Shawn Stanford

I'm seriously considering Kevin in VA's '79, but the A/C has been deleted by a PO. Since I'm looking for a true GT car - a comfortable, fast, long-distance cruiser, A/C is a priority.

I searched, but didn't find an A/C rebuild thread, but someone must have done it during a restoration. So, questions:

* What's involved in putting A/C back into a Shark?
* How available are the parts?
* How hard will it be to reinstall into a running car?
* Are there any modern substitutions available?

Any advice/thoughts appreciated!

FBIII

I would think the first step would be to find out exactly what has been removed. If its just the condenser and compressor replacement would be easy. If the evaporator has been removed then the dash has to come out.

j.kenzie@sbcglobal.net

Like FBIII said, the evaporator removal would tip the scales IMHO. I doubt the PO did that, since it is too much trouble. Otherwise you need to get new hoses, o-rings, expansion valve, drier, compressor and condenser and consider R12 vs R134. It's a big job, but doable. Seems like the cost will be around $1K depending on new vs rebuilt parts. Could be more. Could be a lot more if not DIY.
You may find the control unit needs rebuilding and that would be additonal. If you can find the old components and the reason for their removal, it might ease the process.
Good luck,
Dave

dr bob

Look to see if the hard line sections are still in the engine bay, and whether the connectors to the soft sections are intact. Replacing these really requires and engine removal. Darn near everything else is bolt-in. As others suggest, evaporator replacement requires dash removal. But there's lots of WYAIT stuff to do while the dash is out, so no shortage of fun to offset the AC work.

The Forgotten On

Get the griffiths kit. It is about $900 but comes with new everything. It is designed to be a r134a compressor but you could run r12 in it. I has a modern compressor (a lot of improvements have been made in the last 30 years) and comes with brand new barrier hoses along with everything to do a proper A/C system service like the drier, o-rings, r134a charge ports etc. I just did the swap in my 81, all you have to do is follow the directs, they are very easy to understand and are very complete. I yanked the dash which meant removing the entire interior but I also needed to replace some vacuum actuators and reseal the HVAC system so there is plenty to do when you have everything out. Good luck on any work you will be doing.

dr bob

The Griff kit has the retrofit pieces but none of the hard parts that would otherwise stay on the car. It's worth looking at, after he determines that the condenser, hard piping, fuel cooler, and evaporator are still in the car. When folks "take out" the AC, there's a lot of latitude. Might just be removing the compressor and drive belt, cut the hoses. Or it might be a whole system-ectomy if the goal is lightening the car for track use.

Randy V

I gotta wonder why the PO would even consider removing the AC system and then what other hacks may have been performed on the car.

Sounds like you are breaking into jail with this one.