Vintage Air Climate Control Install - Cool It Now! - Tech

Here's a quick tip. If you don't have the proper 134A crimping tool and need to take your hose and fittings in to an A/C shop to get the fittings crimped, mark each end with a few short scribes of a Sharpie so that the relationship of both ends remains where you want it, preventing the hose from twisting or kinking upon installation.

The adjustable heater control valve installs in the heater line that runs from the intake manifold to the heater tube nearest the blower on the evaporator. Note the flow arrow on the heater control valve. This is an inline fitting and should be mounted with the hoses below the servo.

While the low-pressure line to the compressor goes straight from the evaporator to the bulkhead, the high-pressure liquid line coming in from the condenser goes through a binary switch as well as passing through the drier. The binary switch is a compressor safety switch that disengages the compressor clutch in case of an extreme low-pressure condition (refrigerant loss) or excessively high head pressure (406 psi), to prevent compressor damage or hose rupture. The drier's function is just as it implies; it filters the refrigerant and removes any water from the system using desiccant and should be mounted in a fairly cool, vertically-oriented location.

Vintage Air offers a number of control panels to suit each individual's needs. Pictured is the Gen II four-knob underdash pod with center louver and optional Streamline knob kit.

One great thing about Vintage Air is that the guys are hot rodders through and through and they understand that every individual install is different. Therefore, the control knobs that they offer with their pods can be easily removed and mounted individually.

One example of this is how we decided to mount the Mode and Fan controls. The '52 Pontiac dash that we installed in the F-1 a few months back featured a panel behind the steering column that made for the perfect location to mount these two controls. On the left is the Mode control while the Fan control is on the right. Yet again another way we found to incorporate the contemporary features while maintaining that early aesthetic. The other two Temp controls will be mounted on the dash as yet to be determined.

This is the A/C thermostat control that will be mounted on the dash. The gas-filled capillary tube on the end of the control goes into the evaporator and tells the compressor clutch when to cycle to regulate coil temperature and prevent coil freeze-up. Be sure to insert the capillary tube through the entire thickness of the evaporator core. Turning the knob clockwise makes the system operate colder.

This is the heater control valve potentiometer that controls, you guessed it, the heater control valve.

On the back side of the Mode and Fan controls are blade connectors that are clearly labeled.