1969-1984 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
I pulled all the stuff from numerous cars in local pull-your-parts and got a stash of all the little bits and pieces. Assuming you have everything, you will need to make friends with an A/C shop who isn't scared to do custom hoses. Here are my major tips:
1) I replaced all the hose-clamp joints with either compression or o-ring fittings. Using the old hoses as a model, an A/C shop can make really nice hoses with nice connections.
2) Two hoses pass into the passenger compartment through the firewall. I cut my holes using a punch/die that my roomate at the time borrowed from work. You drill a pilot hole and thread a bolt through. The punch sits on either side of the firewall. You turn the bolt, and it punches out the hole. It made the most beautiful hole I've ever seen. I then primed and painted the edge with the factory color. You will need huge grommets for those holes - I got mine from my A/C guy.
3) I did not follow dealer wiring - it looks hacked IMHO. I built a harness using black PVC sleave that I got from an electronics shop. I ran all wires along the factory harness. My wires came into the cabin through the huge boot on the passenger side below the fuse box.
4) You will need a new receiver/dryer. At the time, there wasn't one that had provision for those green switches. I got one that had a single treaded connection. Into this, I put a TRIANARY SWITCH. This is a big deal. It replaces those two green switches. It cuts the comperssor out if pressure is too low or too high, and it turns the fan on and off.
5) I wired the fan so that it goes on if either the A/C or coolant temp fire it. That said, I need another fan. A hot day in traffic with A/C on will raise the temp beyond what the fan can do. Later 900s had a switch in the coolant hose that cut the compressor if coolant got too hot - a good idea, but I didn't do it.
6) You will need to add a solenoid idle bypass thingy so your idle rises when A/C is turned on. They are on early 80's 900s. Get all those hoses, t's, etc.
7) On the condensor in front of the radiator, my A/C guy welded on brass (I think) fittings that needed O-Rings so I could do away with the hose clamps. He said that condensor is nice because you can repair it.
8) I bought a rebuilt York compressor from my A/C guy. At the time, he showed me an adapter mount that would allow a Sanden compressor. But he said a York can be converted to R-134. My system runs R-12.
9) Power to the system runs through a 30-amp circuit breaker mounted near the fuse box. Power comes straight off the battery. This means the fan runs with the key off. You could wire it through the fuse box I think, or at least to a switched power source. I may make that change some day.
If I had to do it again:
I would put solid tube through the firewall, and make connections on either side. This is what hot-rod guys do and it would make it easier and cleaner.
I would spend time on the vintage air website. I would even consider putting one of their systems in place of the current heater core, heater valve, fan, etc. and not add the dealer system at all. You would need the underhood stuff, brackets, compressor, condensor, receiver/dryer. But hook it up to their Generation II Compac Unit or whatever they recommend. I would love to use the current ducting to blow either A/C or heat. This is how it should have been done in the first place. Having ducting below the dash, and a separate fan for vent and A/C is kind of redundant. But my system blows cold and I just can't own the car without A/C. It's running everytime I drive it.
posted by 24.6.5...
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