Camaro AC, Uncategorized

Eliminating the Heater Box and Reversing the Alternator and Compressor in a ’74 Camaro

This email from a ’74 Camaro owner is a good example of the many different alterations we can accommodate when converting a factory air car to CAA air conditioning.

I am interested in upgrading my A/C system with your complete kit. The kit description states it is for cars without factory air. Mine has the original factory air. Will this work? If so, is there enough room under the dash for the dryer, evaporator, and blower so I can eliminate the heater box in the engine compartment? Do you carry a plate to cover this opening from the eliminated engine heater box? I also want to reverse the alternator and A/C compressor. Do you have the correct brackets to do this? What about an electric fan?

Yes, our system is designed for a heater-only, second-gen Camaro. We’re in the process of designing a kit that will convert from original factory A/C to our Perfect Fit Elite AC. In the mean time, our heater-only kit can be made to work your factory-air vehicle with just a few small modifications. The differences between a heater-only car and a factory-air car are in the control panel on the dash and the vents in the dash. Our A/C systems can be adapted to work with your factory air vents.

All of our Perfect Fit Systems come with a block-off plate for the firewall. Everything underneath the dash and hanging in the engine compartment is removed during installation. The block-off plate is then attached to cover up the hole.  Our unit rolls up into place and comes through the block-off plate and seals off the engine compartment from the inside of the car. (The hole left in the firewall after removing the original A/C is a different shape from that left in a heater-only car.)

There is enough room under your dash for the Perfect Fit System. The dryer is designed to be installed inside your engine compartment, not inside your dash. The evaporator is a self-contained unit — your heat/A/C/defrost system, with the blower motor attached to it — that rolls up inside your dash.

We carry many different styles of compressor mounts and alternator mounts, to accommodate small and big blocks, long and short water pumps, etc. We can put the compressor on the driver side or the passenger side. We can also put your alternator on either side. We have matching brackets so it looks nice when completed.

We can add an electric fan if needed, but we recommend waiting to make that decision until after you’ve got the system installed. Get the new A/C running and drive your vehicle around for a while first. Generally speaking, you don’t need one. Adding A/C to a vehicle only adds roughly 5 degrees to your engine temperature. If your engine is already running a little hot without A/C, there’s a good possibility you’ll need to add an electric fan.

If you’re overheating going down the freeway or going 25 or 30 mph, an electric fan will not solve that problem. Electric fans don’t produce air flow over 25 mph. If you’re overheating at stop lights driving under 25 mph, you need extra air flow.

If an electric fan is needed, we recommend adding it to the front side of the condenser/radiator to push — we call it a pusher fan.

Our sales people will be happy to go over the details and requirements of the Perfect Fit Elite System designed for your specific vehicle.

 

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