Because of the heat this year, I had a thought maybe you all can help me forget about this idea. I have a 82 F150 2wd 4.9 I6 and no AC. What is involved in installing AC in my truck? What would I need and what kind of alterations would I need to do?

 

It depends which style airbox you have. If you have the heater core inside the cab, then it is almost as easy as bolting on the airbox from an AC truck. The airboxes will switch as long as you don't have the high output heater. For engaging the compressor, you can switch the control, or just make a push switch to turn on the system and wire it through the pressure switches so it will shut off accordingly. Many systems from the factory are set up like that. I am in the process of doing this to a 92, and I am just going to put a lighted push button in to turn on the a/c. when not in use, it just will blow through like normal. I took an airbox from an86, almost identical, it is going to work out pretty slick, All the bolt mounting is the same, the fan resistors are different, but the hole is such that all I have to do is drill two new holes and it will be ok. I'm changing the back of the inlet part to save some minor problems, but I wouldn't have to, just going to for the sake of keeping all the 92 parts on it that I can. The hole for the wiring and vacuum hoses is a bit bigger on the 92, and the vacuum servo mounts different. The 86 is riveted together in the same place the bolts on the 92 are at, so that should be easy to switch. Since you got this started. I'll lonk some pics as it goes. I'm also putting a Cummins in at the same time, so it isn't getting finished until after the motor goes in first... kinda nice having the airbox out of the way while I'm working, the clip is off, so it is the perfect time to do all this.You will find it easiest to have the fender off while you do it, as there is some bolts right on the edge behind the fender. At minimum, the inner fender well would have to be taken out.

 

If you can find a donor truck then it should slip in with not a whole lot of work. Another option is an aftermarket AC unit. Some of these are custom fit and will give you everything needed to make it look factory. Some are just under dash mounts, but these take up room and look tacky. I would try and find a donor truck and just get all the parts needed including the controls. Good luck and let us know how you come out.

 

The worst part of doing this was finding the brackets to install the compressor on the engine. I helped a friend put A/C on his 1981 300 six in 1990. The doner truck, a 1983, had a 351W. After 2 months, we found a 300-six in Nashville, TN, and had to go and remove the parts we needed ourselves! The heater boxes were easy on this conversion. Since we had the dead truck onhand, it was uninstall and install. The duct work under the dash took some effort. I had to move things. It was a pain to remove the entire dash assembly, but after it was over, it was worth every minute.
The condenser at the radiator was simple. The bolt holes are there. While we were at it, I changed the 351 radiator, too.

Our parts truck was knocked out of gear by a brat kid in the neighborhood, and it rolled down a hill and crashed into a wall BACKWARDS! The good thing is, no one got hurt. Kid denied it, but someone saw him at the truck just before the accident.

Oh yeah, the A/C dash is red. The truck colors are brown. Yes, it looks odd.


The 1981 is still running. It still has A/C that works and will freeze you out if you want it to.

 

Thanks for all of the helpful information. I will let you all know how it goes.

 

If you get a system from a donor truck I suggest converting it to R134A refrigerant while you're at it. Be sure to change the accumulator to the R134A compatible type. Also change the orfice tube from the blue R12 unit to the Red R134A type. There are a number of posts in this Forum and others that are helpful. Here is a helpful web link: http://www.forparts.com/techretrofit.htm . There are many other good ones just search "R134A Conversion" or "R12 Conversion". I think Olester oil is better than PAG oil for conversions since it seems to be more compatible with the remaining original mineral oil used with R12 (remove as much mineral oil as possible during the installation process including draining the compressor).