A continuing blog of my A/C conversion journey.

[1978 NYB]

Here come the questions...

Can I ask where you got new hoses from? Do you have the fans connected so they turn on and off with the ignition? Are you using R12 or 134A? EPR in with R12 and out with R134A?

 

[commando1]

Here come the questions...

Can I ask where you got new hoses from? Do you have the fans connected so they turn on and off with the ignition? Are you using R12 or 134A? EPR in with R12 and out with R134A?

There's a local repair shop that caters mostly classic cars and he's the go-to guy for older a/c systems and he makes custom hoses. The downside is he only can make hoses. He doesn't have the tools to do hard plumbing. I'd do it myself but I can't lay out hundreds of dollars for tools.
The fans will come on anytime the compresser clutch kicks in.
I have R134a in there now with no EPR valve and that's what I'll recharge the system with.

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[commando1]

According to my calculations, these brackets should be right on the money and line up with the existing mounts.
Should.....:thinker:

 

[commando1]

Spent two days installing the condenser and doing the wiring. Measurements were on the money.


View from the top.
Tight! Good thing I went with two fans to clear the center support and the headlight motor.
Just a 1/8" clearance.

Relocated the dryer to where the vapor canister used to be.
You can also see the relay for the fans and the wiring.

Viiw from underneath.
Headlight motor and upright support bracket just clears by an 1/8th of an inch!

The brackets mounted to the condenser are way over sized. I wanted to make sure I had plenty of adjustibility. My brackets lined up perfectly with the factory condenser brackets.

Monday morning, I'll bring it in to install the new hoses, recharge the system, and see if there's any significant improvement.

 

[commando1]

Here's the finale for the A/C upgrade Part I:

First of all, here's something you all should learn: After disconnecting the lines from the dryer, immediate plug the inlet and outlets. Do not let the dessicant be exposed to the air for any amount of time or it becomes useless and when the A/C is first fired up, the dessicant blows through the system and clogs everything up. That little screw up cost me over $200 alone to completely flush the system with kero, install a new dryer, and have to buy 2.5 lbs of R134A. Now I now know something I didn't yesterday. There's other people I could blame for not telling me that in the first place (like my A/C guy who evacuated the system in the fisrt place) but I won't. My fault. Period.

Also, had to again change the location of the dryer to better accommodate the new hoses.

The end result? A mixed bag.
1. The A/C isn't blowing significantly cooler to the point you can feel it mid day here on a sunny 95° Florida August day.even though the themal probe showed a few degrees colder.
2. The engine runs significantly cooler due to the condenser pusher fans probably helping the radiator.

So, not much improvement on the A/C cooling to justify the cost but a big enough improvement to the engine cooling to offset the cost. Those with persistant engine cooling problems on their big block will benfit by this alone.

I'll move into Part II, installing a high capacity Sanden compresser in the far off future, but that's it for now.
Some photos of the final and complete install:

 

[1978 NYB]

Great work. Those hoses look very good too! Did they make all new parts for the hoses? It looks like the metal fittings on the end of the hoses are brand new too?

 

[commando1]

Yes, he made the new hoses with new fittings. My only gripe is he and anyone else in the county doesn't have the tools to do hard plumbing (tubing).

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[commando1]

Blower motor R&R.

I've been suspicious of the blower motor in this car from day 1. On HIGH, it still didn't have the "oomph" I thought it should have. I had been sticking my head in the sand about the blower because R&R requires removing the inner fender. Big deal you say? Well...

According to the FSM:
1. Remove inner fender
2. Remove and install new motor
3. Reinstall inner fender.
HAH!!!!!!!!!

Real world:
1. Disconnect anything under the hood that is attached to the inner fender.
2. Unbolt 500 bolts attaching inner fender
3. Remove small trim on rocker panel cover bolts to outer fender
4. Remove out fender bolts at the rocker panel.
5 Remove firewall to fender brace that the hood torsion bar rides on!!!!
6. Push, cajole, swear, tug, wedge at inner fender to move it a couple inches. I t can't (!) be removed without disconnecting the A/C lines. No thanks.
7. Wedge 2 X 2's to pry out bottom of outer fender.
8. Remove power antenna
9. Cut 6 X 10 hole in inner fender where the blower motor has to pull out.
10. Remove and replace motor.
11. Do steps 1 -8 in reverse.
12. Install "access panel" over hole cut in inner fender. Access panel sounds so much more professional.

Results:
Excellent. I was right about the motor. If I had hair, it would be blowing in the breeze.

For future reference:
Swear to never, ever do this again.
I feel extremely sorry for anyone with a Formal that has to replace the blower motor. In fact, sell the car!

Next step:
Researching Sanden compressors.

 

[1978 NYB]

Blower motor R&R.

I've been suspicious of the blower motor in this car from day 1. On HIGH, it still didn't have the "oomph" I thought it should have. I had been sticking my head in the sand about the blower because R&R requires removing the inner fender. Big deal you say? Well...

According to the FSM:
1. Remove inner fender
2. Remove and install new motor
3. Reinstall inner fender.
HAH!!!!!!!!!

Real world:
1. Disconnect anything under the hood that is attached to the inner fender.
2. Unbolt 500 bolts attaching inner fender
3. Remove small trim on rocker panel cover bolts to outer fender
4. Remove out fender bolts at the rocker panel.
5 Remove firewall to fender brace that the hood torsion bar rides on!!!!
6. Push, cajole, swear, tug, wedge at inner fender to move it a couple inches. I t can't (!) be removed without disconnecting the A/C lines. No thanks.
7. Wedge 2 X 2's to pry out bottom of outer fender.
8. Remove power antenna
9. Cut 6 X 10 hole in inner fender where the blower motor has to pull out.
10. Remove and replace motor.
11. Do steps 1 -8 in reverse.
12. Install "access panel" over hole cut in inner fender. Access panel sounds so much more professional.

Results:
Excellent. I was right about the motor. If I had hair, it would be blowing in the breeze.

For future reference:
Swear to never, ever do this again.
I feel extremely sorry for anyone with a Formal that has to replace the blower motor. In fact, sell the car!

Next step:
Researching Sanden compressors.

Replacing the blower motor was one of the first and painful repairs I had to make to my NY'er. The blower motor must of seized up from sitting for years. It also burned up the blower motor resistor after someone tried to operate the A/C after the blower motor seized up. I took the hood off, it made it easier to get at the blower motor. Did you cut an access panel in yours or do just recommend it? I still have to get to the rest of the system under the dash. I believe I have some blend door issues. No air coming out of the A/C vents but I hear the blower motor blowing like crazy.

 

[commando1]

Did you cut an access panel in yours or do just recommend it?

After doing absolutely everything possible including distorting the inner fender way beyond my comfort level, I needed at least two more inches to pull the motor forward for the squirrel cage to clear the housing. I absolutely refused to disconnect my A/C lines!!!! I checked with two other NYB guys who's expertise i trust and they both said "yep, bite the bullet. CUT!" LOL

It turned my stomach cutting that hole because that to me that is doing a real hack repair job. I'm still not comfortable with myself for doing that but it's done.

The only saving grace was that I kept remembering how it was standard operating procedure back in the sixties on the first gen Mustangs to have to cut a hole to get at the upper ball joints to grease them. We all did it. Even the Ford service departments.

 

[Stormer]

Wow! I am super impressed here. Atta boy Commando.

 

[commando1]

And I bled profusely...

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[Fishfan]

Great thread.

 

[commando1]

Great thread.

Ready to go attack it now?

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[monaco75]

So how about that sanden compressor??

 

[70bigblockdodge]

You had a Mustang?

 

[Fishfan]

Ready to go attack it now?

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Not a job like that!

I'm learning as I go. I found out one of my issues was that the "fresh air" actuator was stuck in the open position. This was blending hot air from outside the car with my air conditioned air. At speed, the hot air was winning. I manually closed the fresh air door and this made a marked improvement. Not really interested in getting the actuator working again as it's a feature I can live with out, besides there are two fresh air vents I can manually open using the pulls under the steering wheel.

The other issue which I've identified in another thread is that the blower only works on high. My suspicion is that it's the blower motor resistor that's blown. I've ordered an NOS part and have my fingers crossed that this solves it.

 

[Fishfan]

Also, I am interested in the two pusher fans you put in front of the condenser. You mentioned it actually didn't help with the AC temperature but did with the engine temperature. In traffic in Miami it's a constant battle to keep that temp needle from being pegged on High. It makes for a less than pleasurable driving experience (stressful).

 

[commando1]

So how about that sanden compressor??

Someday.....
Maybe....

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[commando1]

RE: pusher fans.
I'm backing up on that statement.
Recently, I accidently disconnected the pusher fans and it DID make a big difference. I take back that statement now and I HIGHLY urge the use of high cfm pushers with the 134A.
I'm glad you brought that up. In fact, I need to do it on my Newport now.
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