A/C to keep or delete
 

Mine is a 87 3.2 street/track hot rod...no pun on hot. It's not a purest car.
The a/c is mediocre at best. I know the front evaporator fan is kaput and who knows what else. The question is to spend more on making it work correctly or remove it all together? I think last year there were only a few days here in Maryland, I wished it worked better.
I may be doing a Florida house in the next year or two.
I,m curious, if anyone here has regrets after removing their a/c.

removing a/c was one of the first things i did to mine, haven't looked back

it is a targa though

Dig in..a big bucket of opinions in this thread. ; )

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/795363-c-yanking-regrets-yall-south.html

refurbishing the a/c was one of the first things I did on my car, never looked back.

not cheap, but not hard to do and not having a/c would mean I would not be able to drive the car in summer.

I only have one instance of removing an A/C system. About 20 years ago I purchased a 1978 911 Targa for my son. A/C didn't work and after getting a quote for getting it to work I decided to remove it entirely. Years later the car was sold on Ebay and the buyer in Fresno hunted me down and called to ask if I might have held on the A/C parts.

I think you should fix it and keep it! If it is a real hot day and you have Porsche A/C, then when you turn it on the car will go from 97 degrees down to 89 degrees in nothing flat!!

Obviously it's yours to do what you wish :), but something to consider when time to sell. When I look for a used 911 (it's just my twist on this BTW :rolleyes:), I usually walk away from those missing their AC system (or components of it) & it's usually for more reasons than one. Yeah there's the obvious cost to replace &/or repair (if I could ever be bothered/persuaded to do so like a reasonable reduction in price), but it seems there are plenty other more "complete" ones with reflective asking prices that are just easier to pay a little extra for, especially if it works :D * I've never regretted bringing my AC syst. to where it was intended to be at, I could only imagine what it would feel like to not only lose the money it could command with it as well as, well... the "cool experience" I'd otherwise miss out on if I did get rid of it ;)

I live in Florida and decided to keep mine. I drove it today and windows down was fine everywhere I went until I entered the Highway. It's just too much wind and noise for me so I put the windows up and turned on the AC.

I hear ya all.... I sort of feel the same way. I just needed to hear it from others.

I'll just put that project down the list for now.

Thanks_Bob

I am very practical as to value. One of the cliches is we are keepers of these cars. There is some truth to this. Look forward twenty years and having an original car will be rewarded. Having a car that had Aircon and not having the parts will be a fair sized deduct to value. As the years roll by, originality will be rewarded financially.

If you're serious about the track part then there's only one answer for you.

Location, location location!!! I think your on the right track following your instinct. Worse case, you fix it up later!

I don't have AC OR heat......top goes down when hot, Jacket when cold.

It is just like an antique, you want it as original as possible. If I was looking I would try to find a 911 that has not been lowered, headlights messed with and make sure it had the A/C. Also no backdate/ front dating of any kind. Gold wheels! I would just walk away! That stuff seems fine to the current owner but we all sell our cars sometime. Sooner or later. Why would you want one with the wrong engine installed? Nope, must be original as possible.

I have no interest in keeping my car original for the purpose of re-selling, as I plan on keeping it indefinetely.

However, I chose to upgrade my A/C so I can drive my car year round in all weather conditions. And also so my wife will ride along sometimes too!

My 87 was already AC-less when I bought it two years ago. I do have all of the components, though.

Don't really miss it, however I live in California so I can get by without it compared to other states.

The one bonus of not having AC is that it makes working on the engine quite a bit easier!

It's a sport car. AC is just perverse.
Carter

+1
And removal makes working in the engine bay so much easier.

Then so is heat, and power windows, and power seats, and cruise control, and stereos, and power sunroofs, and cigarette lighters, and.......

I suppose we should all just be driving stripped down dedicated track cars on the street then.:rolleyes:

Yes, if you need cooling you should do it the proper way, cooling tubes threaded through your suit top, pants, etc, with a container of icewater and pump to keep the "cool" flowing, the way TRUE sports car drivers do it.

Let's see now, when was the last time I had to work on my engine......

Agreed, I like to keep my Porsche totally stock.

I say remove it if you don't need it. Just keep the parts in case you sell one day, and the prospective buyer is a stickler for originality. I don't get this obsession with "totally stock," especially with things that were added to comply with government regulations but which dilute the purity of the car (sugar scoop headlights, third brake lights, emissions components, etc.).

My car is my car. I am 72 and the car was built in 74. It will go to my son in 20 years or whenever!

It is what I wanted. It has headers (no heat) and all heat related parts are gone. It never had air. It has no sunroof. It has no electric windows (gives my left arm some exercise). It has no radio, (since you cannot hear it anyway). It has no fresh air controls (did not work anyway). It has a 3.2 L engine. It weighs 2360#s. It is a blast to drive.

If it is below 50 or above 100 though, I drive my Boxster. It is fun too, but in a very different way.

Yes, if there is really no opportunity for "sport" driving then I choose my '95 LS400, except for foul weather in which case the '01 (AWD) RX300 comes out.

But many are "stuck" with a single "sport" vehicle and there is no good reason for those to suffer daily with no heat or no cooling.

I am not arguing with anybody about what they should do, but just one comment. I never met an air cooled 911 (1989 or older) that had AC anywhere near adequate to keep up in weather hotter that about 85 degrees. My Dad's 66 Chevy had better air than any air cooled 911 I was ever around.

First try this...

One, make sure your Freon is full charged.

Two...for about 5 dollars, go to Home Depot, and buy a 10-foot length of at least 1-inch thick foam insulation for pipes. It's usually charcoal grey, flexible, and can be easily cut.

Take a look at your AC system under the hood for starters...there are HOT and COLD lines...you want to insulate the COLD lines, as they need to be kept as cold as possible. The heat transfer from the engine to those cold lines really drops the ability to make the system work well, and since the system travels the entire length of the car, this really strains it.

Also, make sure the HOT lines are as clean as possible, to transfer the heat OFF of them. The further the spread in temp from hot lines compared the cold lines, the better the system will cool. Good luck.

You have never seen a Griffiths Dual condenser system car. My 911 kept us comfortable in Savannah GA in August. I drive it in 100+ degree days all the time. It does great.

The subject comes up all the time. It all comes down to what you want to do with your own car. If you don't mind a car that can only be driven on nice days fine. I prefer my car that will take me to California right through Death Valley to spend a week in Monterrey this June. I can go through mountain passes and stay warm and I can drive in central California in 110 degree heat and stay comfortable.

It is your car. Do whatever you want.

But

That WAS exactly my experience with both my '78 Targa and the '88 Carrera. But it is my most humble opinion that the major shortcoming is the lack of condenser heat transfer capability in other than highway cruise conditions.

The first thing I experimented with was adding additional cooling capability to the rear lid condensor whenever the compressor clutch is engaged. That most definitely solved the problem of inadequate A/C cooling capability for me here in the PNW.

Then the issue of loss refrigerant consistently, ~2 year cycle, brought me to pay attention to that issue. So in analysis I came to believe that the loss of refrigerant had a direct relationship to system pressures, specifically EXTREME system pressures.

So the system in my '88 has now been revised to include a trinary pressure switch both to protect (***1) and control (***2) the compressor clutch, while the third switch element is wired to pin 10 of the cabin heat controller.

Jury is still out as to whether or not this will prevent the loss of refrigerant, R-134a specifically.

***1 Prevents the compressor from operating with not enough refrigerant in the system.

***2 Prevents the compressor from over pressurizing the system above ~454 PSI

Nostalgic AC - Male Trinary Safety Switch For Electric Fans - AC Pressure Switch - Oil & Switches

The above link is to the trinary pressure switch currently installed in the '88. 454 PSI high limit seems a bit much for our legacy systems as many of these components were not guaranteed against leakage above 35 bar, 500 PSI, with BURST pressures in the 50 bar, 800 PSI range.

So I have a RED DOT trinary switch, 325 PSI high pressure compressor limit, which I will install before spring.

Trinary II™ Switch Freightliner OEM# RD 5-4585-0

was the first thing I scrapped, stem to stern - but I don't live in the south

it didn't work, and if/when that system does it's mediocre at best

and it weights a kajillion lbs - with most of that kajillion lbs dangling wayway out beyond the rear axle

and it obstructs just about any / every service

and it requires to be 'slung' over the fender for just about any / every service not just removed

and I got good $$$ for the system

and I sold the car pretty quickly / easily for good money years ago - and the subject of a/c or "original parts" for that matter (long ago sold off in entirety) never was once part of any convo on the sale subject and had zero affect on value (I've since repurchased it heh heh). Hmmmm.

Windows down, sunroof open - drive faster. My pretend world / happy place does have me fantasizing about rear 3/4 window retrofits, I'll admit. That would make alllllllll the difference. Sigh.

If it's too damn hot, I'll skip that day. But as was said, it's 4th car so...

my useless perspective...:D

+1