Originally Posted by Peter Zimmermann
Here in the southWEST it gets mighty hot in summer. My '82 SC has/had factory A/C, and about nine years ago, before the A/C took a dump, I drove the car to home (Bakersfield) from Los Angeles on a typical 100F day. By the time that I reached the floor of the Central, CA valley, and still about 45 minutes from home, I had 250F oil temperature, and oil pressure that got scary low. The A/C died about 20 minutes from home. I made it home at 65 mph in 5th gear, parked the car in the garage, and thought about my choices. (1) Upgrade the A/C to the tune of $3K+, and not drive the car in temps over 90F, or (2) Remove the engine compartment A/C, and see how my oil temp/pressure would react to the missing deck lid condenser, etc.
The reduction in oil temp was dramatic, and, of course, oil pressure improved. That was enough to make my mind up, and the car has had the A/C removed since. It would have been a significant expense for me to update the A/C, using after market vent kits, rec/dryer, bigger/different condensers, barrier hoses, etc., and the engine would still run far too hot on those 105F days. I've never regretted the decision to to go A/C-less, but I left all of the hoses, rec/dryer, front condenser, evaporator and the fan, in the car for the next owner.
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