Uh, Are You Sure You Really Want To Do This?
K_: I have a '68 Malibu parts car with air conditioning. I recently purchased a '68 project car without air conditioning. I want to swap the air conditioning from the junker to the "new" car. I know there are a lot of details associated with the swap and I'm trying to decide whether it's really worth the time and effort.A_: You have your work cut out for you. This is a major undertaking because the air conditioning car has special wiring, cutouts, tinted glass, balancer pulley, larger radiator, ducts, switches, etc., in order to accommodate the air conditioning system. It can be done, but the whole dash has to be removed in order to gain access to what needs to be changed. Try removing the air conditioning system out of the parts car first, and then decide if you want to go any further. You could also purchase an aftermarket air conditioning system which would cool better and install much easier.
TB: I have a '68 with air that has had most of the under hood pieces removed. That is a major project, just to find out what goes where. Modifications for in the car would be a huge and costly. SM: Don't even try it. It's not worth it. Even if you got all the parts swapped, you still have to contend with getting it to work properly. First you would have to leak-test the system using nitrogen or CO2 with the proper equipment. Then you would have to evacuate the system to remove moisture; and lastly, the refrigerant R12 is now very expensive, if you can find it at all. I just paid $700 for 30lbs. Don't try using the new 134a refrigerant, it won't work with the type of oil in the compressor, and you can't flush the oil completely out (which is required). Just roll down the windows and listen to the sound of those pipes.
Archivist: Tom Wilson
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