If you will look to the left of my Mark IV the cowl vent handle is useable.
Mounting took a little figuring and I may have used the left glove box hinge screw to mount one side of the AC. If you decide to go with the Mark IV I will get some pictures of the mounting tabs I built.
TractormanBill

 

Good point...should have thought of that myself.

I found several discussions on AC in these forums using Google Search and have read on some other forums that came up as well in my searching. Here is kind of a quick summary of what I have put together so far....

1. Vintage Air seems to have the highest customer satisfaction. Very few complaints from people that have installed it. Also comes highly recommended by a local Hot Rod Shop who says he will install no other brand. Vintage air allows you to keep your cowl vent but lose most of your glove box. It is hidden more so it shows less under neath the dash.

2. Old Air seems to have slightly more complaints on some forums but also has many people happy with its product. MidFifty says it allows you to keep more glove box space which is a plus to me but shows more below the dash. While it shows more it kind of has the original boxy appearance of the stock heater so many do not mind. In their catalog MidFifty says it is slightly easier to install in the stock location. I would not hesitate to use either one of these units based on my research. I personally like the looks of the Old Air setup but Vintage Air seems like it generally gets better reviews. If I decide to go this way I am still not sure which system I would order.

4. Southern Air is cheaper which is appealing to me but there is quite a number of negative comments about their systems online so I am leery of going with them. The price is pretty good especially for their under dash mount units which I am considering but am not leaning towards their product at this time because of the negative comments found online.

5. There are some other lessor known brands out there that I found but they really do not save much money so I will probably go with either Old Air or Vintage Air whether I do a complete replacement system or go with an underdash AC only unit. Both make what appear to be good quality systems.

Alan

 

Thanks for that information! I will take a closer look at your pictures. Right now I am leaning towards an underdash AC only unit like that. Being able to keep the cowl vent would be a plus as well as not losing any glove box space.

Since it won't be long before colder weather starts to hit and I need to save a few extra $$ before doing AC this will likely be a spring time project but it has been on my mind with the hot weather, especially after rebuilding my suspension and the fact my truck is riding and driving so much better with new shocks and springs installed.

I think I have become soft in my old age....I grew up driving trucks all summer without any AC but I have gotten spoiled and on the dog days of summer I really like my AC. Of course it does not help that I will likely never get used to the humidity in Missouri no matter how long I live here.

 

The Vintage Air Mini Slim works for me. Full use of glove box and cowl vent. I put the heat /cool unit in so no need for another heater. I also used their EZ clip lines they flex more and are smaller in outside diameter than conventional lines, well worth the extra cost.
http://www.vintageair.com/2014catalo...08-15%2051.pdf
http://www.vintageair.com/2014catalo...08-15%2078.pdf

 

Thanks for the picture and the tips about the hoses. Looks like a nice setup.

Alan

 

Here's a quick question from a total ignoramus...Does the air conditioning unit completely do away with the heater box and all associated hosiery?
Hmmm. Not sure hosiery is the right word there, as I am guessing most of you guys probably wouldn't know much about that?

 

Not so effective when the mercury reaches 110 degrees here in the south west! However, it is great in the SW winter time, probably not so good in the PA winters...

 

On the vintage air it does.

 

If you go with a complete replacement Heat and Cool system then it does replace the stock heater and all hoses. Both Vintage Air and Old Air make replacement systems that allow you to update the heater, add AC and route the hoses through the existing blower motor hole in the firewall.

The other option is an underdash AC unit which leaves the stock heater in place and requires you to run the AC hoses through the firewall through some type of bulkhead.

 

One thing to consider, the Vintage Air and Old Air units have dehumidified defrost. Not sure about you, but I love the defrost on my Vintage Air, it's nice to be able to see on those rainy days.