Worth Dealing With?

[nvr2mny]

I am assuming that this was a dealer, or other U.S. based, add-on. The car (1968 912 Targa) will be going down for a complete rebuild in the near future. Do you think it is worth keeping in the car due to its age, lack of available parts and freon issues?

[vulcan300]

Will you try and recondition the AC system or replace with a Griffiths or Retroaire setup? If so maybe you can re-use it. Otherwise I'd say get rid of it as it is ugly as sin.

[nvr2mny]

I'm not familiar with those yet, I'll look into them. I did find out that this company was a U.S. supplier to Porsche stateside then. I would figure that it may have some "value" in keeping it(?) I've looked sin square in the eye and I would say it's far uglier than this!!

[Ronnie's.930]

I guess this would depend on how much you like a/c in a vehicle . . . for me, air conditioning is an absolute necessity, so my answer to your question is a resounding "yes"!

[vulcan300]

After driving my car around in 30C+ weather I'd hand over whatever amount of cash is necessary to get air in my car. I'd highly recommend it, especially since the 911 seems to act as a big heat sink. Once you slow down and the air stops flowing through the cabin the roasting begins! I took my wife out for a drive a few weeks ago in the blazing sun with the top off. As soon as we slowed down in traffic she overheated.. It wasn't a pleasant scene :-(

I'm looking at a retrofit kit from Griffiths with new condensers, compressor, hoses and receiver drier. Others on this site seem to have had great success with these kits. Most of the AC components are fit for the junk pile, but the guys at Griffiths would be able to tell you what you can or should re-use.

[skrufy]

ALL airconditioning units in the US market were add ons for the US customers- Porsche had no a/c units at all in those early years. My first 911 was a '68 and had this same Delanair unit. The hard part will be finding the movable vents that fit in the unit- all 5 of them....... depends on what you want to do with the car- keep it vintage with the look of the 912 as delivered, or go with a later looking unit that bolted on the same way..... Of course, I would add all the modern stuff- rotary compressors, condensers, etc. IMHO, the 912 will be more valuable with the stock unit. Is it a Soft window targa? That would make it even more valuable.....

2 cents worth.......

Tim

[RSTarga]

from the looks of the car, you have bigger problems.

[nvr2mny]

After several days over 100 here in KC (107% today!) I'm inclined to see if it can be salvaged and/or retrofitted with modern components. I will check out Griffiths. You're right, finding those vents to fit the existing unit could be a challenge. I'll find out this week if it was originally a SWT. I'm thinking not as the car now has the factory rear glass w/ defrost. The cost of the dealer add-on for the A/C were equivalent to 10% of the vehicle's price back in '68, so it was a pricey (for the day) option. Thanks for the input(s).

RSTarga, you're right - the car needs a total resto - but it's a complete car with a dry and incredibly straight body. More a labor of love than anything else. Isn't that why we have these cars?