Making Lots of Progress. Here is a shot of the installed coil, final shots of the compressor and relocated alternator and a fan I took off of a Mercury Grand Marquis. I had to cut the original fan spacer down to get the spacing right. I think this fan should give the necessary cooling. I thought I would try this and it it wasn't enough I would replace it with an electric fan later.

 

Some inside shots. You can see the new unit is only slightly larger than the stock heater. The three vents look good and the three speed fan does a great job moving air. The defrost works incredibly well also. Over all I am pretty happy with the kit. It is ready for R134A.

I obviously don't have the carpet in yet and it looks like I need to clean some finger prints off the doors.

 

Nice job Boys! So does the unit deliver enough air to occupants face area?
Did you remove the metal fanblade and fanclutch? Any fresh-air provisons on your truck? I cant't remember if that model had one in the cowl or side.
Looks like plenty of room on pass side footwell.
Congratulations!...

 

Looks good. About mid July you will have to chime back in and let us know how it is doing.

 

True, but having heat and defrost is a big benefit now!

 

Plenty of air, the fan really moves a lot of air.

The original fan blade was 4 blades with only a slight pitch. This fan (5 blade, much more pitch and a fan clutch) came off a late 80's Mercury Grand Marquis, clutch and all. I had to keep part of the original fan spacer to swallow the 3/4" shaft from the water pump, so I cut the original spacer in about half. Everything else is from the Mercury.

There are fresh air vents on both sides (feed from the crowl). I rebuilt them so they work good and seal.

The foot room on the passenger side is almost unchanged from the original. The glove box is much smaller now.

Here is original fan, new fan and the spacer I cut.

 

Great Job, your truck is looking fantastic. Your Gallery is great as well.

 

Hey Walston, what year Mercury is the clutch fan from? If it's new enough, its a reverse rotation fan. The clutch is the same, but the fan blades are not. Just a thought for ya. I've seen guys do this and not know that the fan blades are set for reverse rotation. I'm not tryin to tell you how to do something, just curious to help if needed?


Later man

 

I like it!, It has that factory look, I think the loss of some glovebox space is a compromise we all end up living with, especially here in the east...Your gonna Love that dehumidified cool air this summer! Great job!

 

I am not sure of the year, I got it from a salvage yard and didn't check the year, just made sure it was 18". Thanks for the tip. I'll check to to make sure it is pulling. The fan blade is easily reversible, it just flips over.

 

Thanks Dennis, just trying to make it easier for those who may want to do some of this to their truck.

 

I got a PM asking me how the AC works and it made me realize I never followed up on performance.

The system works very well. I was driving today quite a bit, it was 90 degrees here and it was extremely comfortable in my cab. I checked the air temperature coming out of my vents today and it was actually 44 degrees. I am very happy with the system.

The truck used to run about 195 degrees and after the AC it runs about 205. As long as I am driving at least a little, the fan as I did it is fine. If I have to idle a very long time, the fan is not quite as good as it needs to be. I live in a low population area and don't spend much time in traffic so it is fine. If I lived in a city with traffic I would add an electric fan.

From an installation process, the only thing not clearly noted in the instructions is the hose connections at the compressor need to be crimped once you get the final length, no big deal to get it done, they just don't tell you in the instructions.

After about a year of operation, I highly recommend the system if you are considering adding one. My 292 has some extra horses (4 bbl, big valves, dual exhaust) and the engine can barely tell the compressor is running. I have not noted any performance change of the truck.

 

Good deal, glad to hear it

 

Walston were did you get your HVAC system from?

 

1957 - 1960 Ford Pickup Truck Air Conditioning System | 57 - 60 Ford Pickup Truck AC

Worked great