Help Confirming Firewall Holes Placement for 40 Series Factory A/C Lines/Drain Hose (and is Factory A/C Worth the Trouble Installing?) (1 Viewer)

[HJ47]

Hello. I'm considering adding factory A/C to my RHD '84 troopy (grey pic shows my firewall below) Could someone confirm if the blue BJ46's line and drain hole in the firewall is correct? I believe that fj.co says that '83 BJ46 had factory A/C, but I want to confirm the hole placement.

I should also ask if those with factory A/C think it is worth the trouble installing it. Does it help actually cool/defog the cabin to any extent...or just keep the passenger's knees cold?

 

[fjc-man]

Yes, the two together are for the high and low line and the other is for the evaporator tray drain hose. Having the Nippondenso system adds to the originality and is definitely better than nothing. I can’t speak to the cooling capacity of aftermarket systems because I don’t have any experience with them.

 

[HJ47]

@fjc-man Thanks for the reply. If I copy the approximate placement and hole size (of those three highlighted holes) on the blue BJ firewall, I should be good? Just those three holes needed for a/c?

 

[fjc-man]

If you actually have a RHD system yes. Just curious, do you have a complete system for a diesel? There are differences between the gas and diesel systems.

 

[HJ47]

The PO installed a Vortec 350 over 15 years ago so the engine bay a/c parts are off the shelf stuff. I’m working on the body/paint now so no engine swap in the near future or anything.

If I do the factory a/c install I would try do it factory on the cabin side setup. New ND blower unit, control box and relay coupled with a custom wiring harness and OEM-like blower/control box mounting brackets. Again, debating if it’s worth the effort/cost.

One thing I do have is that hard to find main duct with the allowance for the a/c blower unit mounting.

 

[fjc-man]

It sounds tricky, I imagine you would have to do a lot of research to make that work.

 

[HJ47]

Correct. If cabin side is OEM , can I get the ‘universal’ engine bay side a/c parts to work together is the question.

The PO had an OEM blower unit (I sold it years ago) but he ran it with just with a single wire with a toggle to turn on the compressor. I think only blower speed was controlled with an after market knob on the dash. No thermostat or anything.

 

[John in Utah]

Correct. If cabin side is OEM , can I get the ‘universal’ engine bay side a/c parts to work together is the question.

The PO had an OEM blower unit (I sold it years ago) but he ran it with just with a single wire with a toggle to turn on the compressor. I think only blower speed was controlled with an after market knob on the dash. No thermostat or anything.

If you have a diesel controller the fan control will work but you’ll need to turn the compressor on and off manually. Or at least I assume it works like that since I have a gasser controller and that’s how it has to work with my diesel.

Make sure you buy a FJ controller (or trade me a diesel one for mine!) and it should be no problem to wire the signal to the coil of your SBC

Engine side plumbing shouldn’t matter, only issue is adapting the fittings. Let us know what you find, id like to go universal for my engine side one day and put a new condenser in.

 

[cult45]

I can't comment on the firewall holes, but I can answer a couple of your other questions. Info from good sources.

The compressor switch varies in it's functionality diesel to petrol. I don't know the exact differences but you're best running a diesel switch on a diesel and petrol switch on a petrol. Something to do with the idle up when the engine is idling, other than that I don't know I'm afraid.

Is the factory A/C worth it? In a troopy, hard to say. In a ute? Yes. Lots of blokes down here run them and after basically overhauling the entire system they reckon they're a champion of a thing. 'Icy cold' is the term most used.

I'm almost certain you can mix Vortec engine bay parts with OE Toyota cabin parts. I mean, there was a bloke landed on the moon once. I'm sure some A/C parts can be integrated.

My 2c

 

[HJ47]

Good info guys. As far as cooling a troopy, I thought I read on MUD about someone hanging a clear shower curtain on a spring rod, just behind the B pillar.

That would give you the ute size, but you may come across as a serial killer transporting bodies.