Classic Auto Air "Perfect Fit" system experience

[themechanic]

Dennis, is that 23 C or F?

 

[Dennis H]

Sorry about the blurry iPhone pic. 23 Fahrenheit. Only drawback is the distribution could be better. The people with non-ac cars in Reno were soaking wet with sweat. If you want to enjoy your muscle car, and take the other half along - you need air.

 

[themechanic]

"One way to see how well your A/C system is performing is to measure the outlet temperature at the vent with an accurate thermometer with a probe that will go into the vent. Drive the car with the A/C on max or recirculate. With temperatures well into the 80's Fahrenheit, the outlet temperature should be around 35 to 45 degrees. This temperature should not change much when the engine is brought back to idle."

http://www.waynesgarage.com/articles/aircondition.htm

 

[Dennis H]

Good reading. Is 23 too low? Doesn't seem to freeze up and the run off to the ground is heavy. The old cable control system does not allow for max or recirculate. 10 years old. Classic now offers an improved control box as reported here on FBBO.

 

[themechanic]

They set mine at that range. I wanted cooler but they said it may freeze up.

The guy on Motorweek Richard Goss, I think, has a video on Youtube about it. He says too much freon is worse than too little. Here's a link: https://youtu.be/B3CH6DbpRmM about the 3 minute mark.

 

[dpstark2]

Another CAA fun time! I finally got the system wrapped up and together. Vacuumed it and charged it. Curiously, it would only blow hot air. As I investigated, I found the evaporator was indeed quite cold. The water valve supplied by CAA was allowing hot water into the heater core at all times. I removed it and sure enough it does not stand off any pressure at all. It's all-flow all-the-time. Now- my first kudos to CAA ever- they are sending a new one no questions asked.

With the heater core bypassed, I have cool air now. So that's great. Hopefully they get me the new valve soon so I can put it back together and drive the thing...

I can also say at this time that charging an A/C system is sort of voodoo. I'm sure the pros have ways to do it, but I sure don't. It's cold and pressures are "correct" so it's OK- but weighing the refrigerant in is probably a much better alternative.

 

[HawkRod]

I just got back from the garage today and finally got the Classic Air A/C system charged. Everything worked immediately, there was no pain, no fuss, and no issues with the classic air system. The only issue I had was that my belt squealed due to my hidden low mount compressor. That was solved by a shim to better align the compressor with the water pump and crank, and then I was good to go.

Ice cold air, and car runs fine with the compressor on. So at least in the first few hours of having my Classic Air System running, I am very happy. Also, as I have said before, I had a very good experience when talking with a Classic Air tech when I was designing and working on the system. So far, two thumbs up from me...

 

[dpstark2]

Classic Auto Air replaced the faulty water valve without question and it works fine. After tightening up a few fittings, I think I'm leak free. Added some refrigerant to get pressures where they should be and I've had quite cold air whenever I need it for two weeks now (38-42F out of the vent in 100F weather). It works. I'm happy enough with it now, but it was quite a long road and I still think the quality is low for the price.

 

[slepr1]

Good read for anyone considering putting air into their car. Expect problems...as usual

 

[kbsat]

I'm installing a Classic Auto Air "Perfect Fit" system in '72 Dart. I know it's an A-body, but I feel like the experience is relevant.

1. The brackets for hanging the HVAC box under the cowl did not fit. Different from the pictures, didn't fit in the car. Tech support was no help. Sent pictures to them, no response. Ended up bending them to fit and making it work.
2. Instructions are terrible. Lots of missing information. Pictures from multiple cars, one of which is far from factory. Grainy black pictures of black cars in a dark engine bay are no help to anyone.
3. Heater core tubes on their box are the same size. Factory tubes are 5/8" and 3/4", so I had to use an adapter. If they would supply one- fine. But they didn't.
4. The temperature control cable is a full foot too long and the mode control cable is about 6" too short. I requested new cables of the appropriate length. No response.
5. The wiring and wiring diagram are terrible. I mean, if you have two wires that will cause the system to blow fuses if not hooked up correctly, DON'T MAKE THEM BOTH BLUE AND ATTACH THEM TO THE SAME SWITCH. Tech support did know exactly what was happening here when I called them.
6. The condensor "sandwiches" between the radiator and core support. It's just sandwiched in there! How hard would it be to bolt it to the factory locations (which is what I'm going to do) or the radiator bolts?
7. Their silly round "cover plate" that covers the blower hole in the firewall and lets the four HVAC box fittings into the engine bay would not fit the hoses on the box, and didn't even come close to lining up with the four factory mounting holes in the firewall. I had to bend two of the pipes to get them through the cover, and drill new holes to mount it.

Overall I'm highly disappointed. I chose this kit because of the reputation of the company and their support (which I had no doubt I would need). I've also seen it used several times. In my experience, the kit, service, and fitment are all severely sub-par. It's should be called a "Sorta Fits" system.

Maybe the B-body kit is different. Good luck if you try it.

I had the EXACT problems installing their kit in a 1972 duster back in 2007. Guess they didn't fix much in that kit since. The two blue wires were the biggest whore of the install. Drove me nuts for a couple days trying to figure out.

 

[dpstark2]

Good to know I'm not alone! Seem like simple issues to address, but my experience is they don't really care that much...

 

[Dreamcatcher]

So how does it stack up to vintage air?