Vintage Air - Buyer Beware

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I have personally installed and worked with vintage air systems and have been very unimpressed with the quality and fit of the units. The components are mostly cheap and cheesy units, especially the air boxes. the knobs look like they are cheap chinese made junk.

sorry to be brutally honest, but for the money they charge for these "kits", they should be better quality and better thought out.

Noah
 
Sean, can you provide me the details on the hurricane you installed?
Thanks
R
 
ra81 said:
Sean, can you provide me the details on the hurricane you installed?
Thanks
R
Click to expand...


imabigbangkindaguy said:
Yeah Sean,

Still waiting for that AC write up.....
Click to expand...


I'll dig up the receipts on the A/C, here is the vehicle that received it. like I said earlier, some modification to the firewall is necessary if you are going to mount it where the OEM heater would go, otherwise it sticks out past the dash which I didn't think looked right.
https://forum.ih8mud.com/40-55-seri...g-350-700r4-split-t-case.html?highlight=700r4
 
Just Giving you a hard time Sean,

I think your build turned out awesome and looks great too!
 
I installed my Vintage system in 2003. It has worked pretty well.

I had to replace my blower motor ($62) after about 8 years.

Now (about 10 years in?) my temp switch works, but not quite as well as i'd like.

My personal major issue is I don't care for the vacuum system. When i go to WOT, the AC stops working. So if i'm towing, im at WOT a lot, and the AC stops blowing cold. In Normal driving it seems to work OK. Seems to do OK until the temps are above 105 or so. then it still blows cold... but not chilly. I can keep the windows up, but that's typically if the vents are all pointed to me. If i have a guest in the truck... it gets a bit sweaty for one of us. But don't forget.. that's usually when its wel above 100F
 
OK, finally got the unit to function properly on my 40. After multiple calls to Vintage Air by the shop who installed, the fix was to switch two wires on the AC micro-switch. So it is finally working. One comment on the "defrost" function is that the amount of air that is actually directed to the defrost vents is weak at best.
I'll run this system as long as it'll last but if I ever need to do anything different - I'll find an alternative.

As for my sons 55, he recently had to replace the fan on the unit. When he took the original fan out, it was missing well over 20 of the 50+ blades. He found them in the bottom of the unit blocking the air outflow. He though he got them all out but after installing the new fan - he can't get any air flow out of the unit now. He'll most likely wait to have an opportunity to get it back to the original shop now to see if they can get it working. This unit for his 55 has cost a boatload and I would definitely suggest to NEVER install a Vintage Air unit in a 55. Don't make our mistake - find an alternative if you can.

Sharp38 - thanks again for the contact info. I ended up not calling as the shop I used was in process of trying to work with them to get an answer. I'll most likely hold off until they can get to the 55 and see how that goes.

So after all of this I'm still of the opinion as I initially said, "Vintage Air - Buyer Beware".
 
ra81 said:
OK, finally got the unit to function properly on my 40. After multiple calls to Vintage Air by the shop who installed, the fix was to switch two wires on the AC micro-switch. So it is finally working. One comment on the "defrost" function is that the amount of air that is actually directed to the defrost vents is weak at best.
I'll run this system as long as it'll last but if I ever need to do anything different - I'll find an alternative.

As for my sons 55, he recently had to replace the fan on the unit. When he took the original fan out, it was missing well over 20 of the 50+ blades. He found them in the bottom of the unit blocking the air outflow. He though he got them all out but after installing the new fan - he can't get any air flow out of the unit now. He'll most likely wait to have an opportunity to get it back to the original shop now to see if they can get it working. This unit for his 55 has cost a boatload and I would definitely suggest to NEVER install a Vintage Air unit in a 55. Don't make our mistake - find an alternative if you can.

Sharp38 - thanks again for the contact info. I ended up not calling as the shop I used was in process of trying to work with them to get an answer. I'll most likely hold off until they can get to the 55 and see how that goes.

So after all of this I'm still of the opinion as I initially said, "Vintage Air - Buyer Beware".
Click to expand...

RA81, I was hoping that you had called Vintage Air yourself and had an opportunity to explain your frustrations and experiences with George. He's the top of the food chain there at Vintage air and was definitely in a position to fix your problems. You are also the one writing in this forum and have certainly done them some damage.

I can speak from many experiences, they are not easy units to install in FJ40's. After a few, I have developed a few tricks that aren't in their instructions. Hang the evaporator first. For the most part, throw away their brackets and fabricate something that fits, particularly the bracket on the front left of the dash outlet. Hook up all the hoses before you hang the unit for the last time, leaving the big plastic firewall plate loose until you get that done. Buy a third pull cable from them when you order so that ALL THREE of the pull cables are the same, not one OEM and the other two VA.

Don
 
peiserg said:
I installed my Vintage system in 2003. It has worked pretty well.

I had to replace my blower motor ($62) after about 8 years.

Now (about 10 years in?) my temp switch works, but not quite as well as i'd like.

My personal major issue is I don't care for the vacuum system. When i go to WOT, the AC stops working. So if i'm towing, im at WOT a lot, and the AC stops blowing cold. In Normal driving it seems to work OK. Seems to do OK until the temps are above 105 or so. then it still blows cold... but not chilly. I can keep the windows up, but that's typically if the vents are all pointed to me. If i have a guest in the truck... it gets a bit sweaty for one of us. But don't forget.. that's usually when its wel above 100F
Click to expand...

Peiserg, I am not sure when they quit using vacuum on the vintage air unit for land cruisers. None of the ones I have ever installed had vacuum controls. My 38 chevy has vacuum controls and it was built between 1996 and 2000. It has 515 HP with a Fuel injected 502 and I don't use WOT very often anyway.

Don
 
This discussion is making me a bit nervous. I purchased a vintage air system for my 81 that is still in unopened boxes. I was planning on having it installed next week. From previous comments, I'm gathering there are reliability, functioning and installation issues as described by a dealer. Thinking I should cut my losses now, sell and go a different route before I spend any more money on install and troubleshooting and having questionable functionality. Anyone have direct experience with the CCOT unit? Do the CCOT and hurricane units replace the factory heater also?

Thanks
 
Morgan7 said:
This discussion is making me a bit nervous. I purchased a vintage air system for my 81 that is still in unopened boxes. I was planning on having it installed next week. From previous comments, I'm gathering there are reliability, functioning and installation issues as described by a dealer. Thinking I should cut my losses now, sell and go a different route before I spend any more money on install and troubleshooting and having questionable functionality. Anyone have direct experience with the CCOT unit? Do the CCOT and hurricane units replace the factory heater also?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Don't take my comments wrong. They were provided only has recommendations to make installation easier. I cannot think of a single aftermarket part that I have ever installed on the hundreds of vehicles that we have worked on in this shop that did not have installation issues. Some are major. Vintage Air is not. These are the things that people that do it for a living come to expect and have adapted to overcome. The "once in your garage" installer can learn a lot from the guys that do it all the time. I installed five of these units in the past six months. Not one of these units has had any issue and all are working just fine. I can buy any unit that I want to install in any of these vehicles and I will stay with Vintage Air.

Regarding the brackets, you can install the unit exactly as described in their instructions and it will be fine. I prefer to mount my units a bit further under the dash, particularly on dashes without a lower dash pad. In those cases, I modify their brackets to fit a bit tighter to the dash.

Don
 
me, if you have a unit still in the box send it back for a full refund and walk away.

as for contacting George, George knows of the issue and could contact RA81 and discuss the issues at hand.
 
crushers said:
me, if you have a unit still in the box send it back for a full refund and walk away.

as for contacting George, George knows of the issue and could contact RA81 and discuss the issues at hand.
Click to expand...

You are right. George could have called RA81. You are also right that sending the unit back would certainly make a couple of points. The owner would be happier and more confident with a different manufacturer's product. George, at Vintage Air, might get the point about the issues people perceive about his product.


Don
 
Thanks for the heads up on Vintage Air guys.
I was just about to do an order for one from CC (from here on the forum).
Now though, I'll just pass on it as advised ..........

I'll also echo Morgan7's question ......... does the Hurricane provide everything, or do you need the stock heater, blower and ducting?
My 40 has nothing except the dash knobs.
 
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