Vintage Air installation in a 1968 Satellite

[Kern Dog]

The simple difference of using the “Classic Auto Air” evaporator matters significantly. Some, maybe most of theirs have the lines already on them and long enough to stick through the firewall. This Vintage Air Unit does not. The Vintage Air units have just male fittings attached directly to the EVAP unit requiring the installer to determine how to plumb it. Again, this can be good and bad. It allows a customer the option of running the lines through the wheel well if you don’t want to go through the firewall. Personally, I’m not fond of the added difficulty. This is where I find myself....at a bit of a stand still. Mounting the 4 port manifold on the engine side looks good and is much simpler for the engine side of the installation but really crowds the area inside where the EVAP is. It is doable but the Classic Auto setup was so much simpler.

 

[69hemibeep]

Be careful mounting the air box per instructions, one of the wipers will contact a servo. Instructions say to mount level the tech support said to tilt it to clear but the arm can be bent a touch to clear it. My buddy ran into this and has a Classic unit in his other B-body that fits better.

 

[Kern Dog]

Great tip. I looked, it seems like it will clear but I will confirm before I go much further forward.

 

[70ChargerRT]

Most of your complete Vintage Kits

The simple difference of using the “Classic Auto Air” evaporator matters significantly. Some, maybe most of theirs have the lines already on them and long enough to stick through the firewall. This Vintage Air Unit does not. These have just male fittings attached directly to the. EVAP unit requiring the installer to determine how to plumb it. Again, this can be good and bad. It allows a customer the option of running the lines through the wheel well if you don’t want to go through the firewall. Personally, I’m not fond of the added difficulty.

The added difficulty to run the lines through the firewall and the wheel well literally took me 10 minutes to mock and the cut the holes. Bet it took you way longer just fooling with that firewall plate I tossed in the trash and those hoses running through the wheel well are pretty tough especially the evaporator hoses, they are almost as tough as our hydraulic hoses on our John Deere Dozer blade. I tucked my heater hoses right behind the evap hoses. No cheap plastic wire loom is really going to protect those. If you have OCD about the lines they make a lot tougher material to wrap or cover those hoses with but I personally think it’s overkill. I’ve never ever heard of anybody ever having any trouble with running the hoses through wheel well as far road debris or anything else puncturing them or tearing them up. I’m not saying that wouldn’t happen. Maybe blowing a tire??? But if you blow a front tire you’re probably going to have a lot more problems to worry about besides an AC line And as far as belts goes I’ll have to agree with the double pulley. 2 belts are almost a must. If the under alternator AC compressor only utilizes a single belt and raises the alternator that high and also raises the power steering pump that high also Id just assume to keep my AC compressor on top with the double belt set up. I don’t even know what the one guy was talking about the wiper linkage contacting the servo, the way I mounted mine it wasnt even in the ball park close to the wipers. I do like the cleaner look of the engine bay myself. It was a must for me but no matter what I like or how I did mine as long the owner is happy with the way you guys are installing it, thats the only thing that matters but I’m telling you the owner is absolutely going to love the added AC. This fan on my vintage AC will take my wife’s hair and blow it like she’s standing in front of a big fan. We were cruising this summer some in upper 90 degree days and it easily kept us cool.

 

[Kern Dog]

Thank you, Sir.
I'd like to thank you by name...I do know many other members by name here.
I'm Greg. The owner of this car is Dwayne. Neither of us are alcoholics or part of any 12 step program....

The firewall plate will be painted blue to blend in. It covers the original heater hose holes which will not be used anymore.
Routing through the wheelwell means crimped lines at the manifold but how about where they pass through the alignment cam hole? That is a hard 90 degree turn with stiff A/C hoses. I assumed you'd need fittings with 90 degree bends too, right?

The fittings are available so cutting and fitting them isn't an issue, I just wonder about leaks.

 

[493 Mike]

Thanks for the photos. Those are fantastic! I like the wire loom idea.
Why the single compressor belt?

My compressor mount is a custom billet aluminum design by Billet Connections. The belt does have a 180* wrap around the drive and driven pulleys so, it should do the job. There was some talk about the Bouchillon setup being fussy about belt contact causing squealing if not tight enough? The Sandon compressor rotates easier than the RV2. The bad in the design, is the use of a Ford alternator. I'm not sure why the designer chose the Blue Oval piece but, it does fit.
Mike

 

[Kern Dog]

Mike....you used the Vintage system?

 

[493 Mike]

The low mount A/C compressor means NO mechanical fuel pump since they share the same space. Some, Bouchillon included, claim that the single belt arrangement is at much greater likelihood for slippage. I considered it for the Charger but I have a fuel system with a mechanical pump.

I have no provision for a mechanical pump on my Indy MAX block so it was not a consideration. My service ports are in a hard-to-reach spot but, they are not a regular service item.
Mike

 

[493 Mike]

Mike....you used the Vintage system?

Yes.
Mike

 

[493 Mike]

The simple difference of using the “Classic Auto Air” evaporator matters significantly. Some, maybe most of theirs have the lines already on them and long enough to stick through the firewall. This Vintage Air Unit does not. The Vintage Air units have just male fittings attached directly to the EVAP unit requiring the installer to determine how to plumb it. Again, this can be good and bad. It allows a customer the option of running the lines through the wheel well if you don’t want to go through the firewall. Personally, I’m not fond of the added difficulty. This is where I find myself....at a bit of a stand still. Mounting the 4 port manifold on the engine side looks good and is much simpler for the engine side of the installation but really crowds the area inside where the EVAP is. It is doable but the Classic Auto setup was so much simpler.

My hose routing (mind you this is on a early B):
Mike

 

[Big bill]

I just did a classic auto air on a 66 charger I have ran into a few snags mostly manufacturing issues,currently the defrost blend door won’t open may have a bad micro switch I made the mistake of putting the console and seats back in before checking everything was working

 

[451Mopar]

I need to follow these posts.
I did the Vintage Air on the '69 Coronet, but don't care for how the kit goes under the fender, and thought about that square 4-port bulkhead, but worried about the hose routing under the dash. I was also thinking if a fiberglass air inlet could be made to connect the fresh air cowl opening to the blower motor, with a manual blend door for fresh or recycle air because the Vintage Air is all recycle air, and the blower motor can get loud at the high speeds.

 

[kiwigtx]

I'm the owner of the blue 68 that Greg is working on. Thanks Greg for taking on this job for me since lately I'm short on free time and I want to get this final stage of my car completed. It's been a fun collaboration so far and I really enjoy hashing out the tech details. I've had far too many long road trips from Norcal to Socal without A/C and I cannot wait to have a more comfortable drive!

I've had this car since 2010 when I bought it as a basically stock running car with a badly oxidized rattle can paint job. However, it had zero body damage and is a very straight California car with zero rust, so it had good bones to start. Since then I've worked on the car little by little, doing a lot of the work myself, enlisting a few fellow mopar friends for help and advice along the way and when I had to pay a shop to do something (paint, suspension install), I try to pay as I go and without going into debt. This also means that what may take some a year or two to do has amounted to 13 years of work. Aftermarket suspension, steering, and brakes, new paint job, swapped the small block for a big block 451, new interior, a few other odds and ends and the AC is the last big item to finish. Along the way, the only time the car hasn't been driveable is when it was in paint jail for 8 months. I've had my hands on most of the nuts and bolts on this car related to the engine compartment and k-frame mounted items and have really enjoyed learning as I go. Too little free time lately though, so when I heard of Greg's pending retirement, I asked, we worked out terms, he agreed and off we go.

One question.....who took the pictures of Greg appearing to be looking pensive while working on the car?

They look staged to me.

 

[68 Sport Satellite]

One question.....who took the pictures of Greg appearing to be looking pensive while working on the car?

They look staged to me.

Rich (CoronetDarter) while he had his own car at Greg's shop.

 

[70ChargerRT]

Thank you, Sir.
I'd like to thank you by name...I do know many other members by name here.
I'm Greg. The owner of this car is Dwayne. Neither of us are alcoholics or part of any 12 step program....




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The firewall plate will be painted blue to blend in. It covers the original heater hose holes which will not be used anymore.
Routing through the wheelwell means crimped lines at the manifold but how about where they pass through the alignment cam hole? That is a hard 90 degree turn with stiff A/C hoses. I assumed you'd need fittings with 90 degree bends too, right?

View attachment 1589747

The fittings are available so cutting and fitting them isn't an issue, I just wonder about leaks.

My name is Chris lol. I too questioned leaks but from my own crimping. My AC worked good all summer without any signs of leaks, even from my own crimping and yes you are correct. At the cam adjuster plate those are all 90 degree fittings but no matter what, your evaporator hoses is going to have some type of crimp hose fitting on them.

 

[493 Mike]

My name is Chris lol. I too questioned leaks but from my own crimping. My AC worked good all summer without any signs of leaks, even from my own crimping and yes you are correct. At the cam adjuster plate those are all 90 degree fittings but no matter what, your evaporator hoses is going to have some type of crimp hose fitting on them.

I went with the build your own system. Easy peasy! Note the Gates Power Grip heater hose clamps and the hose springs.
Hose Kits and Fittings - Vintage Air
Mike

 

[Kern Dog]

Mike…. That EVAP unit has fittings in a different spot than this one. Must be a different unit, universal maybe?

 

[493 Mike]

Mike…. That EVAP unit has fittings in a different spot than this one. Must be a different unit, universal maybe?

Yes. Universal: https://www.vintageair.com/custom/product-pop.php?pn=68000-VUZ-A
Because of the trans tunnel I had to swap from the 4 A/C outlets to the 3. It has less capacity but the cabin in my 65 is not very big either.
Mike

 

[Dave6T4]

My hose routing (mind you this is on a early B):
Mike
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Here's mine on my 1964 Polara. I did not like the idea of running the lines outside of the inner fender. I ran the A/C lines inside of engine compartment to the under dash unit. I used a molded 5/8" hose to turn the heater hoses around to come through firewal lin approximate location of original on driver side. I hung all the A/C lines with '66-'67 heater hose brackets on passenger side. Black box on heater hose is hot water shutoff valve. I adapted V.A. control panel onto original heater control bezel.

 

[68 Sport Satellite]

Here's mine on my 1964 Polara. I did not like the idea of running the lines outside of the inner fender. I ran the A/C lines inside of engine compartment to the under dash unit. I used a molded 5/8" hose to turn the heater hoses around to come through firewal lin approximate location of original on driver side. I hung all the A/C lines with '66-'67 heater hose brackets on passenger side. Black box on heater hose is hot water shutoff valve. I adapted V.A. control panel onto original heater control bezel.

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Awesome. That's not a Vintage Air unit is it? The Vintage Air unit for my 68 does not have a support bracket like yours, only firewall bolts that connect to a Vintage Air bracket under dash. I also really dig your dash AC control. The location and arrangement is so much better than the stock setup for our 68-69 B bodies. I originally bought a solid state Vintage Air replacement for my 68 that went in the same location, but I dislike it so much and had an interior shop that does these installs tell me that rotary controls are easier to calibrate and behave better, so instead I ordered a Vintage Air 3 knob controller - exact mounting location still TBD. Since my car is at Greg's shop, maybe he can post a photo of this.