has anybody installed air cond in their truck - madse something work not a off the shelf product looking round for a car to score a system from

 

Bootie, I didn't think it got hot enough to need air conditioning in NZ.

 

Check out www.vintageair.com they have some great units.

 

ha ha it's not the heat that gets to me it's the humidity we definitly have some scorchers - my boss built a air cond out of a suzuki van system and just wondering what else people have done - i don't want to just buy an off the shelf unit - more interested in building something or making something work - i work on hot rods and moidified vehicles and am sick of the so and so front end, leafsprings from such and such, somebody else built this bit and another that - hell sounds like a kit car thats not wqhat i want for my truck

 

Well most of us don't have a spring shop, or the knowhow to build a front end from scratch. So we do the best with what is available. Best of luck on the cooling system.

 

neither did i just decided what i want and then try to find as much info as i can about it and then try to build/fabricate what i want - doesn't always work but i always learn something - guess what it's all about - always figure whatever i mess up can always be fixed.

 

There is not a truck on this forum, that closely resembles a kit car. Time, money and hard work are what is represented, plus pride. Sorting out the parts that match and don't, that interchange and not is a challenge. Anyone working on street rods knows that after market parts often require a lot of adaptation.
My thought is that the too often snootery of the street rodders gave rise to the rat rodders. The position seemed to be that either you had to have a whole lot of money, or a whole lot of skill to make a "Street Rod". Some of us are not blessed with either, but I do not think that should be an excuse to denigrate our hard work, and I do not accept it.

 

sorry didn't mean to come across like that i guess i just like originality and adaption - i'm not accusing anyone of anything - all i'm sayig is that i'd rather make my own stuff than buy it off the shelf - in reality it comes downw more to the folding than anything else - and i get a buzz out of building stuff - prob more than the actual pleasure i get out of using the finiushed product - didn't mean to step on anyones toes

 

Bootie, I don't know how your avilability is on older cars over there, but here is a thought. Back in the mid 70s I had a 36 Plymouth Coupe, I decided I wanted to install IFS in it. I took an entire IFS from a mid 60s Volvo 122s. The entire IFS drops out, crossmember and all in one piece. I then cut the crossmember in the center and widened it. Just enough to drop the Plymouth frame rails down inside the control arms. The Volvos used the standard Ford 41/2" bolt pattern and had disc brakes so that was a plus. I then took a Pinto R&P and installed it, and it worked out perfect.

 

34 plymouth's had ifs originallyt and went back to beam axle in 35 - i've used jag suspension front and rear - fitted right up

 

I haven't installed anything yet but I have given great consideration on the subject.

Here's a really simple idea that I thought of with an AC unit... Take the AC out of a car, basicly any that the compressor would fit on your engine. Hook up all the piping etc. and place the evaporator? right behind the fresh air vent. Then the only other thing to do is to have the an on switch for the compressor. Sure you won't have cold air in your face but hey, anyone could do it! Ok it is a dumb idea, but it would do the job.

Another idea would be to find one of the underdash units that were availible 30 years ago. Most of them are self contained so no need to cut up the dash or route vents anywhere.

A third idea that I thought of doing in my '52 was to make a center console that holds the evaporator and have ducts inside. I figured that would be the easiest to make and the easiest to hide the ugly sides of my crude fabrication skills.

Note that all of these require the use of a seperate heater like the stock one.

If your looking for a self contained unit (heat. air, ect.) I'm probribly not much help, but I will say the smallest I've seen is in my 280zx. The unit has everything inside the car and they are compacted, that is not spread across the firewall as many cars are.

Well I hope you find what you're looking for! Good Luck!

Clayton

 

Hi guys,


I thought I'd chime in on the uppity street rodder theme!!!!!!!

A couple of thoughts.

Point 1. When we used to modify pieces from other cars, it was because generally there were not "off the shelf" items available. SOOooooooooo we made our own.

I now buy some "off the shelf" stuff if it suits my needs, but find that it still, sometimes, does not do what I really want, so I modify it anyways.

Point 2. I get kind of a kick out of the "Rat Rodder" scene. I am really happy to see the younger set picking up the gauntlet, and attempting to run with it. However, I will state emphatically, MOST of us were not, um, ah, geez, uh, DUMB enough to drive a car regularly with an exposed driveshaft next to our leg, or without floorboards!!!!

I spent some time last night with a young guy who is building a Rat. He was of the same opinion. His dad explained to him, we used angle iron instead of box tubing because that's what Dad had available in the barn. BUT!!! If Dad would have had box tubing, we would have used it instead. We used a cutting torch because we did not have a plasma cutter, we used a stick welder because we did not have a tig machine. If we HAD those machines, we would have used them. No question.

Conclusion: As senior, experienced rodders, we need to spend quality time with the younger set so that they will have a better idea of what we did, and why we did it. Allowing history to be distorted is not a good idea. There are many of us who lived the experience, and it is our responsibility to keep it intact and as accurate as possible.

I agree with the philosophies of both Bootie, and 46yblock. I like reminescing visually. My hot rod (not street rod) looks old style as viewed by the casual observer. It does not exhibit any billet in the engine comparment, there are no digital guages in the cab........

BUT!!!

Under the chassis, and away from prying eyes........... Cruise control, Air ride, digital air, 600w stereo, 700r4...............

You see, you can have it both ways.........

The absolute best thing about hotrodding is that my car is built the way I want it.

Your car is built the way you want it, and I appreciate what you have done, whether it is the way I would have done it or not!!!!!

Your money, your hot rod, your way. How much better does it get!!!!!!

Drive on!!!

uba40

 

bootie, after seeing how they drive in Auckland, u should be able to get a matched setup from any number of wrecks and if u live on the lower half of the north island, i met a guy who signs of on new rods that owned a wrecking yard in palmerston north out near the uni if i remember correctly, he would have seen/sold systems in any number of applications
cya gary

 

cheers for the laugh yeah aucklanders can't drive our local accident rate in 65% of cases is caused by aucklanders returning home from holiday -

 

if u get stuck for the screen trim, a mate is going to Auckland in the next month or so to do some ali work for a guy called hogan( he old man designed heads for flatheads and other engines ), any way i might be able to round some up
cya..gary