My truck came factory without ac, had a dealer installed unit I removed years ago. Found a set of factory ac parts from a truck of my year. Heater box dash controls compressor condenser and some others.


I’m going to replace the heater core blower motor and firewall insulation when I’m swapping the factory ac parts in.


So id assume then I would need a factory ac insulation pad correct? And that will fit on my firewall with a factory ac heater box?

From having dealer ac, am I gonna have an extra set of holes in the firewall?

 

Depends on where the dealer ran the hoses, the factory AC box is a very large opening. Do some checks in search on factory AC. If the holes are not covered you should be able to just install rubber body plugs, the come in several sizes.

 

I am a big fan of factory stuff and for a long time I felt the factory ac was better than aftermarket or dealer installed version. In your situation with a non factory ac truck I would recommend going aftermarket AC. It really is going to be a pain cutting the big hole in the firewall and trying to find all the factory ac parts which will be difficult unless you have a complete donor truck. I really think you would have a cleaner install and save some money by going with vintage air, classic auto air, restomodair, oldairproducts, or classic retrofit. Shop around and see what you can find. I forget which one but a few of them have specific kits for our trucks.

The aftermarket is going to be a better design for r134a which a factory system was not designed for efficiently.

To answer your first question yes the firewall insulation is different but if you don't care you could just trim what is needed to be removed. Otherwise to change it you would need to remove most what is behind the dash. As far as extra holes, I don't know for sure but I would study the different firewalls if possible.

 

As far as the install is concerned it will be more work, but not that bad. as far as function, the factory system is far superior to aftermarket and in my oppinion worth the work. As far as the 134a conversion, we did hundreds of them after they outlawed R12 and most of the rumors were 100% incorrect. Most of the cars and trucks we did, all we did was flush the system with R11, use pag oil in the compressor and add about another 4oz to the condenser before the install, replace the reciever dryer and evac it for a few hours. Then just charge with the 134a and they worked great.

 

Thanks for the reply’s guy. I found a guy locally selling all the components for a 79 ac heat system. And he did mean all of them! The only things that won’t work is the condenser is a little rough and one fitting is crimped, the compressor mount is for a 460 I have a 400, and the wire cable that controls the flapper on the heater box is seized. He says the hoses will work, but I had my previous aftermarket ac’s hoses blow while the hood was up and the truck idled up... so I’m just gonna get a new set made. But other than that I’ve got everything else. Including the 79 dash control module complete with vacuum plugs and switches and the wiring between the pigtails for all the plugs. I also need new lines.


Ive had $1700 worth of parts in my cart at vintage air for months. This summer was gonna be my first with ac I had already decided. But I do like ford parts. And when I saw this guys ad and the price it was cheap enough to take a chance on.

Im gonna buy a condenser this weekend. $100.

The compressor says motorcraft, I’m gonna keep it instead of switching to a Sanden. At this point the Sanden would be just as much work, seeing as I need new lines and a mount, but I’m trying to see how cheaply I can get everything blowing. And I don’t really want to spend $200+ for 5 hp and a quieter compressor.

Hoping to get some lines made locally for under $150.

I should be all in about $650 after it’s all said and done.

I would have loved if ford offered an all under the dash system like you can get aftermarket. The hole in the firewall and that box in the engine bay bum me out but it’s the way ford did it and it doesn’t look bad.