I was wondering if there are many trucks out there that have under dash a/c units installed in them? Was there ever an optional under dash type of a/c unit offered by Ford? Do these units work any better than the "in dash" type of after market systems? Does anyone know if this kind of a/c system can use the newer type of freon?

Any kind of information that anyone can provide about these units, would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Larry Bailey a.k.a. "75 SuperCab"

 

Maybe do a search this forum for "underdash A/C". I had brought up this topic along with other FTE users and found some helpful information.

There was a dealer underdash A/C unit installed in these trucks, but it is not longer made. You would have to find one out of a donor truck.

Vintage Air (vintageair.com) makes an underdash unit that looks good.

 

Somebody on here has a late 70's pickup with one and says it works great. Cant think of who it is though.

 

From 1955 through 1964, all the Ford* passenger cars used hang on air. Both as factory and dealer installed. There are several styles. In the early days there was Polar Aire, and Select-Aire. The only difference was in the design of the case, with the Polar-Aire being white plastic, and the Select-Aire being chromed.

The last Ford trucks that used factory installed hang on air were the 1972 models. The slim line case extended under the dash about 20 inches. The inexpensive versions was all plastic, with the better units featured chrome with a wood grain applique. Ford still offered dealer installed hang on air into the 1980's.

The early a/c hang on units are rarely seen today, and were a (mostly) a dealer installed option. The a/c units that were optional for Ford cars could and were installed on Ford trucks.

1957 was the first year one could order factory air installed from the factory...on cars only. These units were in-dash, with the registers at the front of the dash, taking the place of the windshield garnish moulding. However they were expensive, and not very efficent, so Ford cancelled this option in 1959. I believe that it was in 1967-68 that Ford first installed factory hang on air on the F series trucks as an accessory.

*Lincoln Continentals had in-dash a/c as a factory option in 1956, and Mercury first offered in-dash air around 1964.

Ford continues to offer dealer installed in dash a/c to this day.

 

this guy says he has in dash and under dash units for our trucks

http://www.rainbowproductsonline.com...&B=Home%20Page

 

 

[QUOTE=buzzbait65]this guy says he has in dash and under dash units for our trucks

http://www.rainbowproductsonline.com/index.html?token=1961526216-278146363-1408425120&A=1&B=Home%20Page[/QUOTE]

I see this guy has a slim line under dash for 67 - 72 ford pickups. Do they have the same dash configuration as the 73 - 79?. Common sense tells me no, or they would be advertised as 67 - 79?

 

The 73-79 Ford Truck vintage air unit has to be made up from generic parts.

 

[QUOTE=flcracker9]
this guy "SAYS", is what i said, call him, he says he has a unit for 73-79 trucks, but i appreciate the unresearched sarcastic comment to my post......... thank you

 

[QUOTE=buzzbait65]I wasn't trying to be sarcastic, I was just asking if anyone knew if the dash configuration on the 67 - 72 was the same as the 73 - 79?. If it is, the unit looks interesting. I only used the quote "common sense" to show my lack of knowledge between the 2 different body styles. He shows the picture for many different trucks, the only close to ours was the 67 - 79 unit.

 

I had the original york compressor style factory in dash a/c, and was never impressed with it, so i went to a fridgidaire lincoln style comp with all new components, it was cold but i still wasnt impressed with the airflow (bad ducting design i suppose), that is how i came across rainbow air, he says he has a unit that has heat , cold , defrost and it fits in the dash of the 77 supercab i am putting together, i had a regular cab so i know i will need more airflow

 

The first Lincoln's with a/c used a Lehigh compressor...it's a huge cast iron V2.

Nowadays, with R12 Freon hard to find and expensive, you have to go with something like a Nippondenso compressor, which looks fugly as hell under the hood.

 

Let me start this off by saying I have no stock in Vintage Air and I'm not pushing their unit on anybody. I did, in my opinion, a LOT of research in underdash A/C units before I bought one. My truck didn't have factory air and I chose to go with an underdash unit rather than hit the junkyard and find a truck with factory air. I bought a Vintage Air unit and have had no probelms. The only negative factor is that they are quite pricey. I live in Central Florida and I'd rather spend the summers in my truck riding around with cool air than rolling the windows down and hoping it does not rain. Stay safe guys.

 

The underdash units are pricey, but take these things into consideration.

1. installing factory A/C into a non A/C truck..... A LOT OF TIME, plus you have to get a donor truck. Could end up being a HUGE project. Also, unless given to you, you need to spend some money on a donor truck.

2. Having a dealer install A/C into your truck. Probably going to be more expensive. Unless you work at the dealer and can get the parts for nothing.

3. If you want A/C and want a more easy job of doing it....buy the underdash A/C unit.

Really, It can come down to time. Do you really want to tear your current trucks interior down along with a donor truck's interior? Plus, cut that big hole in your non-A/C cab? But, sometimes the bigger jobs are more fun. Who wants to take the easy way out?

 

What about Classic Auto Air out of Tampa? Has anyone bought or used there products? I live in FL as well and the heat is too much. My next big project is A/C. I have a quote for ACME brand under dash, but I don't know much about it. I was told ACME will put out 35 deg F. That would be nice in FL!!