Dne'
Well-Known Member
Wow! that looks really good :10!!!! Much easier install than all the stuff I delt with!
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Classic Air
- Thread starter AzPete
- Start date
RyanG85
Well-Known Member
I started out with the one on the left. I was not at all impressed with the fit and belt alignment, Classic offered to swap out for a newer version, probably the one you got. I decided to modify the one I had since I wanted it lower. It took alot of messing with to get acceptable belt alignment. Here is my reworked bracket after powder coating. The compressor sits about 3" lower.
AzPete
Well-Known Member
Nice work. You use only one bolt into the head? Also, the one on mine gets rid of the idler pulley completely. That is one thing I liked the look of.
daveSanborn
Active Member
Pete,
The compressor mount you ended up using is the same one I ended up using on my son's '68. It is a MUCH simpler design/install and after over 3 years of use it has needed no re-adjustment. It's held it's initial adjustment/alignment since day one.
The compressor mount you ended up using is the same one I ended up using on my son's '68. It is a MUCH simpler design/install and after over 3 years of use it has needed no re-adjustment. It's held it's initial adjustment/alignment since day one.
RyanG85
Well-Known Member
Mine uses 2 head bolts. I really like that new design and the elimination of the idler pulley. I just couldn't deal with the location being so high on the engine
AzPete
Well-Known Member
With this new style bracket, the compressor sits about 1" from the head/valve cover so without going farther forward, it cannot go lower. That is another difference between the two mount styles. Mine uses the second pulley groove from the rear and the large one with the idler pulley is designed to use the third pulley from the rear on the crank.
AzPete
Well-Known Member
Got the heater removed and a new length of hose on the engine ready for the hew unit.
The heater was installed in a different way that I have never seen. The fan motor was mounted from the engine side of the fire wall....yes, engine side. For that to happen, the fan had to be removed from the blower motor, the blower motor held in place while the fan is installed on the inside of the car, and then that unit held in place until the heater box got lined up. That would be a major pain..... I thought maybe the heater blower fan would slide out thru the motor hole but I could not find a position for it to fit. Anyway, it is out and ready to sell.
The heater was installed in a different way that I have never seen. The fan motor was mounted from the engine side of the fire wall....yes, engine side. For that to happen, the fan had to be removed from the blower motor, the blower motor held in place while the fan is installed on the inside of the car, and then that unit held in place until the heater box got lined up. That would be a major pain..... I thought maybe the heater blower fan would slide out thru the motor hole but I could not find a position for it to fit. Anyway, it is out and ready to sell.
Dne'
Well-Known Member
Well?
op Well? done anything yet?
op Well? done anything yet?
AzPete
Well-Known Member
"AzPete" said:
This is where I am at now...........waiting for the air conditioned shop to work in.....
AzPete
Well-Known Member
"6t6red" said:
At last report, we had 4 left........had I say so we will see......lol
Dne'
Well-Known Member
I like the idea of this setup(refer back to Ryans photos), however just looks like it needs a little more support from underneath? I'm no physics/engineer expert, but the compressors acting like a lever on two little bolts(unless I'm missing something here)?, the belt is pulling downward on an already heavy object with signficant force, then when the compressor kicks in, it's much more force.
After looking at my setup, I'm ok with it. I don't see how I could have lowered the compressor much more without impacting the already made hoses, plus may just be getting a little too close to the headers heat. For me, I'll leave well enough alone. I'd hate to take mine back apart for modifications.
After looking at my setup, I'm ok with it. I don't see how I could have lowered the compressor much more without impacting the already made hoses, plus may just be getting a little too close to the headers heat. For me, I'll leave well enough alone. I'd hate to take mine back apart for modifications.
"RyanG85" said:Mine uses 2 head bolts. I really like that new design and the elimination of the idler pulley. I just couldn't deal with the location being so high on the engine
AzPete
Well-Known Member
Here are a couple of shots to hopefully show the level that my style bracket sets at.
About two fingers width (1+ inches) between the compressor and monte carlo bar.
About two fingers width (1+ inches) between the compressor and monte carlo bar.
RyanG85
Well-Known Member
Now that mine is welded, there are two bolts to the head and 3 to the water pump. Only missing one bolt from the original design. That bracket is heavy duty. There will be no flex issues."Dne'" said:
AzPete
Well-Known Member
Damn air conditioner.....it better freeze me out of that car......more later, gotta stop the blood.
Day 2 has come and gone, and we're still not done. I'm gonna kill someone soon! My back, arm, and sides are all bruised and sore from lying underneath trying to fit GD flexible hoses to the A/C manifold. If one of the SOB's falls off again, I'm going to shoot it!
AzPete
Well-Known Member
"miketyler" said:
Yep, just another one of those things ya find when you buy a car. It is on the list.......
AzPete
Well-Known Member
I cannot thank Randy enough for the assistance provided the last three days. With my back being bad, my time under the dash is limited. Randy now is dealing with back pain too. Says he will need a week at work to relax. We should have pulled the seats but the directions indicated it would be limited time there......bull.
The install took us 50 or so man hours. This is a Classic air system. The directions are very vague in some areas. When attaching the air tubes to the plenums, the photos are real weak on non existent. We found that hooking the tubes to the A/C parts and zip tying them was better. Then you can deal with the routing as it is hell to reattach them to the plenums ones the unit is in place. We were working thru the instrument cluster opening, the dash speaker hole, plus from under the dash and thru the ash tray opening.
Windshield wipers.......check them for functional clearance with every part installed. As per the directions, we did it near the end of the interior install.......remove half the crap and reroute the hoses. Of course, this is not in the manner the photos show you.
Center console.....damn near sold it. The pattern for cutting is a joke. It became a cut and fit....numerous times. I wonder what they had for a console to draw from because it was not a Mustang. The light is non functional based on the position of the hoses against the light.
They provide #10 tek screws to mount a lot of the items. Take them and throw them as far as one can. Either get some good quality tek screws or plan on drilling holes and use regular screws. The bottom lip of the dash is multi-layered so this makes drilling and the such a hassle. It can be done....just know what and where you are drilling. Lots of wiring involved under there.
The dryer is mounted on the back side of the passenger side shock tower....real nice position to drill holes or set in tek screws. Hose routing was pretty straight forward. Just use the provided oil and use two wrenches on all fittings. You will need up to the 1 1/8" open end wrenches. Check for hood hinge clearance before drilling.
The grill work was not to bad. The brackets and drill patterns are ok. Instructions were good in this area. We found the grill on this car was held in place along the bottom with one bolt and nut plus three wrong sized screws stuffed into the mounting holes with no j-clips or anything. Extra scrounging there to locate the proper items for install. We had to deal with a tranny cooler but was not a big problem. I preplanned it and had several length bolts and spacer material on hand so it was pretty easy.
Wiring was not a problem from the A/C unit standpoint. Replace the fan speed switch and plug things in. One wire to the dryer and clutch....easy stuff. We found a second wire nut under the dash.....this one for the power lead to the rear mounted power antenna. Redid that as a good splice. The first wire nut we found was behind the cluster and was a joint of about 5 hot wires. Fixed that one earlier.
The instructions said to remove the radio. I felt it would not be a problem to leave it in. It was in the way a bit but then we discovered that the radio has no plug for disconnect.....at least none we could find. All the wires were soldered in place.
Again, I thank Randy for the assistance....
The last of Wattles was real good also.
The unit will be charged and serviced later this week after I can get a appointment set up.
Randy's place for the last three days.....
Compressor hooked up and ready.
Drivers side between the grill and radiator.
Passenger side grill to radiator....with new mounting of tranny cooler
Where the dryer is mounted plus the spot where the heater and A/C lines enter the car.
Interior.....vents in corners and under dash
Another interior view.
The install took us 50 or so man hours. This is a Classic air system. The directions are very vague in some areas. When attaching the air tubes to the plenums, the photos are real weak on non existent. We found that hooking the tubes to the A/C parts and zip tying them was better. Then you can deal with the routing as it is hell to reattach them to the plenums ones the unit is in place. We were working thru the instrument cluster opening, the dash speaker hole, plus from under the dash and thru the ash tray opening.
Windshield wipers.......check them for functional clearance with every part installed. As per the directions, we did it near the end of the interior install.......remove half the crap and reroute the hoses. Of course, this is not in the manner the photos show you.
Center console.....damn near sold it. The pattern for cutting is a joke. It became a cut and fit....numerous times. I wonder what they had for a console to draw from because it was not a Mustang. The light is non functional based on the position of the hoses against the light.
They provide #10 tek screws to mount a lot of the items. Take them and throw them as far as one can. Either get some good quality tek screws or plan on drilling holes and use regular screws. The bottom lip of the dash is multi-layered so this makes drilling and the such a hassle. It can be done....just know what and where you are drilling. Lots of wiring involved under there.
The dryer is mounted on the back side of the passenger side shock tower....real nice position to drill holes or set in tek screws. Hose routing was pretty straight forward. Just use the provided oil and use two wrenches on all fittings. You will need up to the 1 1/8" open end wrenches. Check for hood hinge clearance before drilling.
The grill work was not to bad. The brackets and drill patterns are ok. Instructions were good in this area. We found the grill on this car was held in place along the bottom with one bolt and nut plus three wrong sized screws stuffed into the mounting holes with no j-clips or anything. Extra scrounging there to locate the proper items for install. We had to deal with a tranny cooler but was not a big problem. I preplanned it and had several length bolts and spacer material on hand so it was pretty easy.
Wiring was not a problem from the A/C unit standpoint. Replace the fan speed switch and plug things in. One wire to the dryer and clutch....easy stuff. We found a second wire nut under the dash.....this one for the power lead to the rear mounted power antenna. Redid that as a good splice. The first wire nut we found was behind the cluster and was a joint of about 5 hot wires. Fixed that one earlier.
The instructions said to remove the radio. I felt it would not be a problem to leave it in. It was in the way a bit but then we discovered that the radio has no plug for disconnect.....at least none we could find. All the wires were soldered in place.
Again, I thank Randy for the assistance....
The last of Wattles was real good also.
The unit will be charged and serviced later this week after I can get a appointment set up.
Randy's place for the last three days.....
Compressor hooked up and ready.
Drivers side between the grill and radiator.
Passenger side grill to radiator....with new mounting of tranny cooler
Where the dryer is mounted plus the spot where the heater and A/C lines enter the car.
Interior.....vents in corners and under dash
Another interior view.
My back is so sore. The only way to access the underdash without removing the seats is to put your lower back on the door sill and your back on the driver's side floor pan. Both Pete and I are so bruised, scratched, and sore.
If anyone asks me to assist in installing A/C in an existing car, I would say absolutely not. Although it can be done, it is much easier to do with seats out, no wiring installed, no dash, and no engine installed (to access the back of the passenger shock tower. A 1 3/16" metal hole saw would be nice to cut the holes for the pass-through of the A/C lines. We drilled out to 1/2" and hogged it out from there.
Once the A/C hoses are installed, there is absolutely no room under the dash: none. The hoses supplied simply did not slide over the flanges of the manifold and stay there...as Pete said, zip ties were used.
As a bonus, however, they did supply extra o-rings, although every fitting already had an o-ring on it.
Three frickin' days to install this with two people, who are reasonably mechanically inclined. That's ridiculous. And this company supplied the best instructions for their system; I can't imagine what other systems are like for installation.
Except for priming Midlife, I never spent more than 1 day doing a task during its restoration. And I never had to re-assemble stuff more than once. This system's underdash took 3 tries to get it right. I rate this installation up there with cowl repairs. As I said, it would be much easier with the car stripped and install the A/C early on in the restoration process.
Ugh.
Double Ugh: we are now out of Wattles.
At least the car is out of my garage!
If anyone asks me to assist in installing A/C in an existing car, I would say absolutely not. Although it can be done, it is much easier to do with seats out, no wiring installed, no dash, and no engine installed (to access the back of the passenger shock tower. A 1 3/16" metal hole saw would be nice to cut the holes for the pass-through of the A/C lines. We drilled out to 1/2" and hogged it out from there.
Once the A/C hoses are installed, there is absolutely no room under the dash: none. The hoses supplied simply did not slide over the flanges of the manifold and stay there...as Pete said, zip ties were used.
As a bonus, however, they did supply extra o-rings, although every fitting already had an o-ring on it.
Three frickin' days to install this with two people, who are reasonably mechanically inclined. That's ridiculous. And this company supplied the best instructions for their system; I can't imagine what other systems are like for installation.
Except for priming Midlife, I never spent more than 1 day doing a task during its restoration. And I never had to re-assemble stuff more than once. This system's underdash took 3 tries to get it right. I rate this installation up there with cowl repairs. As I said, it would be much easier with the car stripped and install the A/C early on in the restoration process.
Ugh.
Double Ugh: we are now out of Wattles.
At least the car is out of my garage!