fave automotive A/Cs 1955-85 yrs

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A-6 pulley

the RPM and HP draw of an A-6 can be reduced by using a larger than stock pulley-i got a pulley off a ~1981 volvo A-6 that is quite a bit larger diameter than the original on the '82 chevy van A-6 i may use on my Z28;offset of the volvo pulley might be different than GM,so i will adjust if needed so belt runs in line.BTW the volvo used an expansion valve-US made,but not GM.
 
Some GM cars also used different pulleys. For example, my 1967 Riviera GS has a larger-than-usual, single-groove pulley because it has a 3.42 rear axle (the car I removed the factory A/C from was also a 1967 Riviera GS). Most non-GS 1967 Rivieras equipped with the standard 3.07 rear axle ratio had a regular single-groove pulley. In 1966, all Buicks equipped with 401-425 "Nailhead" engines had a smaller dual-groove pulley, even if they had the 3.42 axle ratio.


Here's a picture of the larger single-groove pulley in my '67 Riviera.

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A friend has a '74 Cadillac and the AC is nothing short of miraculous, considering the interior is bigger than most studio apartments. :)
 
I bought a 20 lb cylinder of R-12 about 20 years ago when I had some Sixties cars, and never used it. Is there a market for it or am I stuck with it?

GOLD MINE!
 
One day, I'd really like to get a '59 Buick with automatic heat and a/c. I think this one-year-only system was the very first fully automatic system available in cars. The thermostatic heater control could be ordered for cars without A/C but when A/C was ordered, it's operation was integrated to this system. Just like newer systems, it also controlled fan speeds.
It's probably very complicated like the Buick "Automatic Climate Control" systems that Buick reintroduced in 1966-70. Unlike the systems that Cadillac, Olds and Chevy had by then, it was still fully mechanical. The 1966-67 Buick systems were almost impossible to repair even under warranty and the 1968-70 systems were simpler but still not simple...

Here's a 1959 Buick's instrument cluster equipped with Auto Heat and A/C.


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R-12

Supersuds - qsdan is right

I can't believe you mentioned R-12. That's what my 1990 MBenz 300E uses. I am the third owner, and the second owner had no need to convert it to the R-134A system, which would cost nearly the whole value of the car, perhaps(?).

Anyway, my car will need R-12, but I will need to find someone who can do this. A twenty pound can is far beyond what I need, and I don't know what the value would be, but I do know there's a market, even if it's not legal to use it anymore. What the heck! I can't afford to convert my car to the new R-134A system!!!

Phil
 
We had Climatron heating/cooling in our '66 Chevy wagon. My dad hardly ever had to turn the knob to make it hotter or colder. It stayed at 70 and it stayed comfortable when it was used.

With my '02 Cavalier, that sucker gets COLD, and I don't even have to have the temperature knob all the way down...maybe about 3/4ths of the way (if that).

A friend of mine has a 2000 Ford F-150. The a/c in it is TERRIBLE! He's had the system charged twice. When he turns the temp knob all the way down, it barely feels like the a/c is on.
 
Here is an interesting listing that I believe you can use if you are having a certified tech adding it to your A/C unit. Just complete the form at the bottom of the page and you can get 12 cans for $30.00.

If you know someone who goes to Mexico frequently they can still easily get R12 there. But I don't know what the border guards would do with it.

 
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Rescued

That's going to be helpful, thanks Allen, both links and info

"I meant freon, not frijoles".

(remove if this I posted something I shouldn't)

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Dirtybuck . . .

The problem with the Ford truck a/c is very likely not in the refrigeration system. Ford has had a lot of trouble with the internal flapper door that shuts or opens the heater core to the airflow. Normally this flapper is controlled by a vacuum module that shuts it when a/c only is called for or opens it appropriately if heat or combo a/c and heat are called for. If the flapper door is broken it may not move at all, or it may move with no control over it.

 

The correct fix is a new flapper door that in many trucks requires removal of the dashboard, an expensive proposition. There are numerous work arounds on the internet showing how creative individuals have accessed it under the dash and through the glovebox, and then cut open the heater plenum housing to remove and replace the flapper door. The housing then has to be put back together, messy but possible. Try googling something about Ford truck a/c not working or Ford truck heater stays on and you'll find lots of info. It is also possible that the vacuum module or vacuum line is at fault giving similar symptoms but a much easier fix.
 
Phil, YOU IS THE MAN! That is the coolest thing I've ever seen. I can't believe DoD bought a 59 98 instead of a Buick. He loved stuff like this; from the "step-on" parking brake in the 57 Lincoln to the Astro dash in the 61 New Yorker to the 66 Toronado! Would love to see this system installed and in action. Oh wait, I forgot about the first Cruise Control he had. That was good for many rants and the Scotch bill went up!
 
Fan of the '59 Buick

My neighbor buddy's parents had a white four door 1959 Buick - can't remember if it was a Skylark or Electra. Supreme automobile. AC or Heat was strong. It was such a smooth ride and no sense of struggle as the AC kicked in (like some later cars that choked when you turned it on).

My dad's best friend always bought Buicks or Olds; can't recall the year in the 50's and early 60. I distinctly remember how much better their AC was over my dad's Fords(64 Ford Galaxie XL). Well, web searching didn't yield a white one, as my neighbors, so posting whatever I found - along with one of my favorite prop ships.

thanks PhilR for the photos/links.

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I like '59s too!

The '59 Buick has been one of my favorite American cars since I was a very small boy on a tricycle. I was allowed to ride the trike alone down the sidewalk exactly three houses in each direction if I asked permission. Happily there were some neat cars even in that short distance. On the west the third house had an Opel, I didn't know what it was but it was different and therefore good. On the east side the third house had my absolute favorite car of my young life, a '59 Buick. I didn't know what a Buick was either, but I sure knew that rear end was the best looking car tail ever from the eye level of a small boy on a trike, so pure and so very space age - surely George Jetson would have owned one had he lived in my neighborhood!

 

One day I triked down the sidewalk for my fix of '59 beauty and discovered instead a shiny new '63 Buick. I could tell it was new, and still recall very clearly thinking that the stupid owners had confused new with beautiful and had gotten rid of the best looking car on the street. The next day I triked back hoping that somehow they had come to their senses and retrieved the '59, but that damned '63 was still there and no '59.

 

To this day I do not like the rear of a '63 Buick, so ordinary and plebian compared to the '59, which is pure Sputnik on whitewalls!
 
One of my buddies had a 60' Buick convertible. I think it was an "Invicta" or maybe even a "Le Sabre" as his first car. It was huge and very heavy! White on red in color. He drove it for a few years in high school and then dumped it for something smaller as the it really ate the gas. This would have been around 1967-69 or so.
 
hyrdralique - fun reading your childhood encounters with the '59. I thought the same thing about the '59, and also the 1961 red Chrysler New Yorker I saw, when I climbed up on a semi-trailer parked over night at a corner Texaco, weekends, bringing/taking the new cars for 1961 to the showrooms in or out of state. I don't know about its air conditioner - maybe someone here knows

My eyes popped out when they fixed on the "ASTRODOME". and the controls on the dash. I think these cars had well-developed and efficient AC/Heat systems.

Whirlcool - yes, and relevant to this thread, turning on your A/C really sucked the gas out of the tank, remember? Cruising Woodward Ave, on a hot summer night - never used the A/C, as we'd put 50-100 miles on the car in one night $$$$$$$$$. "chip in guys!".

Interesting thread!

 
Ha, our next door neighbor had a'59 LeSabre...must have been the definitive neighbor car! It was baby blue. I always thought the headlights made the car look angry. He traded on a red '65 Wildcat. A nice car but not as much personality.

I think the Chyrsler Astra-Dome panels had some kind of weird fluorescent lighting at night. Really stunning to see! But it was along time ago.
 
He traded on a red '65 Wildcat.

That's another favorite of mine. When I was a kid, I really like the 1965 Buick LeSabres and Wildcats with the "W-shaped" ends, still do today!
I currently have one but it's a black 4 door hardtop. It's a Canadian model, loaded with most options available that year:, posi rear axle, chrome wheels, rear defroster, tilt steering, AM-FM radio with 2 speakers and power antenna, cruise control, power trunk, seat, windows and vents but lacking the most important option: A/C! This car also has extra cost (in Canada only) interior trim similar to the trim used in the Electra 225 Custom.
I'd really like to have a red hardtop coupe! Unlike the US models, the 1964-1965 2 door Wildcats produced here all had Custom bucket seats and consoles with tachs as standard equipment.

There's one 1965 in a junkyard nearby with factory a/c still mostly in. I tried to get the required parts for the conversion at a decent price but the junkyard owner wanted a bit much for them... For now, I have other priorities, like getting a washer/dryer set from 1970!

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A bud of mine looked for a good '65 Wildcat  two door hardtop for years. He finally found it in Vancouver, a one family from new car in good but not restored shape. I doubt it had been out of town for years and years but he had a local mechanic check it out, then flew up and drove it back from Canada to LA. It made the trip with no problems aside from sucking an enormous amount of gas! It did have a/c but not the bucket seats and console, evidently these are really hard to find and unique to '65. He settled for having a set of '66 seats reupholstered in the '65 color and pattern so it's very close and he's happy. Unusually, the car is an original two-tone green/aqua with a different roof color but not a vinyl top. Most of the upper-end American cars of the mid '60s through mid '70s that I recall had vinyl tops, while two-tone paint is much more '50s.
 

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