Electric AC system Classic Retrofit

[leadslead51]

has anyone out there purchase/installed one of the electric AC systems from Classic Retrofit in the UK or other systems that they like and would recommend, I have a 71 T coupe, thanks, robb gwaltney

[targatuesday]

Lots of threads on the bird forum about this system including installs and reviews. Plus the owner of Classic Retrofit post there often and answers questions.

[b0rderman]

Mine is not the experienced voice you might have wanted, but I thought I would chime in as a new guy because your question has a lot to do with how I ended up here. Originally on the hunt for a 993 (in part because of A/C), I indulged myself and hopped into a 73 T at a local dealer for a test drive. It was equipped with a Classic Auto Air retrofit kit, and this changed everything for me.

Living in south Florida is bad enough when it comes to driving roads, but we've also got a somewhat limited classic car driving season (inverse to the NE) due to heat and humidity. I thought I was doomed to just appreciate the older cars from afar, until I had room for more than one extra car in my garage. Then came that test drive on a hot and sunny Florida day. The AC was more than a party trick, it was blowing strong and ice cold...easily as cold as my 997. I immediately realized that the modern retrofit systems could fill the south Florida driving season deficit that the longhoods suffered in comparison to a 993 (or 964).

When you are looking around at testimonials on the various forums, keep in mind that RetroAir and Classic Auto Air are the same thing. Classic Retrofit UK is very active as mentioned. I can't even begin to tell you which kit is the best, or easiest to install. All I know is I just bought a 70 911E last week (it should get here mid-month), and a Classic Auto Air kit will be installed in short order.

If it would be at all helpful, I can come back and share a few photos (not mine) of what I thought was a clean install in that 73 T.

[edmayo]

Watch your oil temps, I'd expect a front cooler will be necessary.

[Arne]

The electric A/C intrigues me, but since my '72T was optioned with factory 2-condenser A/C, I'm planning to reinstall it with suitable upgrades from Griffiths. I did that type of upgrade (barrier hoses, improved evaporator and front condenser) on my '84 Carrera, and it worked quite well for this climate.

I do expect that I'll probably want to add an oil cooler, though.

[targatuesday]

For those who may not have seen the electric air conditioning system for our old air cooled 911 yet there are some intriguing benefits.
- Cold A/C like modern cars
- No visible hardware in the engine bay most pieces are installed in the front fender, trunk, smugglers box.
- No additional stress or strain on the engine
- Upgraded alternator uses approx 1 additional HP to turn compared with stock alternator which is much less than an old school belt driven compressor

I have no connection with the company just happy to see someone making a product like this for our cars.

https://www.classicretrofit.com/

[Hugh Lindberg]

Mine is not the experienced voice you might have wanted, but I thought I would chime in as a new guy because your question has a lot to do with how I ended up here. Originally on the hunt for a 993 (in part because of A/C), I indulged myself and hopped into a 73 T at a local dealer for a test drive. It was equipped with a Classic Auto Air retrofit kit, and this changed everything for me.

Living in south Florida is bad enough when it comes to driving roads, but we've also got a somewhat limited classic car driving season (inverse to the NE) due to heat and humidity. I thought I was doomed to just appreciate the older cars from afar, until I had room for more than one extra car in my garage. Then came that test drive on a hot and sunny Florida day. The AC was more than a party trick, it was blowing strong and ice cold...easily as cold as my 997. I immediately realized that the modern retrofit systems could fill the south Florida driving season deficit that the longhoods suffered in comparison to a 993 (or 964).

When you are looking around at testimonials on the various forums, keep in mind that RetroAir and Classic Auto Air are the same thing. Classic Retrofit UK is very active as mentioned. I can't even begin to tell you which kit is the best, or easiest to install. All I know is I just bought a 70 911E last week (it should get here mid-month), and a Classic Auto Air kit will be installed in short order.

If it would be at all helpful, I can come back and share a few photos (not mine) of what I thought was a clean install in that 73 T.

Yes, photos of an install would be great. Most of the ones I have seen are for ‘74 and later cars. I’d love to add A/C to my car someday. Thanks!

[leadslead51]

thanks to all so far especially bOrderman for the info, am anxious to see the install photos although Classic Retrofit has some decent photos of install on their website. On my 71T it would most likely require removal of driver side battery box, nothing too major, one question I was wondering too is with the way using their system cleans up the engine bay I wonder why the high dollar backdate outfits like Singer are not using the system? just a thought

[b0rderman]

I pulled these photos from the listing:

[Arne]

I pulled these photos from the listing:

So this system is similar to the factory A/C but with one large parallel-flow rear condenser rather than the 2 condensers typically used from 1970 MY-on. A single parallel-flow condenser of that size should be sufficient for decent cooling, but since all the heat is being dumped into the engine compartment I'd be concerned about oil temps. The second factory condenser up front has the dual advantage of increased A/C cooling, plus it is dumping some of the heat up front rather than in the engine compartment. I plan to use a higher capacity parallel-flow replacement condenser up front on my soon-to-be enhanced factory system to try to dump even more of the heat outside of the engine compartment to try to keep oil temps down.