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| Vintage
Air |
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| Things we need to know to help you pick the best
system for you. |
- Vehicle: Year & Make
- Body Style: Coupe, Sedan, or Truck
- Engine Make
- Water Pump: Short or Long
- What side the alt. & compressor will be
on
- Was your vehicle equipped with air from the
factory
- Cooling system: Engine driven fan or electric
fan
- V-Belt or Serpentine Belt
- Headers or Stock Manifolds
- 55-57 Chevy's: Is radiator in the V8 or 6 cyl.
position
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| "A/C
Basics" (Download in pdf format, 137KB ) |
This PDF document will discuss the basics of performance
air conditioning and factors affecting the selection of the basic components.
The seven basic components needed to air condition any car with a conventional
system are: |
- compressor
- compressor bracket
- evaporator (inside car unit)
- condenser (outside heat exchanger)
- hoses and fittings
- drier and
a safety switch
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| Unit
Styles: |
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| Sure
Fit Series: |
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This system is designed just for your
vehicle (see list of vehicles covered).
These systems retain the factory look inside your vehicle yet improve
the underhood appearance by eliminating all the heavy factory equipment.
These systems carry a full 3 year warranty. |
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| Universal
Series: |
GEN-II
Mini
GEN-II Compac
GEN-II Super |
| While we may not have a specific Sure-fit or bolt-in
kit for your particular application, we can supply you with a series of
universal components that can be easily adapted to the vehicle. An installer
of average mechanical ability can accomplish the install in a few days
with a buddy’s
help. After 27 years of manufacturing performance air conditioning, Vintage
Air can offer you the most user-friendly components in the industry. You
will have to take an active role in these installations. You will have
to take measurements and provide the salesperson with required information.
See our tech section for help in measuring for the correct evaporator.
Correct information in the beginning will insure that your installation
goes as smooth as possible. |
Inevitably, there may always be unforeseen
problems; but rest assured that the staff at Vintage Air is always there
to help. They have earned a reputation as “the leader in performance
air conditioning” for a reason; they know what they are talking about.
All of the Gen II Universal systems are available as separate components
and your sales person will help you pick out the correct parts to “create”
the entire system for your vehicle. Thousands of customers have performed
these installations with 100% success. With a little creativity and attention
to detail you can make your car look like it was “factory equipped” with
air conditioning. |
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| A complete Universal system will consist of the following
six components: |
1) An Evaporator Kit that will include a self-contained
air handler that is operated by electronic servos capable of providing
heat cool and defrost (where applicable) functions. The kit will also
include a set of electrically operated controls (both standard and optional
controls available), all air vents (both standard and optional vents
available), with 2 ½”
flexible ducting, heater control valves, defrost adapters with 2” flexible
ducting (on defrost units) and a complete wiring harness.
Installation
will require removing all original heating and /or A/C components (boxes,
ducting, plenums, cables, and valves from under the dash area. Any holes
left in the firewall, inner fender, and cowl area that are not utilized
during installation must be plugged or blocked off by the installer.Four
lines (2 A/C and 2 heater) will have to pass through the firewall or inner
fender area and a drain must pass through the firewall behind the evaporator
unit.
The unit must be secured under the dash area to the firewall and
dash lip using brackets provided. These brackets are universal and can
be modified for any application. We suggest placing the unit behind the
dash towards the passenger side. You will have remove and cut the glove
compartment down to accomplish this install in most vehicles. The electrical
connection is very simple. One 12 gauge wire goes directly to a battery
source and a purple power lead goes to a key-on source. There are a few
grounds and the rest is plug and play. Complete instructions and schematics
take you through the process step by step. |
2) A Sanden 508 Compressor that
is a universal type. Compressors are available in different drive types
(serpentine or v-belt), different finishes (plain, polished or chrome),
and with different outlet configurations (top exit or rear exit) Installation
will require the use of a mounting bracket made to accept the Sanden 508
compressor. Unfortunately an OE compressor bracket will not accept these
Sanden type compressors without modification. The R134-A compressors do
not have provisions for servicing the system; you must use the service
port fittings in the hose kits. |
3) A compressor mounting bracket will most
likely be available depending on application (We cover most popular Chevrolet,
Ford, Mopar, and Pontiac applications; You can check for availability on
pages 50-56 in our catalog). Since it would be nearly impossible to develop
replacement brackets for every engine ever manufactured; you may be required
to fabricate a mount for your vehicle. If you choose to use an engine that
is not used by mainstream restorers, you will most likely be fabricating.
Although this is the biggest stumbling block for most people in a custom
installation, you can always choose to use a factory compressor and bracket
to operate the system or maybe obtain a factory bracket to duplicate or
modify it to accept the more reliable and efficient Sanden compressor.
Installation
on the most popular applications will simply require removing factory bolts
and replacing with the parts in the kit you will receive. If you have an
application where a bracket must be fabricated, this is where you must
decide if you can accomplish this task yourself. Metalworking and fabrication
skills come into play in this operation. If you are not comfortable with
cutting and welding metal, you may want to contact one of our dealers in
your local area.
If you are ready to tackle the job yourself, the easiest
method to building a replacement bracket is accomplished by finding an
original OE equipment bracket and modifying it to accept the Sanden. If
you are a skilled fabricator, you can simply start from scratch. We have
a universal bracket (part # 15115-VUB) that can help you accomplish this.
You must remember that cars without factory air will require pulleys that
can accept enough belts to drive all the components. Often the alternator
can be driven off of the Sanden compressor if you have the room on the
same side of the motor.
NOTE: You must have the finial pulley's that you are going to use installed before aligning any brackets. |
4) A Universal hose kit that will include three
hoses in various lengths, two A/C bulkhead fittings, and two compressor
fittings with service ports. There will be enough fittings included to
complete the typical installation. The hose kits are sold with or without
a drier and are compatible with our larger decorative bulkhead plates.
Installation of a universal hose kit will require you to cut the hoses
to length and have the ends crimped onto them after you have determined
the proper fitting orientation. Usually a local NAPA Autoparts or a local
air conditioning shop will crimp the fittings for you for a small fee.
If you cannot locate someone in your area, we will crimp them for you and
you will only pay for the return freight charges. Vintage Air can also
custom fabricate hardlines to your specifications or you can purchase our “U-Bend-Em” hardlines
that are pre-swedged with the ends and can be easily bent using common
hand tools. |
| 5) A Condenser will be sized according to the area in front
of the radiator and the opening in the core support of the radiator. The
correct size is determined by choosing the condenser that will cover the
largest amount of the fin area in front of the radiator. Installation of
a universal condenser will require you to drill holes in the core support
and to fabricate mounting brackets (a set of universal brackets are included)
The general rule of thumb is to place the condenser in the opening as close
to the radiator as possible without touching it. The placement depends
on the line configuration and any obstructions that will cause interference. |
6) A Safety Switch will be offered to safeguard your compressor against
failure in case of a high or low refrigerant pressure condition occurring
in the system. Installation of a safety switch is advisable anywhere in
the # 6 or high-pressure line. We have driers that have provisions to accept
the male safety switches and adapter fittings that help make the installation
a snap. The switch is then wired between the thermostat and the compressor.
Two models are available: A trinary is used when an electric fan control
is needed and a binary is used when only the safety functions are needed.
Once the installation is complete you will have to have the system serviced.
We recommend that you seek professional help at this point.
Vintage Air recommends the use of a charging station when doing any type
of service to you’re A/C system. These machines are more efficient
and provide the highest level of accuracy when charging by volume. R134a
should be charged by volume, not by pressure or sight glass readings.
Using the manifold gauge method worked fine for R12, but R134a is extremely
charge sensitive. |
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Create a mock-up of each universal unit using cardboard.
When purchasing a Universal System for a vehicle it is important that
you determine if you have the space available to install this unit. We
will be able to give you a general guideline as to the capacity of each
unit to cool and heat certain vehicles, but we are not looking under your
dash. Since each vehicle has unique characteristics under the dash, the
salesperson must rely on you, the consumer to tell us what will fit best
in your application.
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Each Universal Evaporator page has overall dimensional drawings that
will represent the outermost measurements of these units. You can use
these dimensions to create a cardboard “mockup” of the evaporator.
If you can fit your mock-up behind your dash
without any interference, the actual unit will fit just as easily. |
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Many applications will require slight modifications to the underside
of the dash or firewall to make the final installation.
Note: Remember
most of the vehicles we deal with were never designed to have air conditioning
in the first place. It is very important to bear in mind when modifying
a vehicle that no one set of standards exist and not everyone will do
the installation the same way. |
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| GEN-II
Series |
| GEN-II System Technology
Features |
| High torque screw-drive servo motors
that control the butterfly doors instead of vacuum. |
Benefits: |
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- Increased travel on butterfly doors allow much
more air flow
- More positive door movement
- Door seal superior to vacuum
- No reliance on engine vacuum
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| Re-engineered and CAD designed unit case |
Benefits: |
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- Increased capacity & control of defrost mode
- Optimized airflow volume overall
- Rubber insulated fan motor mounts
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| All new 4 Lever Fingertip control Panel |
Benefits: |
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- Included with GEN-II system
- True bi-level operation in A/C & heat modes
- Electronic Servo-actuated heater valve allows OEM style temperature adjustment
& mixing in all operation modes
- Simplified installation with plug-in connections,
no vacuum lines, & fewer wires to route
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| Re-engineered heating / cooling coil |
Benefits: |
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- Increased cooling capacity - 20%
- Increased heating capacity - 100%
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 GEN-II
comes in: Mini, Compac, & SuperCooler
GEN-II
Controls: 4 Lever Fingertip, 4 Knob Rotary, Pro Line, & Streamline |
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To Order any items
on our site:
Call:
(864) 269-6813
or
E-Mail to: rodshop@carolinarodshop.com |
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