1971 fury heater and ac

[charles messler]

hi guys, summer is coming and my 71 fury ac is not working. Would I decrease the value of the car by replacing the whole system with a newer from classic auto air or one of the other companies. Or should I have the original system restored. The car is a four door hardtop with 360

 

[Davea Lux]

hi guys, summer is coming and my 71 fury ac is not working. Would I decrease the value of the car by replacing the whole system with a newer from classic auto air or one of the other companies. Or should I have the original system restored. The car is a four door hardtop with 360

Well, that depends on what you want to do with the car. If you plan to eventually restore it, then it probably would be a good idea to to keep the car as close as possible to factory condition. That said, it is getting difficult to find anyone who will even work on R-12 systems. I would suggest that you have the A/C system evaluated as to what is wrong with it. It is a simple fix, such as a recharge or replacement of the control, you probably can fix it without going broke in the process.

If the compressor is junk or the evaporator is junk, you should probably consider going to an aftermarket system, especially if the car is a "driver". If you do this, I would keep all of the factory parts in a safe place in case you change your mind at a later date.

Dave

 

[Davea Lux]

Given the age of the car, it is also possible that someone has already converted the system to run of R-134a. That usually makes it easier to get someone to work on it.
You can check to see if the car has a R-134a expansion valve on it. The valve will be stamped on the head of the valve with the refer gas type. The expansion valve is located at the firewall on the passenger side and will be hooked to the smaller of the A/C lines where they go into the air box.

Dave

 

[Big_John]

You can do an update to a Sanden rotary compressor and convert to 134a refrigerant. A few of us here have done it.

All your duct work, controls etc. will stay in place and you are going to be much happier with how it works over using an aftermarket unit that hangs under the dash.

 

[Davea Lux]

You can do an update to a Sanden rotary compressor and convert to 134a refrigerant. A few of us here have done it.

All your duct work, controls etc. will stay in place and you are going to be much happier with how it works over using an aftermarket unit that hangs under the dash.

The Sanden rotary unit is a good choice if your existing compressor is dead as Sanden's were designed for 134a and will live running that gas. The factory V-Twin compressors were designed for R-12 and did not always do well when converted to 134a, mostly because the compressor can run dry on lubricating oil if the system is low on gas. This usually results in a catastrophic failure of the compressor.

Dave

 

[charles messler]

I was in touch with old air products several years for a new system for my 68 fury since none of the vacuum doors seem to work. I was considering a 3100 series with electronic controls and use the original ducts in the car. Has anyone put in one of these systems and are you happy with it?

 

[Davea Lux]

I was in touch with old air products several years for a new system for my 68 fury since none of the vacuum doors seem to work. I was considering a 3100 series with electronic controls and use the original ducts in the car. Has anyone put in one of these systems and are you happy with it?

Have not used one of these systems. If all of the vacuum doors do not work you are probably not getting vacuum to them. They won't all go bad at once. Usually a lack of vacuum to the door motors is often caused by a bad vacuum line to the heater/AC control. Try pulling off one of the vacuum lines to one of the vacuum motors when it should be operating. You should feel suction when you put your finger over the end of the disconnected line. If you don't, you have a vacuum leak. Trace the primary vacuum lead back to the connection on the engine from the heater/AC control unit, you should find a hole or crack someplace The second cause of no vacuum to the motors is a bad control unit vacuum switch. That is the white plastic switch inside of the heater/AC control unit. These units are still available for about $75. You can disconnect the primary vacuum line from this switch to see if vacuum is getting to the switch. Most of the time you can hear a slight hiss coming from the switch if it is leaking. If you have vacuum to the switch and none coming out, you have a bad switch. Hope this helps.

Dave

 

[charles messler]

Yes thank you everyone.i think I should will keep the original boxes under the dashes and replace the compressor,condenser and lines in the engine compartment.

 

[charles messler]

Do you guys know if the vacuum actuators suppose to hold vacuum? I check the ones on my 68 and I can get hold up to 5 inches of vacuum but not any higher.

 

[Davea Lux]

Do you guys know if the vacuum actuators suppose to hold vacuum? I check the ones on my 68 and I can get hold up to 5 inches of vacuum but not any higher.

That should be vacuum to where they will still work. If they hold 5lbs for 10 seconds or so they are within spec. If they leak down as soon as the vacuum source is shut off, they are most likely shot.

Dave

 

[CBODY67]

In general, the aftermarket systems will require a certain amount of "re-work" of what's hanging on the inside of the cowl, one way of another. Best to use and repair what you have. In some cases, you can still find vac motors (or some that might be modified). If the diaphrams are still decent, make sure the linkage is free and lubricated. The white lithium grease they used back then can dry out with time and age.

There's a thread in here about changing to the Sanden compressor.

CBODY67