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What is the best choice for AC

25K views 42 replies 26 participants last post by  tekctrl 
#1 ·
I've read a lot of posts on this and wanting to get some input. My car is on a rotisserie so with it being striped we will be getting to the point of picking a unit soon. I'm a AC freak when it comes to being cool during those hot days. I've read a lot of nightmares on here and want to avoid as much of that as possible. Any hope is greatly appreciated. I have a 55 Belair 2 door sedan.
 
#2 ·
Vintage Air

I installed the VA Gen 4 system. Not a difficult install if you follow the installation instructions. I did it by myself except for the evaporator install where I needed someone to start a couple of bolts while I held the evaporator in place. VA Tech help was great when I had a couple questions.
 
#3 ·
I also installed a gen 4, did the work myself had to draw it down twice and got the temp down to 38 degrees, also you can use the original heater controls. the only thing I found that didn't work so well was when its on high you can't change the door positions until you slow the fan speed down.
 
#5 · (Edited)
I am also in the process of deciding on which AC system to purchase. I can follow directions well, but it sounds like the VA instructions leave a bit to be desired. I can also get creative, but since this will be my first AC install, I don't have previous experience to bring to the project.

I will be following this thread close, relying on your comments and suggestions regarding all options.

Thanks!

Oh, thanks SR66 for your detailed installation instructions. I would guess the install woes will be similar on a '55?
 
#6 ·
I installed a VA Gen IV system into my 56 Bel Air last year. I thought the installation was fairly straight forward, and went well for me. Since the installation, I've driven the car to Hot August Nights in Reno, and also to Cruisin' The Coast in Biloxi. The Gen IV system has been bullet proof, and has performed perfectly.
 
#7 · (Edited)
I've been very happy with the Vintage Air Gen IV. Specifically, I like the fact the Gen IV converts the stock 55 heater levers from cable to computer/wire ... This allows almost infinite control/blending of the heat vs air, with no clutter of cables that might want to bind.
 
#8 ·
I've installed multiple brands..

Vintage air
Air tique
southern rods

and dollar for dollar
the least costly is
http://www.southernrods.com/a-c-and...-chevy-a-c-heat-and-defrost-complete-kit.html

instructions are not that good for any of them, plus.. if your like me,
you want to modify it to fit your needs, (hose routing, etc)

when you get down to it, your mounting an a/c box, a condenser, and a/c compressor, and hoses/electrical.
I would suggest crimping all hoses, vs hose clamps.
pay attention to hose inlet and oulet ( water and freon)
good luck
 
#9 · (Edited)
Vintage air
Air tique
southern rods

and dollar for dollar
the least costly is
http://www.southernrods.com/a-c-and...-chevy-a-c-heat-and-defrost-complete-kit.html

instructions are not that good for any of them, plus.. if your like me,
you want to modify it to fit your needs, (hose routing, etc)

when you get down to it, your mounting an a/c box, a condenser, and a/c compressor, and hoses/electrical.
I would suggest crimping all hoses, vs hose clamps.
pay attention to hose inlet and oulet ( water and freon)
good luck
How does the controller look when mounted? Any installation problems? Would you recommend mounting the in-dash vents instead of the under-dash vents?

This is my first AC install, so have plenty of questions!

I'm all for saving dollars, but is it a comparable product to the VA and Air tique offerings?
 
#12 ·
I installed vintage air, however based on some post searching after the fact I would look at price as a deciding factor. I liked the idea of no cables with vintage air but others offer that feature now. From what I can tell they all use a common condenser and compressor so that is not an issue. None of the kits provide the double grove pulleys so that is not an issue. The instructions leave a lot to be desired but that is a common complaint with all the kits. Every time I called Vintage with an installation issue there answer was the same. " never herd of that issue before my call" which is BS. I did not know that you can order kits without heat, If I had known that earlier I would have ordered it that way since car is only driven in warm weather. My only recommendation is to get the A/C housings that mount through the dash and not use the cheap plastic ones. You only need to buy the housings because the vents on the cheap ones will work in the housings
 
#14 ·
The Vintage Air system I'll be ordering for my 56 will be the 5th Vintage Air system I've put in my cars.......I don't even think about the others. When I needed a system for a 56 Studebaker President wagon, I called them all. Except for Vintage Air, as soon as I said "wagon", they all said "can't help". The Vintage Air system I put in cooled that car to COLD in 115 degree heat in Bullhead City, AZ. I hope to be far enough along on the project to put Vintage Air in next summer.
 
#15 ·
A lot of Vintage Air fans here. Not me.
The unit is near impossible to get up under the dash. Once it's in you have no room to get to the wiper system, the control box and anything else under the right dash. The fan is too loud even in the low position.
John
 
#19 ·
I purchased vintage air last summer, however from what I can tell the components are mostly common. I bought the vintage air because it was a cable free system using the original control panel. I understand others do the same, so if that is the case I would go for price.....P.S. I did upgrade the A/C vents which are available on the internet and a little pricey Land vehicle Vehicle Car Motor vehicle Vintage car
 
#24 ·
I went thru the research and solicited opinions from the forum, ultimately decided on Southern Air. I'm about 80% done w/the install and (since I have never put AC in a car before) the learning curve is pretty steep.

Having said that, if you take your time, read the instructions, lay stuff out and think it thru you should be fine. I have worked entirely alone on this project but if you can have an extra set of hands available it would help a lot.

Cost savings for Southern Air is significant, and I found the components to be good quality. Everything was in the kit when it arrived but I found out many of the fittings were not the right ones or my car. I contacted SA, sent back the wrong fittings and they sent back the correct ones quickly and with no issues.

The plastic dash vents are crappy but it seems like all kits have that issue. I plan to buy the better quality vents and drill my dash at some point.

I reached out to SA again about crimping hoses and never did find a local shop to do mine...but I bought a crimping kit on Amazon for $130 and am doing my own.

Good luck on your build.
 
#25 ·
I have VA in my 55. I welded 1/4" bolts on the inside of the firewall and modified the mounts as I have a smooth firewall. Also have Raingear wipers which should be installed before VA. I bought some aftermarket vents and the interior guy put them in a panel. I also used the stock heater/vent controls. I didn't think the installation or instructions were bad. Did it by myself over a couple of days.
 

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#28 ·
Got our Southern Rods a/c system installed and working.

Good News:
>It does fit even with Raingear wipers in it.
>Cool/Heat/Defrost all works well
>Southern Rods is great to work with in re info/assist/missing or wrong parts.
>Several hundred dollars less expensive than comparable VA system.

Bad News:
>When the a/c fan is on, it pulls the system voltage way down. Gotta check the fan grounding...might be a bad fan ground.
>Kit instructions were sometimes vague, misleading, or outright wrong.
>Kit was missing parts and other parts had to be modified to work.
>Under-dash vents will Not work if kickpanel speakers are present.
>If a console is present it Will need to be modified for the under-dash blower.

Final Report; I'd use S-R kit again if we had to do it over again. :tu
 
#35 ·
Update

Got our Southern Rods a/c system installed and working.

>When the a/c fan is on, it pulls the system voltage way down. Gotta check the fan grounding...might be a bad fan ground.
Turns out that the in-dash voltmeter is wired into the harness incorrectly and reading system voltage inaccurately. The battery is getting a full charge even with the a/c on. Need to move the B+ side of the voltmeter to a more appropriate location. :tu
 
#30 ·
Not to bash the V.A. GEN IV system, it is a good unit, but i personally think it leaves a little to be desired in the air out put department, and the fan is LOUD as heck since I have to run it on Hi too just keep the 57 comfortable. I did a 6000 mile round trip with it to the 2015 NATS and back, and it worked flawless, but the car was never REALLY COLD, just comfortable to be in.


I am getting ready to install A/C in the Nomad, and this time around i am going to go with a under the dash unit from Old Air Products.Plus I really don't want to remove the stock Deluxe heater system, plus the Nomad also has Rain Gear already installed.

I really like the looks of this under the dash unit.

 
#33 ·
I have been watching this thread for a while, since I installed Southern Air in my 55 restomod project (I took everyone advice and installed Raingear wipers first and glad I did!).

A very common theme seems to be "AC install instructions from most companies generally suck", and based on my own research I agree. Since I am mechanically adept but had never installed AC in ANY car b4 I'm sure it took me far longer to get mine done. Oh, yeah...and I had my right hip replaced in the middle of it all!

However, before starting I compiled installation instructions from a variety of places (not just SA), since the core components are similar across all systems. I also found some articles and got LOTS of help here @ the Forum. Finally, I did reach out to SA several times and in each instance they replied quite helpfully.

In the end, the substantial cost diff between SA and VA (and others) made it worthwhile for me to go with SA. So far I'm not sorry...but my car isn't on the road yet.
 
#36 ·
VA mark IV...

Just did an underdash Mark IV, this past summer on my 55 more door wagon and it's downright cooooold! Love the old school look to boot. Easy install etc. the only thing I didn't like was the trinary switch cycles the fan continuously, I installed a toggle switch to have it on when a/c on.
 
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