I am new to this board and I am looking to pick up a 68-72 vintage Vette (preferably 70-71). I see a lot of nice cars for sale in the price range I am looking (around 15K) but many don't have factory air. More specifically, I am looking for a 4-speed car with factory air.
I have seen several posts out here regarding this conversion and it appears that it can and has been done.

My questions are:
How much (ballpark) would it cost for the components for such a swap? I would do all the labor myself.
Considering the time, money and effort involved for the swap, would it make more sense for me to just keep searching for the 'right' car?
Excatly how difficult is this swap? Is it strictly bolt on with the right parts or does it involve any cutting or fabrication?

I have added factory A/C previously into my 1970 442 and it was fairly painless with a doner carly- The only fabrication I had was a sheet metal plate to close the larger hole in the firewall from the heat-only box.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you for your time.
Elm.

Used parts probably $400-500 (inside/outside box, ducts, controls, hardline, compressor brackets, pulleys, wiper bezel, wiring harness)
Compressor $125
Main manifold $100
Condensor $150
Dryer $50
Heater core $50

It may make more sense to use an aftermarket underdash unit. As I said in my earlier post, to do this right you need to close up the vent on the left cowl and add the max-air door on the right cowl. The hole in the firewall is different. I suggest using 79-82 evaporator at least (it has an orfice tube instead of the POA system). If you do that you will have to clearance the fan part of the box or it will hit the fender.

I did it to my '73 in '75. Got tired of driving in a sauna in a summer rainstorm. If you want the recirc function to work, you'll also need the two vacuum actuators for the passenger side kick panel vent and the upper right cowl door. It's not too tough and you don't have to pull the engine (at least with a small block). The only problem with putting in a factory system is it was designed for R12. An add-on vintage system designed for R134 would be a lot more efficient and probably cool better.

Good luck,

Marc

ezobens-
I don't really have info on how to do the conversion, however I just wanted to say good luck. That sounds like a really tough job.

Try these people for an add-on A/C package. It won't look or be the same as original equipment, but will function as well or better: http://www.oldairproducts.com/catalog/main_default.php

There is another company called Vintage Air. Try a search on your favorite search engine for them, I don't have a URL.

To install factory air would be a monumental job, but it could be done. The firewall needs to be modified, the heater box replaced with a A/C and heater box combo (which is a little larger). Figure on getting all new refrigerant lines and coils as the original ones are probably too old to be very reliable. You might as well replace the heater core while you are at it, it's most likely different for A/C cars anyway. Then figure at least a rebuilt compressor with all mounting brackets and the double pulleys for the crank and water pump. Then install all the vacuum operated dampers, dashboard and outlets, ductwork, heater and A/C control for the console as well as all the vacuum lines and wiring harnesses. Now that I'm thinking about it, you are probably a lot better off buying a car that already has it, it will cost thousands of dollars to add it the same as the factory did unless you found someone removing a perfect working order A/C from their car.

Don't know about thousands, but if you can do it yourself it will probably be at least $1k-see above. I have done it and it is tedious, but not impossible. There is a big show in Knoxville next week. I'll look and see what A/C stuff is going for.

Thank you all for the great info!
The labor doesn't scare me and I won't be relying on this car as a daily driver so I'm in no hurry either. I have also about 50 lbs of R-12 I have saved for all of my pre-R134 cars. While there are a lot of conversions out there, I still think R-12 is the way to go from a cooling standpoint. It sounds like this is mostly a bolt-on affair. Can anyone tell me if the firewall itself needs any major modification at all (either closing up an opening or creating a new one)?
Thanks Again!
Elm.

Yes, you must modify the firewall.

Just thought I would throw in my two cents.

I recommend buying an original A/C car from someone that has already completely refurbished the A/C. It may add up to 5k to the cost of the car but if you have trouble, which you probably will, in adding it to an existing car it can easily set you back 1k - 3 k. In addition, a factory 4 speed car with air and matching numbers in a 71 coupe should be obtainable in the 16k - 20k ballpark. May take a little while to find a decent one but there are lots of coupes out there right now. A 70 will command a higher price because of the limited production and higher performance.

You should never loose money on a nice original driver with A/C but I would suggest that you will never get your money back if you add A/C to a car that never had it to begin with.

Most importantly, if you buy one ready to go you can start enjoying your Vette from day one!


Just food for thought.


Bill

The only firewall mod req'd is the opening needs to be made bigger to accomodate the A/C air box which does have a different heater core. I'd guess about $1,000 to $1,500 should cover it if you look around. It's not that tough, just takes time. Give it a shot.

Marc