Jared inquired about my AC install in the for sale section of the forum ( am trying to find the heater a home) and I thought this would be a good thread for those who own a 55 and are thinking about AC.
Many pics to follow but I will give you the basics now.
Ample research into the options revealed that only Vintage Air offered a unit that would be worth the time and effort. BTB, CCOT, and others routinely use thier products in thier project vehicles. They have great customer service and a good tech support. They helped a lot with the install and making sure I had all the components before I started.
There is a package offer for the 40 but it will not work with a 55 so be advised it required some mix or various components to get the job done cleanley.
Measuring twice, and constructing mock AC evaperators helped in figuring which size would fit and how best to maximize cooling.
It cam down to the Next Generation Compact unit. Got the heater/defrost/AC evaperator. The rest was pretty simple. AC condenser I got from a local radiator supply (saved some money there). AC pump, drier and mounting brackets from Vintage worked great. The bracket I bought specific for a SBC, short water pump - upper right side. It required some modification to accomidate the power steering bracket. Used a hacksaw to notch out the area. Fits like a glove.
I ran everyghing (hoses, drier) on the same side and passed the hoses behind the air filter against the firewall. Its a clean install.
Getting the Evaperator unit mounted required fabbins some custom mounts and I was able to use existing bolt holes in the firewall.
Dremel tool is a must to get the thing dash mounted. Wireing it up was easy but took some time cause there isn't much room under that 55 dash.
I went with the custom horizontal machined control panel, looks great and since it is servo controlled I didn't have to worry about vaccume lines.
Got it charged up for $90 and it blew 36 degree air . Of course its cold out now and I have not used it but having the split level control with the heater is excellent.
A couple of tips. I kept my original blower so I can vent in outside air and retained the rear seat heater for those really cold days. The heater doesn't seem to bake me like the original which is good and bad.
All in all an easy install for a guy who had never done it before. Plan, double check and plan again. The extra time I took to think about it made it a very clean install.
Questions? Pics are worth a thousand words......
Many pics to follow but I will give you the basics now.
Ample research into the options revealed that only Vintage Air offered a unit that would be worth the time and effort. BTB, CCOT, and others routinely use thier products in thier project vehicles. They have great customer service and a good tech support. They helped a lot with the install and making sure I had all the components before I started.
There is a package offer for the 40 but it will not work with a 55 so be advised it required some mix or various components to get the job done cleanley.
Measuring twice, and constructing mock AC evaperators helped in figuring which size would fit and how best to maximize cooling.
It cam down to the Next Generation Compact unit. Got the heater/defrost/AC evaperator. The rest was pretty simple. AC condenser I got from a local radiator supply (saved some money there). AC pump, drier and mounting brackets from Vintage worked great. The bracket I bought specific for a SBC, short water pump - upper right side. It required some modification to accomidate the power steering bracket. Used a hacksaw to notch out the area. Fits like a glove.
I ran everyghing (hoses, drier) on the same side and passed the hoses behind the air filter against the firewall. Its a clean install.
Getting the Evaperator unit mounted required fabbins some custom mounts and I was able to use existing bolt holes in the firewall.
Dremel tool is a must to get the thing dash mounted. Wireing it up was easy but took some time cause there isn't much room under that 55 dash.
I went with the custom horizontal machined control panel, looks great and since it is servo controlled I didn't have to worry about vaccume lines.
Got it charged up for $90 and it blew 36 degree air . Of course its cold out now and I have not used it but having the split level control with the heater is excellent.
A couple of tips. I kept my original blower so I can vent in outside air and retained the rear seat heater for those really cold days. The heater doesn't seem to bake me like the original which is good and bad.
All in all an easy install for a guy who had never done it before. Plan, double check and plan again. The extra time I took to think about it made it a very clean install.
Questions? Pics are worth a thousand words......