xxcarguy
Well-Known Member
Has anyone ever seen one of these?
Up close and personal?
Up close and personal?
Automatic temperature control
- Thread starter xxcarguy
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I worked on them, they were an unreliable POS. The first generation units starting in '68, mostly on Imperials, were so bad our dealership stopped ordering them in '70. The thermostatic controls were garbage and the system was prone to hard to find vacuum leaks everywhere. Today you could easily spend up to $2k to restore one of these systems and you would have a hard time finding a tech who knows the system and who could find parts for it. Even after all that, it would probably only last a season or two. I won't buy a Mopar with this A/C component on it.
Dave
Dave
I suspect there were fewer Furys with that "upscale" option than there were similar Chevy Caprices with the GM/Harrison Comfortron automatic a/c system. As mentioned, I suspect that after the new wore off, the less expensive manual system actually fit the buyer's needs better. When you punched a button on a normal system, something happened THEN rather than waiting for an unusual mechanism to decide what to do.
CBODY67
CBODY67
The system changed a lot in 1971. Can you also comment on your own experience with the 1971-1973 AutoTemp?
xxcarguy
Well-Known Member
I just never had seen one.
Thanks
Thanks
xxcarguy
Well-Known Member
How about the plastic slides in the temperature control unit of a A/C car.
My lower handle flops back and forth without engaging.
68 Fury
The cable on the back of the unit is probably broken or detached. If you are still fairly limber, take a flash light and look under the dash to see if you can see any loose or broken parts as the lever is moved. The cables corroded over time and sometimes the stud on the back of the control that held the cable loop broke off.
Dave
The second generation units were somewhat better, the thermostatic controls were more reliable but they added even more vacuum hoses and fittings than on the first generation units and they still had lots of small vacuum leaks. The parts for these are also getting scarce, so I would not suggest buying a car with this system. The servo is of particular concern as these are expensive. Small vacuum leaks often rendered this system lethargic or non functional and there is no good cure. Some have added a small vacuum pump to compensate for the vacuum leaks with varying degrees of success.
Dave
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I personally have not had vacuum leak issues with my systems - rather I have had check valve failures that have rendered the system inoperative, but those are mainly below the dash and easily replaceable. Otherwise there is little reason for the system to not work just fine when using the reproduction long lasting servos made by Performance Analysis Company. The same systems are used in Mercedes Benz vehicles of that era and those vehicles have strong support as well from Performance Analysis and they even supply reproduction amplifiers for the systems. Mercedes older vehicles have strong factory support to keep them on the road for as long as their owners cherish them. That is why these components are still available and the only Autotemp system that still can be fixed. I personally have never had a vacuum leak despite the numerous hoses in the system, only check valve failures and cracked servo housings that are standard on any coolant valve on any of these factory control units made from Bakelite. Performance Analysis servos fix this problem and for the standard coolant valves used in Chrysler products in this era, I end up getting metal control valves that aren't as precise in controlling temperature as the factory units but don't break every two years no matter what and leak coolant until your check engine light comes on and your car has overheated while driving obliviously down the road. No thanks.
WissaMan
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My grandfather owned a 71 Mercury Marquis with their version of auto temp. That beach seldom worked right either. Basically, you'd just slam the temp slider all the way down for AC and all the way up for heat. I can still remember the freezing cold days when he'd turn it on and it'd start blowing freezing cold air. Wonderful!
Yes. I actually had an NOS dash unit many years ago that I sold to someone who needed it. I've been into '68 Fury's for 30 years and have only seen a handful of cars with this option.
sprice
Active Member
We had a71' Imperial with the ATC. I can remember dad taking us to play hockey, and here in Manitoba its gets cold, anyway when the door was opened for longer than usual in winter, you could hear the fan pick up to compensate for the change in temp inside the car. It would slowly start reducing after door closed. I was about 14-15 at the time. Thought this was the coolest thing ever. Now this was luxury.
bigmoparjeff
Senior Member
I own one of those rare ATC equipped 1968 Fury's.
The ATC worked when I bought the car back in 1996, and it needed to be kept in working condition because the car was the owner's driver from when he ordered it new up to the point he sold it to me. The couple had two cars, the '68 Fury and a '65 Mustang. They sold the Fury to make room in the garage for a new 1996 Ford Thunderbird that they ordered, as '96 would be the final year for the T-Bird and they wanted a V8 powered, rear wheel drive coupe.
From 1983 to 1999, we only had one failure on the ATC in our 1978 New Yorker, and that was the 50 cent gasket on the coolant temp sensor cover. The system held temperature much more precisely than the ATC in our 1988 Mercury Grand Marquis. The cruise control in the Chrysler worked better than either our newer Ford or GM cars too.
Jeff
The ATC worked when I bought the car back in 1996, and it needed to be kept in working condition because the car was the owner's driver from when he ordered it new up to the point he sold it to me. The couple had two cars, the '68 Fury and a '65 Mustang. They sold the Fury to make room in the garage for a new 1996 Ford Thunderbird that they ordered, as '96 would be the final year for the T-Bird and they wanted a V8 powered, rear wheel drive coupe.
From 1983 to 1999, we only had one failure on the ATC in our 1978 New Yorker, and that was the 50 cent gasket on the coolant temp sensor cover. The system held temperature much more precisely than the ATC in our 1988 Mercury Grand Marquis. The cruise control in the Chrysler worked better than either our newer Ford or GM cars too.
Jeff
imperialman
Active Member
I personally give a silent thanks every time I look at the non-autotemp controls of my 78 NYB.
crazyboutwagons
Well-Known Member
XXCARGUY : As a owner of a 68 Fury with factory a/c i can tell you the problem with the temp slide lever is probably the plastic bushing on the lever that holds the lever in the slide has broken due to age . They break in half so the lever moves freely from cold to hot. i have replaced mine twice. I leave mine set on cool as i rarely use the heat only the A/C .You can manually adjust it under the dash by pulling or pushing the cable where it attaches to the heater unit.Attached is a picture of the slide control the bushing is the white plastic piece attached to the slide lever. I have a friend that i need to ask if he can 3D print me replacement pieces of these.
xxcarguy
Well-Known Member
That’s exactly what I have a problem with.
So where do you get the slides?
...or can you?
I like the 3 D printing idea.
How do they come out? So are the broken pieces usually in the slide or fall into the dash?
Mine broke it his last November.
Can’t find any loose pieces!
So where do you get the slides?
...or can you?
I like the 3 D printing idea.
How do they come out? So are the broken pieces usually in the slide or fall into the dash?
Mine broke it his last November.
Can’t find any loose pieces!
xxcarguy
Well-Known Member
Still in the slide!
crazyboutwagons
Well-Known Member
I have the original one from my car it is in 2 pieces from when it broke so it came out of the slide when i removed the pin that holds the lever to it . That is the weakest part of the bushing because it is drilled for the pin and that's where it broke. As far how to remove/replace a complete one i don't know i haven't tried. The bushing is not available anywhere that i have been able to find. That's why i mention 3D printing as a option.
crazyboutwagons
Well-Known Member
I came across a NOS heater control panel awhile back @$165.00 but passed on it because i figured the plastic was probably dried out after all these years and did not want to spend that much money on something that would most likely break the 1st time i used it. That is why i got to get my friend to try and duplicate the part. i will keep you posted.
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My ‘67 Mobile Director is an Auto Temp car and I have recently had another entire system soup to nuts out of another ‘67.
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