hello,
I recently bought a 70 chevelle, I am a 22 yr old college student, and love to work on it when I have time and if I know what I am doing. I recently took my dash apart cleaning and painting it, I noticed I have everything (or so I think) for a/c it was an orginally an ac car but the new motor (454) doesn't have the condesor on it. I was curious if anyone would have an est. on what it would cost me to have the shop hook the a/c back up? I know I have everything I need inside (blower vents controls etc.) I am not sure about the whole freeon and tubing and such though. Any info is helpful thanks.
nic

I guess the total amount would vary depending on your area of the country and what parts you need to get it up and running. You said your condenser is missing from the engine. Do you mean compressor? The condenser looks a little like a radiator and is mounted in front of the radiator with two hoses coming out of it. The compressor is the cylindrical unit that is mounted on the engine. A rebuilt compressor will run you about 200.00, a condenser will be about the same amount. If you don't have any hoses connected to the system, those will have to be purchased or fabricated too, and they will run you another couple of hundred. You would probably want to convert to R134 refrigerant because it is cheaper and easily available. There is a conversion kit made to do that and that is about 50 bucks. The labor is tougher to estimate, but around here you would pay in the neighborhood of 300 dollars labor to hook it all up. So total it up at about 750.00 if all the parts I mentioned above are missing. We are assuming that everything else works and there will be no other problems. My only advice would be if you can't afford to fix it now, please don't remove any of the components. The factory a/c will add to the value of the car and you might have the money to fix it in the future.

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65 Danube Blue MALIBU 4 door wagon, Disc brakes, F41 suspension,
GM Performance Parts 350/330hp crate engine with serpentine belt system, Sanderson headers, 700R4, factory air with Vintage Air conversion, factory am/fm stereo, tilt wheel.

with a little research you can do most everything yourself

I think I would plan on converting it to R134 refrigerant while I was at it, if I were you

hey thanks for the est. and the tips, I was looking and yes I have the condensor just not the compressor, I found this on ebay, but will it work? if so thats alot cheaper than 200 bucks for a new one. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6765&item=1875821130

I suggest you check locally before buying parts like that off of eBay. It looks like a generic A6 compressor which I could buy at my local Advance Auto for $85 (and $10 core charge) and I'd get a 1 year warranty and wouldn't pay $25 shipping.

The "about $200" that JimN posted would be for a remanufactured AC Delco unit ($185 here).

Checkout AdvanceAutoParts.com. I find it a great source for checking prices on parts without having to call around. They don't have any stores in Houston, but their prices should be close to whatever stores you do have.

For AC parts, I've seen several posts by people that were very happy with Nostalgic Air Parts. You could try them if you can't find replacement hoses. www.nostalgicairparts.com (http://www.nostalgicairparts.com)

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Ed
'68 El Camino (Current Project)
'66 Caddy Conv (Cruiser)
'87 Vette Conv (Daily Driver)

I would stay away from e bay for an a/c part too. There is no warranty and if these units aren't rebuilt right they may leak or eat their bearings very quickly. A good remanufactured unit by a company that will stand by their product is worth the extra money.