I couldn't take the heat anymore. I didn't like any of the kits out there because they really alter the look of the truck and they are expensive.

My goal was to keep my stock Ford heater, my glove box, hood vent and not have anything hanging under the dash. I don't like the compressor brackets that use the GM alternator along side where the generator goes.

I cant hide everything but I did want to minimize the presence of as much of the system as possible yet still be serviceable and most importantly cool the cab.

Some of you may think I'm foolish to have so much time in this but, I have way more time than money and I did accomplish my goals. Here comes a lot of pics.

















Used longer bolts through head and water pump. This bracket took a lot of time because the compressor has to be in a position so belt not only aligns with pulleys but also has to miss the lower hose and work out to a length and width belt that actually exists.

Lots more pics to come.

 

Once the compressor was mounted I found out the fan hit the clutch. I got tired of fighting the shroud so I cut it in half and made it so I could bolt the top and bottom halves together. I did a thread on this mod.

Since I was putting more stress on the fan hub I decided to get Bob Drakes ball bearing fan hub.

I had to fabricate a 1/2" spacer to get the fan to clear the clutch. This required longer 12-24 bolts and I had to notch the shroud a bit.



















Looks better silver but I'm trying to keep it not so obvious.

 

That is amazing, very impressive. I can diagnose a fault (sometimes) and throw parts all day long but you have some fabricatin' skills. And AC is one "mod" nobody should find fault with, esp. living in Arid Zone A . I'd drive my slick a lot more if it had air.

Question - it appears you're running a generator no? I realize there are stealth alternators these days. Does a generator provide enough juice?

 

On to mounting the evaporator. It fit perfectly between the lever for the hood vent and the glove box. It sits below the wiper motor and doesn't hang below the dash.







Then I needed a way to blow nice cool air through the speaker grill. So I fabbed up a plenum.





16 gauge steel.



The weld is kind of fugly. Actually the back side of my TIG weld.

 

I am totally following this thread. I am going to do this with my '56.

Thank you for your efforts.

 

The dowels helped but I thought I could do better so I rigged my drill press as a poor man's mill.

 

Mounted a 14" X 20" parallel flow condenser in front of rad. Bought some U-Bend It aluminum hard lines and hid most of it below the panel.



Mounted the dryer and lines in the wheel well so you don't see them in the engine bay. I used existing bolt holes and made a simple bracket to attach the dryer. I shot some black paint on just so it wasn't so obvious. I'll do a better job when the truck gets paint.



I bought all the fittings and hose from an eBay seller. Great prices and American made. Two bulkhead fittings go into the cab behind the passenger kick panel. I also put the condensate drain line through here.







Local A/C place only charged me $35 to crimp all my fittings. The compressor already had oil and Vintage Air said not to add anymore. I only put one 12 oz. can of R134A in the system and pressures were good and it cools well.

 

I had originally contacted First Rider to buy a Magic Air switch panel from him. I decided not to because I would be cutting it up and modifying it. So I made one from some scrap 2" 16 gauge tube.



















OK that's about it for now. I have two more ports on the evaporator unit that I ran duct hose from. Went to the outer edges of the dash so air blows up near my arms near the doors. It's just rigged temporarily until I figure out what kind of "hidden" vents to use.

I don't have ANY insulation in the cab, just bare steel. No boots covering the holes or anything and this system cooled me very well. I can still open the hood vent and get some fresh air. It will be even better when the cab is insulated and the windows get some tint.

My engine is tired and it still does fine with the A/C on. It does not overheat. I did turn the idle up a little bit. Also, I'm still running the generator and it keeps up fine.

I'm very happy with my A/C system. No it doesn't blow like a new car but it works well enough for me here in AZ.

 

Good thread Scott

 

Scott,
Congrats, extremely well done! I went through a similar, but different, non kit AC build. It is very time consuming.

 

I like the ac build but I did notice that you must have come and taken my drill press. I have one just like it that was passed down from my father it is a 1952 model still so smooth and quiet. Now once again very job on the a c

 

I was looking at that. Craftsman? Nice.

 

Thanks for the compliments everyone. It was definitely time consuming which is OK because it keeps me busy and I like to tinker.

The drill press is very cool. It came out of a collapsing adobe structure and was a mess when I got it. It is a Craftsman King Seeley and according to the tag on it from 1949-1950. It also has the Vari-Speed attachment on it.

 

Excellent work! You'd never know it's behind the dash.

 

Very 'Cool' job there Scott. One question, does the unit interfere with the defroster ducts?