Pat - I'll have to check maybe that way will work better. Although I was able to get the box installed with the current clearance. The issue might be now the brake booster hose is in the way for the low side hose. The high side is fine going out the front.

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The hose on the break booster was an issue with the lines facing front and that was the initial reason why I ran the lines towards the instrument cluster.

Did you know that the top part on top of the blower/evaporator box can be adjusted in either direction to the sides? Make sure you have the blower/evaporator box adjusted furthest away from the brake master cylinder.

Agreed on the horizontal adjustment. Loosen the screws in the main air intake.

On my 85, I made a cover for the large hole where the original air distribution manifold was. I brought the hoses to the evaporator through grommeted holes in that. I tucked the high pressure hose under the vacuum line to the brake booster. I angled the HP fitting down and the LP fitting up to avoid the switches on the master cylinder.

Here’s the overview.

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And here is a closeup.

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Hope this helps. —Dave


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks MikeD - I did see this. I wasn't sure if I wanted to mess with that since my bowden cable looks like it will be stretched to the max even at the current centered position. As someone mentioned before there seems to be less length on early cars.

Dave - This is exactly the way I will be running them. My mock up looks almost exactly like your picture. I currently have the booster air hose disconnected while I prepare the final mount place.

I got some more done last night. Ran all the required wires into the Smugglers Box. Connected the Hi/Lo hoses to the blower. Just need to finish splicing everything together and place it neatly in the box. I decided to flip my compressor with the ECU connections facing towards the passenger side. This helped in two ways. It allowed more slack for the main power line and more slack for the ground wire connected to the relay. I used one of the two studs inside the box. The other stud was used to mount the drier. I ran into a slight space issues with the original drain. I have since removed it. I will run the drain hose from the kit in its place.

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So I got everything pretty much ready to go. All the wires were run to all the locations. I will probably clean up the runs and cover with sheething before the end, but they are functional and secured right now. The last of the freon lines were connected. I am going to see if I can get a tank of N2 and pressure test the system before vaccing it and heading to the shop to add the freon. I'm going to leave everything disconnected in the current state while I make sure everything is working and cooling(no leaks or wire issues). Next will be the 175 amp alt. Reading over the documentation I am wondering the purpose of moving from the 150amp alt to the 175amp when it seems like the system will be constrained by the 80amp in line fuse. I can only assume it allows for more accessories to run while the AC is blasting max.

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The 175A alternator has an idle output of 75-80A. That means the AC can run continuously at idle (provided the idle speed isn’t too low)

(We used to describe the 175A unit as 150A since we tested it at that output on a single V pulley without issue).

Thanks Jonny for that info.

I dug into the alt swap tonight. I had my housing refurbished by Shaun at Tru6. He did a great job. The fan was a little tricky getting onto the alt shaft. I think I was on attempt 12 by the time I got it. The woodruff key kept falling behind while pushing the fan on. I used grease to hold it in place but the fitment was so tight it kept pushing it out and behind. I finally got it. I need to run the POS to the starter.

I picked up a Nitrogen tank and regulator so I will get that charged and pressurize the system to check for leaks tomorrow.

Airgas was closed yesterday in observation of the 4th (happy belated 4th everyone)
I managed to grab a full tank this morning and test my connections on the manifold before hooking them up to my closed system. I set the hi/lo to 150 psi and it has been holding for about 30 mins. I feel it is safe to say the system is holding with no issues. In case anyone wants to do this themselves. The tank was $80 locally off Facebook marketplace, $35 for amazon nitro reg, $34 to fill the tank/exchange. I had a manifold gauge from installing a minisplit so I was already set there.

I was able to complete the alt install last night. The larger wires behind the air deflector make it for an enjoyable fit. A little persuasion was needed and close fitting spanners to get everything buttoned up. This is a fault in design by Porsche. Having to install the air deflector after putting the wires through just makes it a pain to work on this piece of the engine. Anyway, I ended up running the large positive cable through a small existing hole in the engine tin next to the starter. I needed to enlarge the hole as it would not allow for the thick wire and a grommet. I believe this piece could be taken off with just 4 bolts, but I took the not as good approach and used a long 1/2in bit with a drill. I had just enough clearance to ream it out. 1/2 in ID grommet worked well and I was able to fish the wire through. The space is difficult here to run. I used part of the washer system line that was clipped as it has some rigidity and is small. Note* be conscience of what end you fish through, one connector is made specifically for the starter and vice versa. My first fishing attempt lead to another after I had the wrong end going to the alt. At the alt end I used an existing hole which was for the original Beru wires to clamp to the fan shroud. I swapped wires to clewett ones while tracking down a green wire issue so the holes were now free. I tied back the original red wire at both the starter and the alt and clipped the smaller red wire at the alt with a new end connector. I believe this wire goes to pin 14 and provides power to the fuse panel in the engine compartment. I had 3 existing ground wires hooked to the old alt which I hooked back up. My main ground was connected to the first boss on the engine (82) and I decided to use that same one. I had seen others use the 3rd boss back. I don't think it matters as they are all grounded. The 3rd one back does allow for additional length when fitting everything so that is a plus. I need to reinstall the rear pass wheel and tighten down the new belt and she should be good for a test drive.

Does anyone know if I can get the freon filled by a shop without ever turning the system on? I'd like to get it done before updating the firmware if possible.

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After pressure testing the system I went to put the hi/Lo caps on and heard a crackling sound on the hi side. I got some soapy water and found that the schrader valve is leaking :-/ It is very slow leak and I'm wondering if the cap, since it has a rubber seal, would be enough. I believe Rennch had to replace it. What are the options here?

EDIT* - I rewatched the Rennch vid and saw he just replaced the schrader and not the hole unit. This Retro Classic kit looked like it came with a spare schrader. Let me see about getting a tool to get it out and then I will repressurize the system.

EDIT2* - I ran out to the local FLAPS and picked up a R134a Hi/Lo kit. It came with caps, 2x schrader, and the tool. I repaired my leaky schrader in under 5 mins. Refilled and checked for leaks at the valve and none! We are good to go to the shop for a vac and freon fill.

Quick update - local shop vacuumed and filled the system. I got back home and updated to the latest firmware 1.17. I ran through some tests like condenser fan, relay, and blue light, all were successful. I decided it was the moment of truth. I turned on the car, set the blower to max and hit the blue button. Within a minute or so I had some cool air blowing out. Within a couple minutes I had cold air. There are several hoses on the passenger side I need to run. Will report back with the latest cool report after that is all squared away.

I love this thread. I am soon to undertake this addition. But I am either search impaired or a conversion to a SWB car (mine a 68) hasn’t shown up yet. I hope I’m not guilty of hijacking—if some has seen one please let me know. I think my chief concern after all the generosity of shared knowledge, is where to bring the air into the cabin without or maybe minimum cutting. Thanks!

Thanks Bill! The majority of threads I have seen have been for later cars SC's and up. I saw 2 others on a 77 like mine. I think Rennch(youtube) has an early car with no center vents. He ended up using the clock spot. Im not really a fan of taking out the clock, but if you need more vents with out cutting that is a perfect spot. You might get enough air flow from the lower vents plus the upper defrosters. I can see how painful it would be to want to add more vents after the fact unless they are pre plumbed. Another good location would be to use the radio spot with some kind of vent (3d printed) I believe you would still need to cut a hole to get the air hose to that location.

These installation threads are wonderful.
It is great to how people are solving different problems.
Early cars have different types of modifications.
I am installing it in a 1970 911.
I am planning on using the Griffiths under ashtray center mount.
Pelican # PEL-GR-KUNT
It's listed for 74-89 cars.

Bernie

Thanks. I have considered giving up the two outside gauges. Well the one is a clock—but it still works after all these years! I always consider that a good sign. I probably noodle this until the hot weather is over.

If you do decide to move forward with this project please create a thread to note your progress and any issues you encounter. It will be helpful for the next guy with your model.

First impression update - This system is "OK" - I'm not sure this is a fair impression as the system is the base 1.17V with no modifications made to the setup. Also, I do not have the blend valves setup correctly with air shooting out past the recirculation duct. One side (pass) has no lower vent and the other has the achtungkraft Kool n Duct pre electro cooler version. Lastly, no carpeting is put back so the system is an open oven in the trunk.

EDIT* - the drive I just took involved external temps at 93F with 60+ humidity. The car was heat soaked showing cabin temp of 54C on the cig lighter volt/temp meter when I first entered. A 20 minute drive got it to 47C vent temps 60F. On the way home cabin temps were 45C and vent temps got a little better down to 56F.

My car being brown plays a role as well as the outside temp (93), but the system in my mind should account for all these things. 93 degree days are not out of the normal realm for here in MD. The air coming out got as cool as 56 at the side vent. The evap sensor which is located directly after the blower going to the center vent was 14 - 17 C which were in line with my infrared and meat thermometer sensors.

When I initially took the car out for a short drive this morning it did better. Temps were mid 80's, vent temps got down to 50 and the car was not heat soaked as it was sitting in the garage at 76f. It performed much better in my mind. The take away from this is that possibly in climates where temps reach higher than 90 a 2nd condensor might be required. I haven't given up yet. I need to insulate with the carpet and get the blend/recirculation vents worked out. After I work out the lingering items I will do a more in depth review. Hopefully moving my "OK" to "Works very well".

@latunabernie, thanks for the heads up. I tried PPs search engine but couldn’t find it. On Griffiths website there are a number of choices for aftermarket vents, including the old under the dash unit. Bill

I am curious as to those who are using some of the original condensers in addition to the one supplied. I am currently considering this for my 89 but do not want to lose the fog lights. I was considering the rear tire location for the condenser but have also been thinking that a new condenser could go under the car where the front condenser is located or maybe just put it on the decklid in a similar fashion to the original. I am in a pretty hot location, KC, so would using one of the originals and the new one be a better option??

This is definitely an option using the RC condensor in series with the stock condensor. Check out Targa80s install thread. He did just that. He put his in the driver fender which I feel is the best method of install, but as you said you have a later 3.2 which I believe you will lose your drv fog lamp. That is until they come up with a solution. Putting in the drv rear as Rennch did would work, but you will be running more length of freon lines which will affect the overall performance, but still better than a single condensor. If it were my 3.2, I would be putting it up front and losing the fog for now.