benjamin247

Love driving around but can't handle the heat when I'm driving during the day. Any advice on cooling without breaking the bank? I got a quote for about $2500 to have AC installed, but that's a little too high for me. Right now, none of my air vents work.

BlackGold

'68 has the little winglet windows, right? Use them! They're better than A/C as long as the car is moving.

Fix your vents. What's wrong with them? If they're screwed up, it's also possible that the mixer door is not going all the way to the "cool" position and thereby sending heat into the cabin.

Lady72nRob71

First, fix the vents to work.
Another good idea is to pull the front seats, pull the carpet back and insulate with fatmat or dynaliner to insulate the hot firewall and floorpans from the interior. It made a difference in my '72.

Octania

bypass the heater core for the summer.

Fun71

What, do you live in Phoenix like I do?

MDchanic

You don't even have to bypass the heater core -just put a valve in the line and close it.

- Eric

joe_padavano

Per the OP's other thread, he isn't even sure if this car has A/C or not. It would be helpful to get the answer to that question first, as the answers will vary.

benjamin247

According to the previous owner, it had AC at some point but it was removed. He gave me the compressor that it originally came with. I had my mechanic take a look at my car and found where the heat was coming from. There's a palm sized hole in the firewall (driver side) where i'm guessing some AC component was mounted. I'm gonna try to cover that and see if it helps...

joe_padavano

Again, what does "removed" mean? Just the compressor was removed, or EVERYTHING? Is the condenser still in place in front of the radiator? Is the HVAC box still in place under the dash? What about the vacuum controls? The recirculation flapper and actuator in the passenger side kick panel? The fiberglass HVAC box on the passenger side of the firewall? The wiring and vacuum hoses?

By the way, there is no part of the factory A/C that passes through the drivers side of the firewall. There is a grommet in the center of the firewall where the HVAC wire harness and vacuum hoses pass through, however. That hole is not "palm sized", however. In fact, the only hole that size on the driver's side is the one that the main firewall electrical connector mounts in, on the back side of the fuse box.

MDchanic

Hmmmmm... Y'know, that just might do it.

How closely did you look at this car before you bought it?

Also, if it is important to you not to be hot in your car, why did you buy a car with the A/C removed?

- Eric