Adding a/c

[Hoppe]

All,
A general newbie question. I am considering the purchase of a non-a/c 911. How difficult would it be to add a/c to a non-a/c car?

Thanks in advance.

GH

[DaveMcKenz]

It depends on how it got to be non-a/c. Factory? Disconnected? How disconnected? I think you are looking at $1-4K depending on what parts, if any are present.
Good luck,
Dave

[Jesse16]

You need to add some info. on the specific year and model car. Bottom line, its a-lot of work and cost for marginal AC at best. Better to get a car with AC already if its something you actually require to work half decently. And with an air-cooled car, it will always be crap compared to a modern car so be warned. I spent a pile of $$ to upgrade mine and its OK, I have a sense of humor, my wife not so much.

[Eli W]

My AC was not working at the time I purchased my car, the compressor is now sitting on my garage floor. I live in Oklahoma but I'm not going to bother with getting the AC working I don't see the point. As mentioned above it costs a ton to get it to work okay but not great.

To get my ac to work, I just roll down the windows and drive faster.

[T77911S]

you know putting a system in is probably not much more if any than what some spend "upgrading" their systems.
some of the parts outside of an upgrade would be any ducting up front, fan/controls, brackets for the compressor and prbably most dont replace the condensors. it would be best to put in 2 and up front needs a fan too. well now it sounds like a lot.
then you need compressor andlines, expansion valve and drier and evaporator.

a lot of people pull the AC out (i think is a big mistake) so there are factory parts out there. infact the PO of my 77 pulled my AC out but i still have a lot of the parts. i have a rear condensor and some brackets i think. (no longer ahve the car.) i was working towards putting it back in.

[Hoppe]

The car is a '83 911SC Targa. Owner says it had aftermarket a/c installed by the dealer and he pulled it out, so I assume some of the "plumbing" is still there.

[Ronnie's.930]

GH,

Here's a recent thread on the subject from the Turbo forum. . . Steve, the thread starter, installed a completer system in his originally non-a/c, SC/Turbo conversion.

Retroair complete system in my non a/c car

[wwest]

The only aftermarket A/C I have seen was a real KLUDGE, I ripped it out right away.

If it's not to late I would begin looking for a car with factory air or one that came with factory air.

Factory air systems can be made to work phenomenally well for as little as $500.00.

[T77911S]

i have a rear condensor and some brackets that came off a 77 2.7. if interested i will dig them out. i may be able to get more parts from a friend that closed his shop, dont know whaet he has but i am not going to bug him if you are not serious.

[kuehl]

Originally Posted by Hoppe

The car is a '83 911SC Targa. Owner says it had aftermarket a/c installed by the dealer and he pulled it out, so I assume some of the "plumbing" is still there.

Assuming the aftermarket system used the factory designed vent tubes to get air from the evap box outlet to the car vents, and it had a Behr evap box.
Figure 25 hours of labor.

If you email we can provide you the list of parts.

[Hoppe]

Wow, thanks for all the info. It looks like I either need to change directions or find out how much is left. Hopefully I won't bite off more than I can chew.

[wwest]

Originally Posted by kuehl

Assuming the aftermarket system used the factory designed vent tubes to get air from the evap box outlet to the car vents, and it had a Behr evap box.
Figure 25 hours of labor.

If you email we can provide you the list of parts.

25 hours of labor and upwards of $5,000.00 for retail parts, even more if you select the wrong (right?) venders.

If you buy the car and still want to A/C buy the parts from a wrecking yard.

[kuehl]

[Royze]

I took off my AC after my rebuild, instead of replacing it with an expensive system, I decided to backdate my rear quarter windows and I installed the side vents on the front door frames.

I was really impressed by the amount of fresh air that circulates in the car, if I still have an AC, the side vents would make it redundant. as long as the car is moving, even at less than 5KM/h i felt a great deal of wind coming through.

If you decide to go through the same route, I suggest you try sitting in an early 911/912 and see for your self. those things really worked.

[Hoppe]

Following is from the owner:
"I have most of the parts. The condenser fan assembly is shot. One of the lines
from compressor to condenser was cracked and split so it is gone. The switches
were junk. The compressor, cooling radiator, accumulator, mounts and a few other
parts were pretty good. No idea what it would take to reinstall. "

Based on this, what would be a good estimate for cost to update?

[zzwhm]

PO did my 88 and it works reasonably well - which means as long as outside temp is <90 and you don't sit in the sun too long. All new barrier hoses, new compressor, procooler. Pretty sure the rest was already on the car and reused. Receipts for about $3K.

[kuehl]

Originally Posted by Hoppe

Following is from the owner:
"I have most of the parts. The condenser fan assembly is shot. One of the lines
from compressor to condenser was cracked and split so it is gone. The switches
were junk. The compressor, cooling radiator, accumulator, mounts and a few other
parts were pretty good. No idea what it would take to reinstall. "

Based on this, what would be a good estimate for cost to update?

1) New Barrier hose set, with low high pressure switch.
2) New Drier
3) Good used front condenser blower assembly, with new motor and inline 7-10 amp fuse
4) New Thermostat
5) New Fan speed switch
6) Inspect condenser hose connection manifolds, straighten fins out on condensers, pressure test, or find good used condensers.
7) New 507 compressor
8) For NC, a stock system will not blow cold enough. At least one fender condenser needed depending upon car color, cab, targa or coupe, number of occupants and personal needs. Upgrade evap and new TEV, reseal evap box. Test evap blower motor if shot upgrade to higher output, insure 20+ amp primary ac relay in smugglers box. Add additional vents.

Read:
The Mr. Ice Project

[RNajarian]

I shudder to contribute to a Pelican A/C thread, too often they go south QUICK

A couple of years ago I was in the same boat as you were. I loved my 1975 911 S 3.0 (California Smog EXEMPT). Mechanically in great condition, does not leak drives like a dream but No A/C

See the threads of my A/C journey

I may have sold my soul to the A/C Devil

All the advice you get is very helpful, but perhaps not suitable for your particular situation.

My car had the dealer installed unit done in 1975. Parts of the system were removed over the years. All that remained were the expansion valve, evaporator, and the under dash vents.

I researched Porsche A/C systems extensively, learned the differences between early and later air cooled A/C systems and over the summer of 2013 I reinstalled the system, incorporating upgrades from later systems. (Example: two condensers versus the one that was originally installed in 1975.)

I did most of the homework here on Pelican and with minimal investment I am very happy with the results.

The aftermarket systems out there are great! I was nervous about all the negative press about 911 A/C systems, so before investing $$$$ on a system that did not perform well enough for MY particular situation, I decided to reinstall the stock system, get a baseline performance then upgrade to new hardware to get improved cooling.

That was the original intent. The "problem" is that once I tweaked my stock system I was happy with the result so I am using the current system until something breaks/leaks/fails and I will then change/upgrade the hardware.

It has been nearly 2 years since I reinstalled my system and still have acceptable refrigerant levels.

Below are a series of photos taken from a recent drive in Southern California, ambient temperature was 84 degrees F with low humidity (I know my results would differ in more humid parts of the country). The drive was about 45 minutes on the freeway going steady 65 mph. After 35 minutes I began to increase the temperature to prevent icing of the evaporator (though it was a dry Southern California day).

My advice, see what you may already have installed, consider your location (heat/humidity) and of course set a reasonable budget. The Pelican Brain Trust really helped me out

Good luck!

[wwest]

Originally Posted by RNajarian

I shudder to contribute to a Pelican A/C thread, too often they go south QUICK

A couple of years ago I was in the same boat as you were. I loved my 1975 911 S 3.0 (California Smog EXEMPT). Mechanically in great condition, does not leak drives like a dream but No A/C

See the threads of my A/C journey

I may have sold my soul to the A/C Devil

All the advice you get is very helpful, but perhaps not suitable for your particular situation.

My car had the dealer installed unit done in 1975. Parts of the system were removed over the years. All that remained were the expansion valve, evaporator, and the under dash vents.

I researched Porsche A/C systems extensively, learned the differences between early and later air cooled A/C systems and over the summer of 2013 I reinstalled the system, incorporating upgrades from later systems. (Example: two condensers versus the one that was originally installed in 1975.)

I did most of the homework here on Pelican and with minimal investment I am very happy with the results.

The aftermarket systems out there are great! I was nervous about all the negative press about 911 A/C systems, so before investing $$$$ on a system that did not perform well enough for MY particular situation, I decided to reinstall the stock system, get a baseline performance then upgrade to new hardware to get improved cooling.

That was the original intent. The "problem" is that once I tweaked my stock system I was happy with the result so I am using the current system until something breaks/leaks/fails and I will then change/upgrade the hardware.

It has been nearly 2 years since I reinstalled my system and still have acceptable refrigerant levels.

Below are a series of photos taken from a recent drive in Southern California, ambient temperature was 84 degrees F with low humidity (I know my results would differ in more humid parts of the country). The drive was about 45 minutes on the freeway going steady 65 mph. After 35 minutes I began to increase the temperature to prevent icing of the evaporator (though it was a dry Southern California day).

My advice, see what you may already have installed, consider your location (heat/humidity) and of course set a reasonable budget. The Pelican Brain Trust really helped me out

Good luck!

Factory A/C equivalent to 1978....!

Simple, inexpensive, addition for Texas HEAT & Rh.

I "WWested" my 84's a/c system

[DaveMcKenz]

Thanks, Mr. West. Here is a tidied up version of that setup. 8" fans plus engine compartment blower, pulling through condenser and exhausting through engine tin to ground. So far no problem for the alternator. Hot weather has not yet arrived to test the arrangement.
Dave