guy i know i tryin to sell me an underdash a/c setup off his 68, its a dealer intall made by a company called fridgikit or some damn thing, my question is, what all is involved in putting one in a truck that never had a/c? i'm wanting to put it in my 72, what about stuff sticking off the firewall on the engine side? do they have all that crap like a 79 does that had factry a/c? only reason i ask is that i have a set of tall valve covers on my motor and i dont think all that crap would clear if its the case

 

Most underdash units, were pretty self contained. My '67 is a pretty simple set up, as you only need compressor and condensor and some lines run to the unit under the dash. The evaporator and everything else is inside the A/C unit.

Once they made it a permanent part of the truck is when they had the big box under the hood(sticking thru the firewall).

In all it should be a pretty simple install(once you get compressor mounted and condensor infront of radiator).

 

All of the holes needed are already in the firewall. Just need all the stuff under the hood, new hoses, drier, and maybe a new expansion valve. The wiring should be in place. The climate controls will need to be replaced. Only 4 wires + fan switch to new unit. Not sure I would use 134A with out going to a larger condensor. R12 will give you 35F on high if charged correctly. Need all of it since these do not have insulation.

 

FrigidKing sold and installed by Sears.

Similar setups included Mark IV, Climatic Air, and the various Ford hang on units installed in passenger cars, and trucks through 1972. Prior to 1965 (exc 1965-66 Mustangs), most Ford A/C units were hang on, excepting Lincolns, 1958 and later T-Birds, 1964 Merc's, and some 1957/59 Fords.

 

Lucky No 7
I am in the process of doing the exact same thing on my 69 with a 360 C.I. A 302 configuration is different than a 360 or 390. You do need to cut a hole in your firewall and in your radiator support. I bought a Factory unit off a 71 for $125 and got all the brackets, compressor, etc. I took many pictures of the truck I got it out of if you would like some. I would say that it is not a tough job but there are a few things to make notice of. 1. The placement of the hole in your fire wall (Ford put a pilot hole to mark the best place and use a 2 11/32 whole saw) Make sure you place your hoses going through your firewall so that your Wiper arm mechanism does not hit them. 2. You will need to change how your Alternator fits your Engine so you may need a different bracket. E-mail me if you would like more info.

George

 

My 68 has 2 sets of holes for the heater hoses. The lower set it for Factory AC heater hose. The condensate drain is below them near the hump. The 2 11/16" hose george mentioned is on the radiator support and FW almost dead center. I have some photos if you need them. The heater hose locations is already on my gallery.

 

Thanks blue68! My truck does not have any of the AC holes. Interesting enough though there are little pilot dents where the holes need to be drilled. After looking at the photo of where your heater hoses came out I was able to find where I need to drill. Hope to have my A/C going this weekend - Just in time for cold weather! Oh well next summer! Thanks!

 

The heater hose routing on a factory install is not very desirable. I'm will be switching over to a bulkhead connection when I put mine back together. To keep the hose from kinking I used a 1/2-9/16" coil spring from the hardware store inside the hose. If you can get your hose protector bushing out, use them. Mine tore apart from the heat breaking them down.

Do you need a photo for the AC hose location? or did you find it? The compressor lead goes out with the hoses.

I can measure my hoses if you need me to. They were rebuilt a couple of summers ago.

 

my 68 f100 has an under the dash a/c unit, but the compressor and condensor are both gone... and i need new hoses. where is the best place for me to get the parts needed to get mine up and running? if you have part numbers... that would be great too. the engine is a 360. thanks, tony

 

The compressor is the York w/service valves which Ford used for 10+ years and is cheap compaired to some. I do not have the ford PN#. I can measure my current hoses and give you all the line sizes and fittings. In my gallery I have one picture showing where it goes through the FW. The hoses have metal pipe that does a zig-zag as it goes through the wall. If the length from the exp valve and Evap are not correct they get cut my the wipers. These are long hoses, from evap to condensor & compressor. If you don't care about it being factory, you could use bulkhead connections and use hoses with the std 90 deg bend connection. The hoses connection behind the glove box is hard to deal with. I found it easier to drop the unit connect the hoses then put it back up. You must use a backup wrench on the connections to the exp valve and evap. Failure to do so will make a pretzel out of the evap lines.

You may be better off getting the bracket for the compressor from a wrecking yard. I looked a few sources and they had the compressor, drier, condensor but no hoses or brackets.

Some parts houses may have a listing for the hoses. My supplier did not, the reason I had my rebuilt. The drier was available, as long as the exp valve.

 

I am in Nebraska and I found 2 Factory Units in a junk yard. I purchased one they both had all the brackets which made the install fairly easy in the engine compartment. I pressure tested my hoses at 150 lbs. 2 held good and I rebuilt the third. The compressor and accumulator I got from my NAPA Store. If you have a big enough Parts Store they sometimes build AC lines. We build them at my store - not cheap but I do not believe they are available any longer. I also used the condesor out of the junk yard. These are also available. I hope to have mine working this weekend! Hopefully will be a "Cool Truck" then

George

 

Hey All - Got my AC working today - Just in time for Fall! Anyhow worked all Labor Day weekend getting it installed. It works well. The only thing I think I need to do is ad a shroud and try and find a new Fan Switch. Does anyone know where a new fan switch can be located? I will post some pictures at a later date.

Thanks for the help.

George

 

The factory units only had 1 blower unit, so every thing is on the climate control. I do not know how the factory control units are. I would guess they had their own controls.