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Thread: 73s A/C - Is It Original?

  1. #1
    Jared Rundell - Registered User JCR's Avatar
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    73s A/C - Is It Original?

    Hello all,

    I am new here and new to early 911 ownership – currently in the process of purchasing a ’73 911s (webers installed, inop MFI included). I have a ’60 356b coupe that I have owned for 12 years – I’ve been an air cooled Porsche nut for a while now.

    I have a question regarding my recently acquired silver s - hopefully you can help:
    The car has air conditioning (doesn’t blow cold) is a US model and has A/C listed as a (factory?) option on the Kardex. I will attempt to attach pics below that show a dash pad with center vents and a tacked-on 2-knob fan/temp control on the lower IP where the ashtray goes. I was under the impression that 73 A/C vents were added as a separate unit below the IP, and that dash center vents were introduced around 1977. I have not seen a ’73 with this sort of a layout before. Could this be original? Is there a difference between factory installed and dealer installed. I suspect it’s a cobbled up aftermarket setup that I’ll have to correct. If so, why would someone go to all that trouble re-routing ducts and adding a new pad with vents? I will most likely pull the compressor anyway- but I would appreciate some insight before I make any changes as I greatly appreciate originality.

    Thanks,
    Jared Rundell



  2. #2
    My '72 didn't come with air, so I'm not sure if this is factory or aftermarket. I do know that early 911 air is very effective, as long as the ambient air temp is 65 degrees or lower. Seriously, there is an "early S man" named Warren who posts on Pelican, I think he'd know. You can repeat your post here..

    http://forums.pelicanparts.com/forum...p?s=&forumid=8
    Paul D. Early S Registry #8 - Cyclops Minister of West Coast Affairs
    "Now, to put a water-cooled engine in the rear and to have the radiator in the front, that's not very intelligent." -Ferry Porsche (PANO, Oct. 1973)

  3. #3
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    The dash on your car is from a later model 911, probably installed to replace the cracked one most every early 911 has. If the ducting is connected like its supposed too, you should have more air flow - which is good. But that term "good" is usually relative to ambient air temperature. The early 911 A/C systems have the outlets in the "knee pad" area below the dash. As PWD72s alludes to, A/C in a 911 is fairly marginal as A/C systems go.

    Not sure if the 911s came with factory air in 72-73. Someone might have authentic parts stored in their garage somewhere. Maybe one of the authenticity books might lend some info. and pics of what you need. At the very least, you'll need an early dash to bring this area back to original specs.

    Sherwood Lee
    http://members.rennlist.org/911pcars

  4. #4
    Thanks Sherwood...I know little about those modern 911's...as was obvious.
    Paul D. Early S Registry #8 - Cyclops Minister of West Coast Affairs
    "Now, to put a water-cooled engine in the rear and to have the radiator in the front, that's not very intelligent." -Ferry Porsche (PANO, Oct. 1973)

  5. #5
    Jared Rundell - Registered User JCR's Avatar
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    Thanks for the info. Will I have to remove the windshield to replace the dash pad?

    I assume NOS or excellent used non vented dash pads are hard to obtain since so many were cracked.

  6. #6
    That much (I think) I do know. To pull and replace a dash, you need to remove the windshield. Fasteners can't be reached otherwise.
    Paul D. Early S Registry #8 - Cyclops Minister of West Coast Affairs
    "Now, to put a water-cooled engine in the rear and to have the radiator in the front, that's not very intelligent." -Ferry Porsche (PANO, Oct. 1973)

  7. #7
    there is a company that vacume forms a new cover on cracked dashes that has an ad in the star(mb club).

    new dashes are available for the older(ahem... best) models for a price. even a 20% off sale will still leave a bad taste. shop around, a few companies are quite proud.

    get a new oem windshield seal. you'll need it.

    i bit the bullet and bought a new dash for the 72, but i must reuse the old nonspeaker/speaker cover. it is still in good shape.

    griffiths had an article in excellence or pano on a 134 upgrade kit for older r-12 $y$tems. that looks like a york piston pump. newer rotory pumps are more efficient/vibrate less, but would not be correct/original. catch 22.

    sell me your s mfi stuff, if you don't want it. hint hint it is christmas time you know.
    72 911t * 74 914 2.0

  8. #8
    Jared Rundell - Registered User JCR's Avatar
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    Boy, the 356 world was a lot less complex – all things 911 seem to be amplified in comparison (including rear end swing around). I don’t feel so bad about spending $ to fix dash as I negotiated purchase price down as a result of condition. It does sound like more of a hassle to install than I anticipated.

    Car arrives tomorrow – only to go straight into winter storage. Well… ok - maybe 1 or 2 laps around the block first. The salt here in Michigan has temporarily washed off the roads - and it's a tropical 43 degrees this weekend!

    Surely I’ll want to keep and rebuild MFI – how about a nice pair of Webers under your tree?

  9. #9
    There were two kinds of AC available, factory and dealer-installed. What you have is neither. It was installed after delivery of the car.

    Factory had a piece that bolted beneath the kneepads, and included an integrated set of holes for a blower fan for the front condenser. There was also a rear condenser bolted beneath the grille.

    Since the parts were from the US, originally, it made better economic sense for dealers to avoid the double import taxes, and install a VW kit once the cars were delivered. They used a one-piece kneepad thing with vents, and often skipped the front condenser.

    Al least, that's what I've been told. My 73 came with the factory air. My 72 came with the dealer-installed version.

  10. #10
    Jared Rundell - Registered User JCR's Avatar
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    What I’m trying to figure out is why someone would do this? Assuming the car did come with the separate under dash A/C unit as a listed factory option on the kardex – why would someone remove it and re-route ducts to new IP vents?

    I could understand removing the A/C unit and replacing a cracked dash pad with a cheaper vented unit (with non functional vents) – but someone also added a new fan speed and temp control switch which leads me to believe there was some duct plumbing mods done as well.

    Was this a common thing to do at the time? Was it cooler (both temperature and style-wise) to have in dash vents? Did the factory units fail and need to be removed altogether for a newer type blower/vent system to be installed?

    I guess it doesn’t really matter, it’s all gotta go anyway!

    Thanks for the info - you guys rock!

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