome in my opinion. I do have floor insulation and the stock rubber mat and firewall insulation mat that classic sells. Truck is fairly “tight”. My AC blows like 40-42 degrees once it circulates a little. It gets to the point where its too cold.

here are a couple pictures of a Vintage Air Mini installed in my '37. It blows plenty cold air, but being it's the smallest they make, it does freeze over if you try and run it at it's coldest for long periods of time. The bigger units don't do that quite as bad. I've learned to warm it up after a while so it stays cold but not freezing. Be sure your cooling system up to the task before install A/C. I have a mechanical 17" fan but could use a bigger one. My engine idles at 650, so if it sets idling with A/C on it will heat up. I refuse to install electric fans so I deal with what I have. An idle stop solenoid to kick the idle up will cure it if I ever get around to installing one.