Is it worth restoring AC to a '76 2.7S?

As many of you may know my car is a US (49 state) 1976 2.7S.

Anyway, half the air con. is missing (doh!).

I've called Vertex & they reckon on $2k worst case to sort it, but to definately budget for this figure.

I have a VW CCCool fan unit in the smugglers trunk & an evaporator matrix in the passenger footwell.
Does anyone know how to test what is there to see if it is servicable?

All the engine bay stuff is missing.

My questions are:
Anyone done this before & is it difficult?
Is it worth doing? The car is a Targa & the UK is a wet/temperate climate anyhow.
I will have the top off with just a hint of sunshine!

AC is nice in the wet/cold for keeping things de-misted though.

Basically opinions please. I intend to use the car for some track days, driver ed. etc.
But part of the conditions of ownership were that I pick a 'toy' which would be good for holidays/trips abroad & maybe AC is a good idea.

Does anyone in Europe (France, Germany, Holland or Belgium) wish they had AC, as these are all likely holiday destinations.

I don't want to spend too much on the car, it is a 2.7 after all, but $2k is okay. I need some experience I don't have to make the right choice.


Thanks, JG

JG,
At the very best, these early ACs are air coolers. They do dry the atmosphere a bit, though. Here in Switzerland, the brick red Turbo and the orange Carrera do not have AC. I do not miss it one second. They rob power, make the engine impossible to work on, and are a potential financial nightmare.
I'd say in GB you just remove the top and forget all these problems. Just put the saved money in the 911 reserve and get rid of the remaining useless stuff for a small weight gain.
My £0.02, GeorgeK

JG,

If you have the evaporator and blower motor, then you need to check for the rest of the components. Your A/C system should have the following components;

A/C Compressor- seen those for sale on E-Bay
A/C Compressor support bracket
Suction/discharge hoses for refrigerant
Condensor in engine compartment - seen those for sale on E-Bay
Filter/Dryer
Evaporator
Expansion valve for evaporator
Blower motor
Blower motor switch.
Temp switch to control drivers space temp

This info is to give you an idea of what may or may not be there. I am assuming that the car had A/C originally.

If you are not familiar with what these components look like, or where they are, take the list to a shop that does a/c repair and ask them to locate them for you. This would be a good starting point.

Steve

Hi,

I have essentially the same question for a 1987 Carerra 3.2, which never had airco installed. It´s a german spec car, so it has heated seats, but no A/C.

I used to live in the netherlands, but have now moved to Spain, and the summer in spain is more of an airco zone than NL. The heated seats are pretty much reduntant now.

I´ve seen lots of kits for "retrofit" of A/C but they all seem to be to upgrade from R12 to R134a. Is there such a thing as the "fresh install A/C kit"?

regards

Hugh

[This message has been edited by hughsheehy (edited 01-24-2001).]

Well, all new vehicles are 134A, and the older cars with R-12 systems are being converted. That is not to say that you can't get R-12 for about $35.00 lb, whereas 134A goes for about $2.00 lb.

The difference is that r-12 operates at a lower pressure and pound for pound provides more cooling than 134A.

134A operates at a higher pressure and pound for pound compared to r-12 provides less cooling.

To buy and install a complete system yourself if you are not familiar with a/c system is probably not the way to go. That is to say that it could not be done. It is a lot of work.

What you need to do is find a aftermarket kit, and take it to a local automotive a/c repair shop and see what they would charge to install it. They have the knowledge and tools to do it properly. They would probably warranty it for leaks, and your parts would be warranted by the manufacturer.

That would be the best way to do it.

Steve

Steve (or anyone else),

The problem simply is "is there an aftermarket kit?"..... Whether or not I fit it myself, I cannot find a source for all the parts and instructions in one go. I guess I could buy 2nd hand parts (e.g. from a wrecker´s yard), but I´d like to know if it is possible before I start hunting around and buying parts...

All the hardware should be available, but is is possible to fit it all without really hacking at the body of the car?... or are there problems in the interior, where space was never made under the dash for the hoses and controls?

I guess this is the insight i´m after..

I spoke to Vertex too. They make great claims for their newly developed kit, and should have info to back up the claims within a month or so.

Meantime, JG asked whether anyone in NL or Germany felt like they needed AC. I guess the answer to that one is "no-one needs AC in NL, but it can be hard to do without if you have gotten used to it".

Regards again

Hugh

[This message has been edited by hughsheehy (edited 01-24-2001).]