I know it has been mentioned in the past. With all the talk about heat soak it may be important for any of us living in hotter climates to also consider heat rejecting window tint as a way to supplement the effectiveness of this system. Unlike the old style dark window tint, heat rejecting and UV blocking window tint is available in very light shades that don’t even look like tinted windows to most eyes.

There are also insulation products that can be installed under carpets, door panels, etc. these old cars will never be as air tight as a modern car but some enhancements could possibly make a difference on those really hot days.

@Bill - I have a Targa so things may be different. I always have full blast because I like the feel of moving air. Before I had this kit I never used the blower as the fresh air coming in was just as effective as the blower on max. With that said when it is hot and the humidity is high the cabin warms up quick. Not sure if it warms up faster than a coupe, but that would be a good test. Sure if ac is not really needed you could probably freeze yourself at full blast, but if it's that nice out is ac needed? I recently added movable vent windows and these are blissful as they are in a beetle. Direct high velocity air to the face.

Ran the car over to the AC shop yesterday to vac out the R134a. The shop said they only vacc'd out 1 lb which they thought odd since they remember putting in 1.5 lb (20oz). I am currently pressure testing again with 150 psi of Nitrogen. It has been holding for the past 40 mins. If you remember I did replace one of the schrader valves. The other was not leaking. Maybe I need to check that one as well. If the system holds at 150 on the gauge that could be the only place that it could leak out, or the system consumes freon - kidding, or the shop did not put in the requested amount the first time.

Volleying questions back and forth with Johnny and because I don't want to have an issue once I refill I have decided to swap the rear condenser with another formatted the same as the one in the CR kit. The one I have currently in place was from a boxster and the ports are both at the bottom. I'm not sure if this will cause an issue, but having a port on top for the freon to enter and then leave out the bottom seems optimal. The mounts I currently have in place will be used for the new unit as those do not change.

*Edit - Took the car for a 40 minute drive after having it hooked up to gauges for about 3 hours with no change in the 150 psi. When I returned I rechecked and still holding at 150 psi. I'm not sure I had/have a leak. I'm wondering if the shop did not fill to the correct level...

So I'm not sure why the system was lower than the claimed 20oz fill of freon. I could not find a leak and the system held 150 psi of Nitrogen for over 24 hours.

I have everything mounted and am just waiting on the "lost" package of fittings from TNT/FedEx. They have 24 hours left to find it, but I'm not hopeful.

I also uploaded a video of the the current setup on a 77 in case others wanted more video footage of the setup.

https://youtu.be/5AOfSk0faQo

Do you need the fittings and clamps for the condenser?
E mail me off line.

Bernie

Thx - sent you a PM

Nick
Fittings are on the way.
Fed X tracking #282206807716

Bernie

You're an ace, thanks Bernie!

The 2nd attempted package from CR came in today and also Bernie's care package of fittings. Got everything clamped and mounted. Local shop fill 1.5 lbs for my 2 condenser setup. Ready for some more cool ac and some testing.

I had noticed that your second condenser is mounted with the tanks oriented horizontally. An article on the Vintage Air website cautions against this orientation of the condenser, saying:
On a parallel flow condenser, the tanks run vertically, but tubes must run horizontal as well. Why? Because lubrication oil flows with the refrigerant in the system and will settle in the lower loops of the condenser, thereby obstructing the flow of liquified refrigerant. We have seen this single factor increase the internal pressure of the high-pressure part of the air conditioner by 50%, reducing its ability to work properly.

^very interesting

I read that too, but I saw it mounted that way in CR's documentation so figured it would be ok.

Nditiz1, thanks for taking the time to document your process and findings. I'm getting stuck into my own but am years behind gurus like yourself. Quick Q - are you open to printing a couple more of the footwell blowers?

@Glenfield - Sure I can do that. I have some right need I need to ship out, but can print yours next week some time.

Legend. No rush. Father winter cures all A/C deficiencies in these parts

looks like the 996 condenser you are using is split like this.

Do you have this as the first or second condenser?

Sorry for the confusion, I ended up not going with that one. I actually ran one that replicates the CR one. The inlet from the first condenser is going into the top.

http://live.staticflickr.com/65535/5...7e1c06b3_c.jpg

Trying to understand this statement and how it would impact the vertical use of the condenser.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1632857494.jpg

I mark the lubrication oil in yellow in this picture. It starts to collect at the bottom of the lower tank. This will restrict the flow from the right part to the middle part and thus more pressure is needed to push the refrigerant through the blockage (yellow circle). This in turn will rise the temperature and works against the purpose of the condenser -> performance degradation.
I think that the only way overcome this would be that the partitioning is not 100% and the lubrication oil would get through that (green circle).
I know that the lubrication oil flow “under” refrigerant so that it would be the first to get through. This would anyhow degrade the performance of the condenser which would not be needed in a horizontal installation so I doubt that this bypass is implemented.

I probably have missed something important here because my knowledge of A/C systems is very limited.

Hey, I'm late to the party...What did you use for the 40mm and 60mm hoses for the hvac ducting? The instructions say to use Webasto, but I can't find any 40mm hoses here in the USA.