We’ll get started under the...
We’ll get started under the hood, first by draining the radiator, then removing the stock heater blower assembly and hoses. Though it seems possible to remove the heater assembly without removing the inner fender, we found that any attempt was in vain and finally caved and removed the inner fender. Like most things we tend to fight, it turned out to be a lot easier than we imagined.
One of the best creature comforts that can be added or upgraded to our old trucks is air conditioning. Many of us are lucky enough to have it in our daily drivers and take it for granted on those hot summer days until we swap cars and go to take the old truck for a spin. Suddenly, it’s a cacophony of noise and wind as you desperately try to stay cool by rolling the windows down and opening the vents. But try as you might, it’s just not the same. Especially if you’re heading down the road on a long trip as the road noise alone wears you down faster than asphalt on your bare feet.
But it doesn’t have to be that way! Vintage Air has come up with one of the simplest bolt-in kits short of a factory air setup in their latest Gen-IV SureFit System for ’67-72 Chevy and GMC trucks. Added to their long line of truck kits, the SureFit System is their most powerful and intelligent climate control system to date. Microprocessor controls replace the original cable or vacuum-operated connections with electronic cable converters that allow you to retain the factory control panel. Separate high capacity copper parallel-flow heat coil and aluminum plate and fin cooling coils is the most efficient evaporator design available and provides outstanding performance and instant temperature adjustments. Sounds a bit space age doesn’t it? Variable blowers speed and dash/floor/defrost blend ensures that the cab of you pickup stays just the right temperature, just like your late-model.
Available as a complete kit with everything you’ll need to convert your truck over to the latest creature comfort offerings, or as an evaporator kit for those DIYers who want to gather some of the under-the-hood parts themselves, the SureFit kit is a great solution for those of us who want all the latest and greatest.
I ended up picking the tail end of the Summer season to get around to installing the SureFit kit in my ’68, but with a few warm days here and there in Southern California and me putting a couple hundred miles on my truck a week, I can’t tell ya how nice it was to be able to roll up the windows, shut out the noise, wind, and heat, and enjoy my thoughts in comfort. It truly is night and day when it comes to the comfort level achieved with having even a little bit of control over the cab’s climate. And being able to go from too hot to too cool in a matter of minutes is truly amazing. I can’t wait until I get a chance to insulate the floor and doors of the cab properly and put in a decent stereo. Then I’ll truly be living in luxury, and why not!? Now I’ve got even more reason to laugh at people when they tell me what they pay for their late model plastic econobox! Comfort and style all rolled into one, and they think it’s just a junky old truck!
We’re going to handle the first part of the install this month, right up to the point of installing the evaporator unit and connecting the related hoses and wiring. Next month, we’ll come back and pick up where we left off and finish up the install. CCT
The next step was to install...
The next step was to install the condenser components. For non-factory air trucks, it is necessary to drill a hole in the radiator core support for the drier/condenser hard lines. Vintage Air provides a template that locates the hole in relation to an OEM hole present on the core support, shown here.
Once a pilot hole is drilled,...
Once a pilot hole is drilled, the template can be removed so a 1 1/4-inch hole can be drilled through both the inner and outer panels.
The condenser mounts to the...
The condenser mounts to the core support using a top and bottom bracket and hardware provided in the kit, while the drier mounts to the condenser using a side bracket.
Since the drier and condenser...
Since the drier and condenser are bolted to each other, it’s possible to install the #6 hard line from the bottom of the condenser to the right side of the drier prior to installing the condenser assembly. Note the use of two wrenches; one to tighten the nut and one to hold the fitting to prevent the fitting from being over tightened, twisted, and damaged.
One of the most common mistakes...
One of the most common mistakes made when installing an A/C system is to tighten the hard lines or hoses dry with the O-rings installed. This can cause the O-ring to tear which will cause the system to leak, resulting in failure. Whether the hoses are being installed in a preliminary manner or for final assembly, be sure to use a liberal amount of the provided lubricating oil on every O-ring fitting! I apply a bit to the O-ring and a bit to the fitting surface that it will be mating against to ensure proper lubrication between the two surfaces.
On the non-factory A/C trucks,...
On the non-factory A/C trucks, there are two dimples at the base of the core support that need to be drilled to 3⁄8-inch for the 10-32 well nuts that will support the bottom of the condenser.
Now the condenser assembly...
Now the condenser assembly can be slid between the radiator and the grille. Note that the hood latch assembly has been removed.
Once the condenser is in place,...
Once the condenser is in place, the hood latch assembly is reinstalled, mounting the top condenser bracket in the process. The bottom of the condenser is attached using the well nuts previously installed on the core support.