Kjc911

I am buying my first 911. I am considering one of the aircooled years but live in Arizona and have some questions/conerns. Does anyone have any first hand knowledge how they survive in extreme dry heat? How well the airconditioning could be expected to work? What will I find unique with a aircooled 911 in Az verses a water cooled?

Anyhelp? thoughts? suggestions will be very appreciated

Keith

pgrunwald

I have an '87 Targa and live in Albuquerque.

I use Castrol Syntec Blend 20-50 and haven't had any problems. My oil temps are always between the middle bars except for once while stuck on the freeway after an accident, I pulled off and went home the long way.

I have A/C but it doesn't work however, it is a Targa so I just go faster and it's cooler! Seriously though, fixing the A/C is the next major project.

This was on the PCA mailing list:
"
You are subscribed to the 911 ('78 SC to '89 Carrera) from the PCA.org Technical Q&A Section


Classification: Heat and Ventilation
Subject: Refridgerant replacement for R12
Model: 911
Year: 1984
Total Mileage: 125,000
Car Use: General

Question:
Chris,

This is in response to a recent member who questioned whether R-12 was available. His mechanic recommended conversion to R-134. This of course would be an expensive option since it also requires modifications to the AC system.

Well, I believe I found the answer. After some searching, I found an alternate refrigerant (R-414B) that is as proficient (personal experience) if not better (according to manufacturers) than R-12 . It is completely compatible with mineral oil based systems.

I would recommend they first have the AC tested for leaks. If all is well, have it charged it R-414B.

Answer:
Thanks for the update! This is what I had been thinking about, but have had no experience with it.

Chris Powell - PCA WebSite - 6/9/2006 "

I really don't beleive you should be concerned about Air Cooled vs. Water Cooled for a 911, judge the car on the rest of the merits. I have spent a lot of time in Phoenix and there are a lot of nice Air Cooled 911 (as well as VW's!). Get the car you like!

P.
--------------
'87 Targa

Corrales911

I'm in Albuquerque also. No issues with hot days.

roger's 2937

I live in Lake Havasu and my '84 Carrera runs fairly cool(like pgrunwalds)-the temp needle seldom goes above the first bar. My A/C works fine blowing out the vents at 42 deg. however 2 days ago it stopped blowing that cold so I may have a slow leak. I converted to R134 some time ago and it worked fine to now. I also use Castrol 20/50.

Roger B.

Edgy01

These cars do surprisingly well in hot weather. At one time I had the worst combination of the worst year of 911 (1977) and the worst weather in the nation (Oklahoma,--summers!) The car survived,--somehow! With the additional optional oil coolers that became pretty much standard equipment by 1978 you ill be just fine. Make sure you have that extra cooler in the front right fender,--and upgrade it if needed to a more efficient design.

roger's 2937

Update-checked for leaks and there are none. It starts to not blow cold when the car is not moving. On the highway it stays nice and cool but when in traffic or at a light it warms up. This is in about 105 deg. temperature. I suspect that there's not enough air moving thru the consensors and the little cooling fan in the front is inadequate. I'll continue checking on this and will post an update.

Roger B.

Mike Murphy

It depends on what you are used to. If you have a modern car, you might be hot or spend a lot of money getting the AC to work in anything older than a 964. On the other hand, if you have a motorcycle or have had older cars in the past and don't mind the heat, then you should be OK.

Don't be surprised to spend $2000 to get the AC working in your 3.2 or older car. Otherwise, you should be fine.

Amber Gramps

this last winter I was looking at an all white '87 911 cab in san diego tthat had just come in from tuscan AZ. It was the cleanest, best preserved original car I had ever seen. (wife said no to white leather) I would have to say with as many airplanes as they store here in the california desert, dry and hot must be a good thing. the dryer the air, the better the A/C should work, am I wrong?

roger's 2937

When it's extremely hot(over 100 deg.), the A/C works fine out on the highway but in town driving slowly or stopped there just isn't enough air flowing thru the condensers to maintain cooling and the fan in for the front condenser is just too small to have any affect. So that's just the way it is.

Roger B.

Mike Murphy

exactly right.

rentadate

I live in the Boulder Denver area in Colorado. i drove it around in 110+ degree heat, and it normally is in the middle of the heat gauge. I use heavy oil, without an external oil cooler. Works pretty well. I have a targa, so I wear some earplugs and go really fast. Wear a hat tho...sun can burn your scalp fast...especially if you are bald or going bald!

roger's 2937

Yes, oil temp. is absolutely no problem.

Roger B.

theiceman

rentadate you are so right ....

blisters are just clearing up off my scalp .... ouch ....

Ps I am not going bald .. I am just getting taller than my hair ..

rentadate

I'm going to quote that on facebook for all my friends to read.

Thanks Ice!