So my dad and I are embarking upon my restoration project slowly, and basically what's happening is that i'm taking 3 F250's and making them one.

My truck is a '86 F250 and is a Lariat, so it came with factory A/C. The truck that i'll be using to build off of is a low option '86 F250. No vents, no A/C, no nothing.

The plan here is to eliminate the factory harness and go with a Painless harness and have that work with either the factory A/C or an aftermarket Vintage Air system. My thought process is to use the A/C cab, and put everything back to factory and have the Painless harness work with that.

My dad on the other-hand says that I should use a Vintage Air-like setup and use my dash from my truck in the builder truck and have everything mounted under the dash and ran that way. Then I have more room under the hood to work if need be.

Does anyone have any experience putting these vintage air setups in these trucks?

 

Most people do use the factory stuff when wanting A/C. Or some of them use a dealer installed A/C. I am sure the vintage air system would work)I have never used one) but they are expensive.

What is your final goal for this truck? If you are restoring one, the higher optioned truck might be more desirable to build up.

 

+1 on cost. IIRC they are $1200+. Also they are sealed units, good luck when the heater core goes...

 

In the end, i'd like it to be dependable. I have heard both good and bad about the Vintage Air stuff, more bad than good actually, and I keep telling the old man that i'd like to stick with factory stuff....that way I know it works, and if something breaks, I can always get another one cheaper than the Vintage Air setup.

 

You have a good point there. Since they do sell the kit all in one box that fits under the dash, then it would be a PITA to replace when that would go.

 

The pros of a vintage air or similar setup is that it comes with everything you need in one box and cleans up the engine bay. The cons are that it's expensive and it's a sealed unit that's not meant to be serviced.

Since you already have all that you need I would use the factory stuff unless you're trying to make some kind of custom show truck where a smooth, uncluttered firewall is important to you. Yeah, going with a VA setup would give you a little more room it's not that big of a deal.