A/C yanking regrets??? (For y'all in the South!)

[Reiver]

'83 row 9.8-1 comp 3.0 with Carrera oil cooler unit. Drive it in 110 degree's..windows down, temp normally stays at 190-195, will see 200 if I get on it.
I suspect running an AC would change that drastically.
I do understand having it for originality.
I know the heat gets to some folks...doesn't bother me...now the freezing ass cold, you bet.

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.

[dave 911]

I removed my non-functioning system a few years ago, including the hoses. I saw a noticable drop in oil temps, and like others have said really like the cleaner engine bay. I kept all the parts just in case.

With my car being a 76, the a/c was dealer installed option, so I make myself feel ok by telling myself it's now closer to factory original .

I have opening 'wind wings' which are my 'air conditioner' when it's hot out. They work great.

[Dr J]

If you want to enjoy the car with your wife I suggest fixing it. Also if you get rainy summer weather you will want to fix it. Finally, if you want to drive anywhere in a nice shirt not to mention a tie, fix it.

[BlueWing]

I removed my aftermarket AC when I did my SSIs and heater backdate. The engine compartment is sooooo much easier to work in, cleaner appearance and I don't have the data but must have better airflow. No parasitic power drain and lighter to boot.

Now when I relocate to N.C. I'll just reverse my car usage. Here in N.Y. I park the car from November to April with no use at all. When I move the car south I can park the car during the daytime and use at night during the June to August time frame and all day and night the remainder of the year. So I can get more miles driven per year so I am fine with the removal.

When I did remove the system I took lots of reference pictures, measurements and boxed up the entire system for future applications if needed.

So I am glad to shed it from my car and with new technology I can always reverse the removal for a new improved efficient system.

Its a sports car not a luxury cruiser for me, lighter better handling.

Terry

PS - To get the car I had to get my wife a different car, she needed - 2 seats, 6 speed, big sound and dual zone AC. But I got the Porsche Yea!!!!!

[faverymi]

I lived in Texas and Oklahoma. Oh boy please crank the air. A must, no doubt about it.

Now I have a car factory non air and I just love the way it looks. Nothing, no front pan cutout, radiators, pipes, nothing. Remember I live in MA now.

[glennspiegler]

New barrier hoses, two condensers in left wheel well, 134 evaporator, stock front and rear condensers, removed cabin bow tie, variable fan speed switch. It blows 32 to 40 degrees dep on outside temp. Can see my breath occasionally. Was expensive but Charles Griffith stands behind a well made product. Have had problens with led compressor on light. Blow two, next works for years.

[wwest]

Originally Posted by chrisbruck

Any of you southerners out there REGRETTED yanking out your mediocore / non-functional / broken A/C and later wished you hadn't?

My stock system was marginally functional last summer but now think it's lost it's charge (R-12).

I drive my car a lot but I have another vehicle with great A/C for the hot days so it's not my only means of transportation. I'd have to spend a LOT to make the system really work well for my area in the summer and I just don't see me ever pouring that kind of money into it. Tires and brakes come first!

Give me a good reason to just let it be for now before I do something drastic and have a big pile of parts all over the garage floor!

You might be amazed at how little money/time/effort it might take to make your A/C satisfactorily functional.

My 2001 C4 has been driven to/from Daytona twice, with a year stay-over in Memphis. My '99 996 also spent a year or so in Memphis. A/C was a MUST. Only resorted to our LS400 (garaged at my nephew's in Olive Branch) with more passengers. The first time my '78 Targa made that trip, no A/C. Started out each day, 0-dark-thirty, with the top off, stop for "brunch", top on, drive til evening.

Second time with the '78 Targa, now with A/C, my wife even drove part of the time, much more comfortable....

The '78's A/C upgrade came from a local wrecking yard, wasn't aware of the non-barrier hose issue at the time, ~10 years and no r-134a leakage so far. Binary compressor control switch originally, switched to trinary, RED DOT, later.

[jcgranato]

I bought my 1985 Targa with the factory A/C and LOVE IT! It blows very cold and is a must for summers in NC. I even find myself using the A/C on high with the Targa top off in August. I can't see enjoying those hot summer afternoons in this car without A/C.

[BlakeSmall]

My A/C is removed on my SC, I live in North Texas, and drove the car home from South Carolina in August. As long as your rolling down the road with the windows down then things are fine. IF it were my daily and I drove through downtown Dallas everyday then maybe I would feel different. Its Black on Black also!

[dntlft]

I've had my 1983 sc coupe for over a year now and live in Missouri, so we get some pretty hot summers. It appears I'm in the minority here, but I fully intend to pull all components of my AC system, damn the resale value. I want easier access for working on my engine, better performance in all objective measures, and if it gets just too damn hot, I'll drive my 330i.

I mean, when we were all kids, we lusted for Porsches for their tear your face off performance and sexy image, not necessarily comfort. I'm sticking with that ideal.

[zippy_gg]

My wife and I discussed replacing most AC components or removal and decided to delete it.
While I have the engine/transmission out I pulled all the hoses off the car.
The car is a cab, and although we live in Los Angeles we have other vehicles to use on a very hot day. The Carrera is strictly a pleasure car that will mostly be used for weekend trips up the coast and such with the top down.
This also saves me way over a thousand dollars in fixing the AC, money that can be used for a new soft top and such.
Not sure yet if I'll backdate the heater also to clean up the engine compartment.

[tomphot]

The Best thing I ever did to my car was upgrade my A/C. Spent about $1200 and now I can drive around in an icebox if I turned it all the way down. In Atlanta, I love being able to have a cold car in the summer. To echo a previous comment, I would never consider buying a 911 that had the A/C taken out. I've never understood the weight reduction thing, it's not like I'm trying to race from light to light and how much of a difference can a few pounds make while driving your street car?

[nickyclyde]

I have a 996 with good a/c I can drive but I'm fixing up my 930 a/c and will not need it much in Santa Fe but if I want it on ,I want it to work.

[frankc]

I find that people generally fall into two camps regarding A/C - must have it at all times, and don't use it much (prefer windows down, sunroof open, etc.).

I'm in the latter camp (my wife, not so much), so I had no problem with removing the A/C - even in central Texas. Plus, I love the better access in the engine bay, the loss of all that extra weight and plumbing, and the better engine cooling. Of course I don't drive the car in the middle of the afternoon in August (nor my motorcycle), but I have a daily driver for that. And even in the middle of summer, I typically don't run the DD A/C in the mornings or evenings, preferring to open the sunroof instead. But again, that's just me - I don't like the cold A/C air blowing on me. As you can imagine, this makes for some "spirited" debate when I need to drive somewhere with my wife - but she wins .

I know some people here that never turn the A/C off in their cars - ever. The button gets pushed when they buy the car, and stays that way until they sell it. They say, why bother?

I don't ever plan on selling my car, so I'm not worried about resale value, but I did keep all the parts anyway.

[tirwin]

Funny this came up... Scott, a fellow Pelican, came by the other day. We were talking about projects and what we're going to do next. His is a silver 82 and mine is all black 83. He's backdated the heat and removed the A/C. His engine bay sure looks clean. He was trying to convince me to ditch my non-functioning A/C. He almost had me. So much money. Such a clean engine bay. I could almost see the gleam on the SSIs as I imagined what it would be like to open the box.

Then I remembered what it's like to drive an all black car in Atlanta in the summer. Of course, I'm headed for year number 3 with no A/C. Too much other stuff in the way...

[Ronnie's.930]

Originally Posted by dntlft

I've had my 1983 sc coupe for over a year now and live in Missouri, so we get some pretty hot summers. It appears I'm in the minority here, but I fully intend to pull all components of my AC system, damn the resale value. I want easier access for working on my engine, better performance in all objective measures, and if it gets just too damn hot, I'll drive my 330i.

I mean, when we were all kids, we lusted for Porsches for their tear your face off performance and sexy image, not necessarily comfort. I'm sticking with that ideal.

Then you had better ditch the SC and buy a Turbo (it'll tear your face off even with the a/c on full blast)!

[kuehl]

"Give me a good reason to (take it off) or just let it be for now before I do something drastic and have a big pile of parts all over the garage floor!"

Reasons to LET IT BE
1) You can spend the time doing other things
2) It keeps its character, non working AC
3) You continue to read the AC threads

Reasons to REMOVE IT
1) Saves weight, 70 lbs give or take
2) Increases MPG, .05 off, 2 mpg on.
3) A bit more room in the RH side of the engine compartment, valve adjustment
4) Place to keep warm beer, smuggler's box
5) Decrease car value
6) Less driving, few miles on odometer
7) You can stop reading AC threads

Reasons to UPGRADE
1) Drive the car more often, car croaks before you do
2) Keep your passenger and you happy
3) Increase car value
4) You can stop reading AC threads

So Chris, as you can see, there are many reasons to do anything from nothing to fixing it. The question comes down to is there any reason
to START REMOVING the AC system. My only suggestion would be to leave the compressor mount on the engine as it weighs so little and takes so much time to take off.

[Flojo]

@kuehl: nice pro-con-list ;-))

and may I add: I read a lot about "originality"... but sorry, if that 40 year old AC-install-concept interferes with my engine performance today, I'd rather spend 3k into the overall needs of the car, than do an AC-upgrade.

meaning: as long as any needed upgrade to tackle oil-/enginetemperature has NOT been done, I'd temporarily do anything to take care of the engine as is, so deleting the easy-to-reach AC-components (e.g. cooler in decklid, compressor).

[awhnry]

Living in East Tennessee under the effect of the Smokey Mountains, I would able to drive the 911 without AC except during August(and late July). My GTO has incredible AC so I just park the 911 unless I am going for early morning or late late evening drive. Even if I know I am not leaving the office all day, it is just way too warm and humid at 6pm to have a pleasant drive home. Being in a small town, I can leave the windows down during the heat of the day but still.......
I am planning to have the windshield tinted this Spring with the clear tint and the other windows with the standard tint in hopes that this will make the 911 more heat resistant(this treatment worked wonders on the Elise).
I do think that having AC deleted limits your market on resale. Knowledgeable purchasers wont be effected too much but a newbie to Porsche will be concerned no matter how much you and others try to comfort them.

[71scgc]

Pulling the crap AC is the first project I do in old sport cars. It never worked well, it's a power stealer, costs too much to repair, etc. etc.
IT'S A SPORT CAR!!!
My truck has air. I have never lived above the M-D line. Doubt I ever will. I was stationed in Germany for 7 years. I've had enough cold weather for one life.
Carter