A/C or not 2 A/C

[82SC]

Well I would like to hear some opinions (911SC 1982)

I am in SoCal right next to the worst freeway in the world the dreaded 405...so I have stood in some nasty traffic...no A/C

I have spend the first 2 years of porsche ownership with a busted A/C and been okay just rolling down the window or just turning on the A/C fan blowing hot air (and probably frying the compressor) I doubt that there is any fluid in the A/C...and I have not dumped money into it because of all the poor results
some of those days have been HOTHOTHOT...and my passengers are not too pleased

so what are your opinions...esp the guys in the southern hot dry states...

should I sink money into the crappy SC A/C and try to see how good it is OEM

should I sink even more money into it with snazzy upgrades and such...for a A/C that works (??? does it even work with those tiny vents)

or should I tear it out and just roll down a damn window???

I am leaning towards dropping the weight from my car...

thanks

[Jack Olsen]

There's no easy answer to this question. Most of the time, Los Angeles is pleasant enough so that rolling down the windows is all you need. But there are a few weeks every year, where it's just plain hot.

I'm in Los Angeles, and I've gone to fiberglass bumpers and a fiberglass hood to save weight. But I added AC components to my (black on sun-suckin' black) car. It cost a lot, and it's never going to be as effective as AC in a Toyota, but there are days where you just need it. Driving to Lancaster when it's 105? To Vegas? It's either a tow vehicle or it's AC.

If it's your daily driver, or you have a siginicant other with a short fuse when it comes to her personal comfort, then I think you've either got to get the AC working, or buy a beater with ice-cold Toyota AC for those triple-digit California days.

[epbrown]

I say get one of the rotary compressor upgrades, add the Carrera-style vent to the interior, and be comfortable in the darn thing. If the car is a daily driver or just regularly driven, you want it to be reliable and comfortable, so there are no excuses not to drive it. My goal is to have a Porsche that has only one excuse not to take it - too many passengers! Not stuff like "It's hot, or it's raining, or it's cold, or it's snowing." I may choose not to drive it for some reason, but I'd have the option.

And trust me, if there's a woman in your life, the Porsche can't blink, man - say "we can't take it" and it's "well, why do we have the friggin' thing?" I envy the track car guys, who've got it so easy on that front.

[R22tech]

The a/c system can and does work if functioning properly, however, it is a slave to motion. The way they set these cars up is very complicated due to the lack of space for equipment. As a result, the a/c system is, IMO, far too reliant on the car moving at speeds over 30mph. Below that, the air flow across the condensor(s) is just not enough, which means the temp. goes up significantly in stop and go slow traffic. Is it better than nothing: YUP! And if your cruising at 40+mph, it works very well. The main problem most 911 owners have with the a/c is a malfunctioning system. Low freon and contaminents in the system is the most common problem. The cars leak freon-period! How do you keep it in perfect working order? DON'T LET THE FREON LEVEL GET TOO LOW! Have your system topped off frequently and the a/c will continue circulate properly. Put it off and you are asking for contaminents- which need to be dealt with BEFORE ADDING MORE FREON.

[curtisaa]

I owned a couple of these great SC's, 1 I drove 252,000 miles. I believe they all came with power windows and sunroofs. On the hot days for the drive home, stop at 7-11 and buy the biggest size slurpy, roll both windows down, open the sunroof, put in a Led Zepp CD and be thankful you're not stuck driving a Taurus station wagon......I too live in LA and I know the 405 parking lot is hell !!!!!

[scedmonds]

The PO of my P-car was based in LA/Pasadena . . . when I got the car the A/C was DOA.

Here in San Diego, I waited 6 months before breaking down and getting a new compressor/etc. installed ($1200 -- no, I had my trusted mechanic do it).

It does cool the car, but it takes awhile and you'd better be at speed (30mph +).

The comfort factor on this daily driver improved 100% with the A/C working!

If you're living on the 405, and you're not looking to break the local PCA club auto-cross records, get it done.

Cheers!

C.

[Harry Dunn]

Get the A/C

I just added A/C to my '78. Bought the entire system from a track buddy who was removing it from his '86. Got the whole kit and kabadoodle for $600.

[Jim T]

I would do either 1 of 2 things:

1) Remove it.

or

2) Get it updated/overhauled.

Option 2 requires some $$. Because at a MINIMUM, you really should replace the receiver/drier (because it is probably not functional anymore), replace the lines (because they are not barrier lines, and at the cost of freon, you will go broke by leaking freon out through the non-barrier lines), and replace the clunky York compressor with a rotary.

I removed the useless compressor, non-barrier lines and old receiver/drier from my car. Why? Because that stuff was NEVER going to be used again, so why keep "dead" parts on the car? Since all that was gone, I removed the condensor under the decklid (because that's a 15 minute job).

I've been fine in LA without AC, but mostly because my car isn't a daily driver If it were, I would want a decent AC system,and would spend the $$ to update it.

[Jim T]

also, one way to help improve cooling on an SC is to remove the "bowtie" that sits on the firewall below the dash. Two 10 mm bolts and 30 seconds and its off.

The cabin cools down MUCH faster without that impediment.

With that slight modification, a good rotary compressor, a fresh receiver/drier and barrier lines, I think the AC system works pretty well, at least in the relatively mild LA summer (probably would really struggle in Phx, though).

[H20911]

Fix it !!!!!!!
Daytona florida
I think the 24 hrs is this weekend the track has been really loud with testing

[89911]

If interested, I have the entire system from an 87 that was working before it was removed. 3 condensors, upgraded compressor, hoses, and the electrical hardware. We are taking it to Hershey, but it may be an upgrade worth looking into.