Aftermarket A/C recommendations...

[mac73s]

I am giving thought to putting an aftermarket A/C system in my 72 hot rod build. Does anyone have experience with the systems offered by Classic Auto Air, Retro Air (or other recommendations welcome) re how well they work compared to what would have been dealer installed back in the day? Thank you.

[blucille]

Check out griffiths. https://griffiths.com Charlie has some very well engineered systems. I used his kits in both of my cars, an 83 SC, black on black, which got the full monte, extra condensers in the rear wheel well, all new, barrier hoses for use with modern refrigerant (r134a), upgraded evaporator, blower motor and more. And the car blows cold. Very cold...added vents to give similar vent output to the early cars.

My 72 got a compressor upgrade, all the bits from griffiths, evaporator and fan, and other bits, it had factiry ac, so I left well enough alone, and the cost to use more efficient r12 in Southern California was reasonable enough that I chose not to change the lines for now. With that car in SoCal, it rarely sees any heat or certainly not the humidity as the black SC sees in northern NJ in the summer....different set of requirements.

Both both cars when complete exceeded my expectations for cold air and high volume on the hottest of days, with minimal added weight or load on the motor.

[RSTarga]

Do you have vents or any previously installed a/c?

[mac73s]

Sonnett43 - thank you for the very helpful reply. The car originally had a dealer installed A/C when new, but it was removed years ago so essentially I'll be starting over. At least from GRIFFITHS website, it is not clear to me whether they sell complete units (as I would need), or just individual/upgraded components. Lastly, the engine that will be used in the 72 is an 86 3.2 so some custom bits may be needed.

[blucille]

Charlie’s website doesn’t do his services justice, it’s worth a call to him.

He likely doesn’t have the underdash vents you would want for a factory look, but he does have kits that would include evething you need, from a standard “replace everything with modern equivalent of stock” to a “I don’t care about stock, I want the coldest system possible”

All that being said, if you want to do something different, Jonny at classic retrofit in the UK has come up with a very clean electro-cooler AC system....depends how crazy you want to go. Here’s a good thread on pelican. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsc...ditioning.html

[mac73s]

Oh man, you have now given me so much to consider! Car has been disassembled to just a tub so now is the time to install whatever system I decide on...thank you again!

[blucille]

I'll keep this thread going.....

you could probably do the old fashioned AC system and save a few bucks.

The electro-cooler from Jonny doesn't have a track-record, but would likely be more reliable for the long haul. My only question is, how well will it perform in the heat and humidity where you live....I believe you are a Virginia guy, so you battle the same summer nastiness I see in NJ.

and the other challenge you have is, with either system, you'll need to find/buy a decent set of under-dash vents....I do believe you will be happy with that solution, as I find my 72 to provide plenty of airflow.

I ended up fitting a few extra vents into my SC, the most recent addition is to replace the clock with a dash vent from a ford f150 pickup.....it fits perfectly and the added airflow to my face is appreciated. I'm toying with the idea of swapping the vent to the far left where the gas gauge lives....and move that gauge far right.....since the heat coming in from the door glass is what I'm currently finding most offensive.

since you are down to the tub, now is certainly the time.

in the coming months, I'm sure more people will be adopting the electro-cooler, and you can get some real data points as to how it fares in your region. You will want to order early, if you go that route, I believe Jonny has quite a back-log of orders to fill. And, you'll want to be sure you have the highest output alternator on your motor possible, the system draws a lot of current. Another reason why your 3.2 will handle this system better than the stock setup.

[mac73s]

I'll keep this thread going.....

you could probably do the old fashioned AC system and save a few bucks.

The electro-cooler from Jonny doesn't have a track-record, but would likely be more reliable for the long haul. My only question is, how well will it perform in the heat and humidity where you live....I believe you are a Virginia guy, so you battle the same summer nastiness I see in NJ.

and the other challenge you have is, with either system, you'll need to find/buy a decent set of under-dash vents....I do believe you will be happy with that solution, as I find my 72 to provide plenty of airflow.

I ended up fitting a few extra vents into my SC, the most recent addition is to replace the clock with a dash vent from a ford f150 pickup.....it fits perfectly and the added airflow to my face is appreciated. I'm toying with the idea of swapping the vent to the far left where the gas gauge lives....and move that gauge far right.....since the heat coming in from the door glass is what I'm currently finding most offensive.

since you are down to the tub, now is certainly the time.

in the coming months, I'm sure more people will be adopting the electro-cooler, and you can get some real data points as to how it fares in your region. You will want to order early, if you go that route, I believe Jonny has quite a back-log of orders to fill. And, you'll want to be sure you have the highest output alternator on your motor possible, the system draws a lot of current. Another reason why your 3.2 will handle this system better than the stock setup.

Thank you again, and yes, summers in Virginia are oppressive and I want to maximize the utility of the car. I like the fact that everything is contained in the frunk with the electro-cooler, but agree that more testing/experience with that system would be nice to have on record. Perhaps going back full circle to the Classic Auto Air system would be satisfactory for my needs. Decisions, decisions...

[RSTarga]

There are really only two choices, Griffiths or Electrocooler. With nothing in the car I would guess the cost for both is very close.
On a restomod, I'ld probably go with the electrocooler, the packaging is much better than the traditional system. He has a new alternator too, although your 3.2 alternator is probably sufficient unless you want heat.

[mac73s]

There are really only two choices, Griffiths or Electrocooler. With nothing in the car I would guess the cost for both is very close.
On a restomod, I'ld probably go with the electrocooler, the packaging is much better than the traditional system. He has a new alternator too, although your 3.2 alternator is probably sufficient unless you want heat.

Thank you...can you please explain the mention of 'unless you (I) want heat'?