Vintage Air installation in a 1968 Satellite

[moparedtn]

Draggin this car on the road, I felt like a rock star. Lots of smiles, waves and thumbs up. I like that.

Pretty snazzy trailer for sure.

 

[Kern Dog]

Thank you. It is rock solid! No sway, it has no rattles and the brakes in it are great. Slowing down, you don't feel the weight of it.
This is the 10th time I've towed with it and this was the most stressful. That was because of a few things, the most of which were the stakes involved.
This wasn't my car but it was in my custody. I could not let anything happen to a car belonging to someone that trusted me with it. I drove the speed limit and was safer than I have ever been. It would have devastated me to give it back with damage.
I don't mind the onlookers. In fact, it reaffirms my faith that society hasn't abandoned the love of these great cars.
What gets me is the careless people, the dorks, the morons. I had to dodge stuff in the road that fell from trucks or other trailers. I went around a mattress, trash and numerous potholes.
California seems to be the state of perpetual construction in areas that seemed fine but then it has crappy roads in places a road crew never bothers to repair. Why is it that what seems like a simple widening takes 2 years to do?

 

[moparedtn]

Thank you. It is rock solid! No sway, it has no rattles and the brakes in it are great. Slowing down, you don't feel the weight of it.
This is the 10th time I've towed with it and this was the most stressful. That was because of a few things, the most of which were the stakes involved.
This wasn't my car but it was in my custody. I could not let anything happen to a car belonging to someone that trusted me with it. I drove the speed limit and was safer than I have ever been. It would have devastated me to give it back with damage.
I don't mind the onlookers. In fact, it reaffirms my faith that society hasn't abandoned the love of these great cars.
What gets me is the careless people, the dorks, the morons. I had to dodge stuff in the road that fell from trucks or other trailers. I went around a mattress, trash and numerous potholes.
California seems to be the state of perpetual construction in areas that seemed fine but then it has crappy roads in places a road crew never bothers to repair. Why is it that what seems like a simple widening takes 2 years to do?

You're an old hand in the contracting biz - you already know all this, but to answer the question:
Because the way the contract was written most likely benefits the construction company the most when they
"make a career" out of the gig...
Partial billings on the roll, so the longer it takes, the more the company makes - and the longer they have work.

The other kind of contracts awarded are those with at the least, specified deadlines - and even harsher, those with
liquidated damages included for every day the project goes over the scheduled completion date.
(It actually takes money away from the construction company for bringing a project home late).
Those chase off a lot of bidders for obvious reasons - but they're often the best kind for taxpayers, too.

Then there are often contracts that have both liquidated damage clauses AND early completion bonuses built in.
I always liked going after those; seemed the most "sporting" and fair type of contract and I liked the challenge
of bringing one of those home early, to the point I'd hobble my old arse out there and help the guys get it done.

In regards to your other observations, I couldn't agree more - travel on the roads these days starkly reflects the
degradation of society in general, seems like.
A whole lot of folks would just as soon be sitting on their sofa and staring at a screen, stuffing delivered food
down their pieholes as to being out there on the highways - and a lot of them lack basic human courtesy and
consideration, to the point of sometimes being a potential road-rager at the drop of a perceived offensive act
of another.
/end of rant

 

[68 Sport Satellite]

Greg did a great job all around, including delivery. I couldn't be more pleased with how the work turned out and the interactions throughout.
I looked things over in detail and we geeked out. The under hood presentation of the finished product looks even cleaner and well routed in person than it did in the photos. Same goes for the hose routing inside the passenger wheel well.

Holy moly the A/C fan blows hard and the air is cold. Wow.
The clutch fan with OEM clutch that Greg had from his jigsaw Charger which is now in my car is not loud at all. It pulls air hard, but no jet plane noise. I'm super glad about that one.
Pulling into the driveway I noticed a bit of low speed increased steering effort, which I've heard some others with the Borgeson swap experience.
With motor running I observed zero leaks. The belts spin freely and well aligned and quiet. Greg commented that it seems better aligned than his car.

It's like Christmas in May! A Cinco de Mayo Festivus miracle
I'm no stranger to driving a classic car without A/C - my previous car I did so for 25 years and it didn't seem like a big deal. However, I am so thrilled that I finally have A/C in this car for summertime comfort. Now to get that passenger seat re-installed...

 

[Billccm]

Greg did a great job all around, including delivery. I couldn't be more pleased with how the work turned out and the interactions throughout.
I looked things over in detail and we geeked out. The under hood presentation of the finished product looks even cleaner and well routed in person than it did in the photos. Same goes for the hose routing inside the passenger wheel well.

Holy moly the A/C fan blows hard and the air is cold. Wow.
The clutch fan with OEM clutch that Greg had from his jigsaw Charger which is now in my car is not loud at all. It pulls air hard, but no jet plane noise. I'm super glad about that one.
Pulling into the driveway I noticed a bit of low speed increased steering effort, which I've heard some others with the Borgeson swap experience.
With motor running I observed zero leaks. The belts spin freely and well aligned and quiet. Greg commented that it seems better aligned than his car.

It's like Christmas in May! A Cinco de Mayo Festivus miracle
I'm no stranger to driving a classic car without A/C - my previous car I did so for 25 years and it didn't seem like a big deal. However, I am so thrilled that I finally have A/C in this car for summertime comfort. Now to get that passenger seat re-installed...

You are so fortunate Kern took on this job for you. This is a lot of work and let me tell you more than once I told myself when installing my vintage air I should have had a professional do it. I know I'm slow, and it took over 100 hours to install my kit.

I had quotes over $6,000 to install my system.

You got a better install than any shop would do. Enjoy your AC.

 

[kiwigtx]

You are so fortunate Kern took on this job for you. This is a lot of work and let me tell you more than once I told myself when installing my vintage air I should have had a professional do it. I know I'm slow, and it took over 100 hours to install my kit.

I had quotes over $6,000 to install my system.

You got a better install than any shop would do. Enjoy your AC.

I paid $2,500 ((US$1500) about 12 years ago to have my Vintage Air hooked up. I fitted the brackets so they would be where I wanted them, and the rest I left to the Installers. A little different to most cars ....but the guys doing it are well versed with the cab-over style of small trucks here.

 

[Kern Dog]

I wasn't in this for the money. I didn't do the job for free but part of this was as a favor to a friend. Part of this was also an exercise in creativity with problem solving. Often times we get pissy when things don't work out but there are some rare times when we see a problem as a challenge for us to figure out. I learned things from this project and for that, I'm glad that I was asked to do it but....
I'll let you all in on a secret:
While I am not one that can be bribed by money, I am tempted with parts stashes!
I can always make money but if someone had a shed full of parts they don't need, they can get me to help them out. If someone were sitting on hard to find parts but they didn't have much cash, I'm your guy!

 

[68 Sport Satellite]

Yes, I agree that I was blessed that KD took on this job. I've done a lot of hands on work on my car in my small garage with not many tools, but I knew from watching another friend add A/C to his A-body that this is one headache I would rather farm out. Since Greg had recently retired and I had some cash + a handful of mopar parts to barter, PLUS he has his own lift - I figured it could work out. I'm very pleased with the outcome and it was a win-win for both sides.

 

[Kern Dog]

I just wanted to put this out there…
I have ENOUGH 318 2 barrel intakes and slant six parts. You couldn’t tempt me with that stuff!