A continuing blog of my A/C conversion journey.

commando1

Old Man with a Hat
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I've decided to do a post with updates as they happen on my quest to turn the interior of my 1976 New Yorker into a meat locker under the worst of possible conditions here in brutal Florida. Typically: In slow traffic, sunny mid-day, in August. Hopefully, It will help someone down the road from wasting money. Also, I would prefer it not to turn into a battleground by people telling me what I "have to do" or people telling me I don't know anything about A/C system and that they do. You'll be right. I know NOTHING, comparatively, about A/C systems. Read about the journey, not the destination. OK?

The backgound.
1976 Chrysler New Yorker, 440 engine, AutoTemp II, and original R12 unconverted system blowing warm.
Summer was coming and i needed a quick fix.
So I did the standard AutoZone "conversion.
First, I read everything I could on the net, including the advice from Vintage Air.

Initially, at the minimum, this should get me going:

I had a professional shop using an electronic leak dectory and dye look for leaks. My hoses were in excellent condition and the test showed no leaks so I was good to start.

I evacuated the system (ask me no questions I will tell you no lies - again, please: this is not going to be about debating what's right and wrong).

I installed a new expansion valve because I had one, not because i needed one. I then:

  • Drained the compressor oil and added 134a compatible oil.
  • Replaced seals with 134a compatible ones.
  • Cleaned the system by blowing it out with an air-conditioning flushing agent)
  • Removed the EPR valve from compressor’s suction port.
  • Installed a thermostat.
  • Charged the system with an off the shelf 134a "synthetic" refrigerant.
Here's the thermostat:

n4wi9h.jpg


The Module is mounted on the firewall and the thermocouple is inserted through a hole on the firewall so the thermocouple is resting against the evaporator. The module is spliced inline into the the AC cutout line.
When it detects icing it cuts out the AC.

As it stands now, it reads 48° at idle at the vents. Sounds cold but it only cools down the interior adequately, not great.

In the process of converting the entire HVAC system to the best I can get, I rounded up a manual HVAC manual box and controls to finally get away from the AutoTemp II.

fly0p5.jpg


While I start to accumulate all the items for a totally brand new and efficient system, my next purchase will be to replace the series flow condenser with a parallel flow. Why?

http://www.ackits.com/c/Parallel/Parallel+Flow+Condensers+-+Aluminum.html

There will also be a pusher fan in front of it.
I'm not doing this until at least November because I don't want to put the AC out of action yet.

To be continued.
 
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Great start! And good reading. Have you decided what condensor part number you are going to use?
 
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Not yet. I'm going to measure what I have and try to match it up as close to possible.
Once again, as in all my bone-headed projects... "It has to look factory" :icon_study:
 
Stan,

My 1978 Ny'er is not an Auto Temp II. Are the under hood A/C components the same for both types of A/C systems 76-78?
 
Stan,
My 1978 Ny'er is not an Auto Temp II. Are the under hood A/C components the same for both types of A/C systems 76-78?
The only difference under the hood is the heater valve.
Fortunately for you, a new manual AC heater valve is readily available.
Unfortunately for ATC II owners, a new heater valve is unobtanium.
 
Not yet. I'm going to measure what I have and try to match it up as close to possible.
Once again, as in all my bone-headed projects... "It has to look factory" :icon_study:


The OEM condenser:
k4aw47.jpg




The one I just bought. It is 29" overall width:

sqk2th.jpg
 
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And as delivered. Glad it's black and not like the picture in the listing.
Doing a rough estimation of the fit, I see that there is a vertical brace for the hood latch and front grill right up against the condenser so it looks like I'm going to have to do dual pusher fans, one of each side of the brace. Once again, nothing's easy...:BangHead:

24nnurk.jpg


condenser 001.jpg
 
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Have you looked at converting to a sanden compressor?
Done some preliminary work.
Talked to people who have done it.
But that's not till way down the road...


While I'm here, I solved the fan problem. One of these on each side of the brace. $66 each from Summit:

2dt8zrm.jpg


Clipboard01.jpg
 
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I got the fans today. Changed my mind on which fans to use. I found a couple of 10" on eBay for $48 for the pair, shipped.
Reversed the blades to change them from puller to pusher.
I tried out several variations on how to mount them and this seemed the best.
Looking good on how to mount them I fabbed up some brackets.
Excuse me. It's Miller time.

vd3hon.jpg
 
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Can you post a close up pic of the mounting brackets before you mount them. What mounting hardware are you going to use.
 
The brackets to mount the fans to the condenser I fabbed out of 16ga. steel and with a 1/2" offset using a bench top brake. After I locate and drill the holes properly, I'll post some close ups for you showing the hardware and how it's finally mounted.

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Thanks Stan. You're making pretty quick progress on this project!
 
1978 NYB said:
Thanks Stan. You're making pretty quick progress on this project!

Well, this may be as far as it goes for a while. The next step is to install the condenser and I don't want to be w/o A.C. for the time being.?

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Getting bored.
So, I scheduled the car to have the freon evacuated and stored Fri. morning and then bring it back Monday for new hoses and recharge the system with the saved freon.
I'll install the condenser over the weekend so in preaparation I did the wiring for the 40A relay for the fans. Minor but time consuming...

relay 001.jpg
 
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