Today I went to the street rod nationals at Chilhowee in Knoxville with a buddy to pickup a Bed for a 56 F100 from a vendor. While I was there I decided to talk to some of the dealers and even the actual company rep for Vintage Air. My OLD AIR brand unit in my 55 has done fair to not so fair in the 4 years my truck has been on the road. I asked about putting a Vintage Air Supercooler(4 Vents) http://www.vintageair.com/download/pdf_singles/16. or the new Magnum Gen IV (4 vents) unit http://vintageair.com/cat2006/19.pdf in a 55 F100 pickup? All of the dealers I talked to said that is overkill. That is to much. Question can there be to much AC on a 95 degree high humidity southern day? Isnt it better to have the option to turn the unit down or OFF versus not be able to get it to cool enough? Dimensionally both units will fit. I know the Compac is the one in the Surefit kit but If I can't get the kinks or better performance out of my OLD AIR brand unit I want it to cool like a meat locker or one of the old Underdash units that used to really push some air. Just wondering. All opinions and experiences welcomed.

 

No argument from me. Set it to where you 'kin hang meat, then back it off a bit, if necessary. What were they thinking/

 

Does your unit or the ones they were talking about draw outside air, or just recirculate? It may not do much more cooling to add capacity if it is only recirc'ing. Are you running R-12 or R-134a?

 

If you need to scrape the ice on the inside of the glass in July and August....you might have to much AC in your truck.


Otherwise...can it ever be enough in this southern heat and humidity? I dread the heat in mine this summer. Any AC is better than none.

Dark colored vehicles are worse. Yours is pretty dark for blue.

 

Heck, you'll save current draw by not having to keep the blower fan on high, that way you'll be able to enjoy your tunes!!!

 

Albuq,
Mine and Vintage's recirculate, I am running R-134A.

 

I can never have too much A/C. If the windows fog up or ice starts to form on the inside, I'll just turn the thermostat down slightly.

 

Tacson, I have the Vintage air superer cooler in mine and I love it. It might be a tad overkill but no problem. I only run the fan on slow and turn down the thermostat. and sometimes with my wife riding with me I put it on dual (dash and floor) to cut down on the wind coming out of the vents.

 

If I may butt in to ask a question, I'm a long way from worrying about AC but with this question asked by ALBUQ F-1 it's got me thinking that I my have made a mistake by welding up my vents,I assume that when I put in an AC unit that I will be running on recirculated air only?

John

 

That is correct, but it is easier on the unit to cool recirculated air once its cooled down from initial start up if the vehicle has been out in the sun, plus it doesn't have to dehumidify as much. That is why on factory units you have the max or recirculate function.

 

B/B, Thanks. I thought a supercooler would do fine and not be overkill. I just wanted someone's actual experience in a 53-56. Is your unit the Gen II style with electronic servo's?

 

Yes it is the Gen II with servo motors. I have to say that if I didn,t have a dash extension it would have been hard(impossible?) to find room to run the ducting.

 

Wayne,
You have a PM. THanks

 

I used Hot Rod Air because I saved $100 from the price quoted by Vintage Air. BIG mistake. The Hot Rod Air is only effective on a cool cab. If the truck has been out in the sun for 20 minutes, you can't get it cooled down again. So, I say, Don't worry about having too much cooling! Jag

 

If your shades fog up when you get out; that's about right..