MattD

The car is a 1970 Cutlass S. The A/C system is still sound, it just needs to be converted from R12. It weighs about 60 pounds so I'm concidering taking it out all together - better gas milage and quicker acceleration from the weight reduction. Should I keep it or get rid of it? Any ideas or opinions would be greatly appriciated!!

defiant1

If you take long road trips like I do, then A/C is a nice feature to have. If it still works, I would leave it be...

d1

oldzy

Leave it on, make sure things are up2date cooling wise so car does not overheat... then take A/C belt off as needed.

That is what I used to do... car still had overheating issues though.

MDchanic

The sixty pounds will not affect your gas mileage at all, and will only affect your acceleration if you are drag racing.

There is no need to remove the belt (a common 1980's "modification") - the compressor clutch spins on a bearing with essentially no resistance, and if the compressor is off, it is stealing no horsepower. If you want to be "sure," just remove the clutch electrical plug.

Save your energy and preserve the value of your car by keeping the A/C.

- Eric

oldspackrat

"Save your energy and preserve the value of your car by keeping the A/C."

Agreed, you'd be surprised how well those old systems cooled once/if you get it in nice working. Might have to spend a little money, but if you ever do sell it, having it intact & working well is definitely a plus.

317Cutty

^^^ Yeah, what he said...

Willidog

If it's all there and still works I would keep it.

Lady72nRob71

X2.

Another reason to leave the belt on is to help equalize belt tension on the water pump bearing for longer life.

Aron Nance

KEEP IT! Like Rob says, we are in the 90's daily; you might move to Texas someday with your Olds!!!!!

Lady72nRob71

Or at least make a road trip through a hot area!
Down here AC is NOT considered a 'creature comfort' item. It's life support...

MHENDERSON

Do not remove the Ac!I bought my 71 Cutlass and the guy I bought it from removed the Compressor,brackets,condenser,air drier,lines ect.I am in the process of getting it back together.The only piece I got is the compessor.I wish he left it alone!!

oldzy

On a related note... is there a way (and if so.. where would it go) to put a filter inline somewhere to keep out crap? Newer vehicles have this option.

Looking at pics, there is always dust and crap inside ducts, vents, etc. and that is the last thing I want to be breathing in, especially 40 years worth.

Lady72nRob71

A filter on the intake will not prevent that 40 year old accumulation of crud from being slowly blown out.
The best option to eliminalte all that is to remove the whole A/C system for cleaning and restoration!
I get to have that fun in a year or two...

oldzy

That is my plan anyway during my frame-off... to completely clean the inside of all ducts n stuff.

Lady72nRob71

The evaporator case will look scary inside..........

UnkleMarc455

send me a pm if you are looking for the rest of the parts, I have removed mine since the previous owner had the compressor and brackets stolen from a parts yard. Sounds like an inside job but it helped me get the car for $800

ah64pilot

I'm building a drag car that will see occasional street use...I just bought a Sanden compressor and will convert the whole system (the right way) to 134. No question in Texas, unless you want to park the car during the entire car show season.

w-30dreamin

As has been mentioned,preserve the value of your car...keep it.
When I was looking at cars to buy,a working a/c was one of my must haves. I passed by quite a few cars because of missing a/c parts. With me...no a/c=no deal.

MattD

Ok..I will keep the A/C for sure. Thanks for the replies!!

craftsman1956

I have all the parts to put my a/c back on,but what do I need to do and get to convert to 134?While the front end was off for painting,i removed the fiberglass unit from the firewall and caulked and installed.Now I wonder what to do next,is there a kit,fittings,or is it more involved?Can I use the same condensor,all the parts that were used as original? If I need new items,where can I get them?Thanks

Econow

If you do not have factory A/C is there a way to add it after?????

Lady72nRob71

There is.
The most expensive and time consuming way if to install a factory AC system. The center dash vents would need to be cut and the firewall hole welded up and recut. Then all the factory parts would need to be located or bought.

Easiest cheapest way is with an underdash AC system from Classic Auto air, Old air products, etc...

Econow

Is there a thread on installing the aftermarket A/C???

Lady72nRob71

I did a quick search here and nothing came up.
However, start a thread asking about it and see what comes up.
Not having a thread on it does not mean noone has done it.

Econow

thanks Rob

455man

I'll admit when i was 18 I removed the A/C from my Supreme because it did not work and to save weight for racing. I was fine then but 20 yrs later I'm not driving my car til I get the A/C fixed or until fall arrives. I wish i kept all those A/C parts.

MDchanic

Ha!

When I was 18, I pulled the dash and the front fender, and put A/C IN to my Chevelle. Had to pop rivet aluminum siding to the firewall to change the hole orientation.

Little did I know that it was an original LS6 car, and that by doing that, I would be wrecking it's value 30 years later .

-Eric

turnpike_cruiser

Don't forget about Vintage Air. Their products are a/c and heater combined. It's a small compact unit that mounts under the dash in the area of the original factory heater case. When I first saw the unit I thought no way was that tiny unit going to cool my car. But it does and really well.

I could not get my 44 year old A/C to cool very well. In fact even when the car was new, it never really put out 'cold' air. That and getting parts for the system is damn near impossible. No on makes the fan blower resistor anymore nor the POA valve. I did try the POA replacement tube, but not much success with that.

Vintage Air has units designed for GM A bodies. Both Chevelle and GTO. I looked at their installation manual for the Chevelle and ordered just the parts that I needed.

There is no welding when using the Vintage Air products. There is a plate to cover the holes left in your firewall after removing your factory air. Look at the firewall photo in my signature. You might have to fabricate a air hose connection for the center dash vent. Most everything else will fit.

Then Gen IV system is controlled via wires - no cables to mess with. The Gen IV system outperforms my factory air. There really is no comparison between the two.

I have no regrets getting rid of the factory air. I fact I should have done it years ago instead of nursing along the old factory air.

toro68

Keep it!

Coltonis

Ummm... R-12 = BEST!

Yes there might be a bit of hoop jumping, but you can still get R-12 pretty much everywhere. Don't let anyone convince you R-134a is "just as good". R-134a usually manages a meager "OK", especially when retro fitted.

Junkman

Best way is to buy a parts car, and have it next to your car, and the start swapping the parts from one to the other. I have done it many times, but it wasn't easy. I was young and ambitious, and now I am old and sedentary.

I never had to weld up the old heater core hole, because the A/C unit always covered all of it. I did have to make a paper pattern from the A/C firewall and transfer it to the non A/C car, and then cut, file, and fit the new heater box to the cowl. I think that this is the most tedious part of the job. Back then, I would just remove the inner fender pan, and hood. Today, I think it would be better to just pull the nose off.
The one thing that I learned the hard way from the first one that I did, is that there are a lot of parts on an A/C car that are not on the standard car, and those parts are not directly tied to the A/C unit. An example is that the A/C car might have a different distributor, carburetor, radiator, water pump, etc.. Just when you think that you have figured it all out, you find out that a part that you didn't think important, actually is. One one car, I learned that the choke mechanism was different for the A/C car, because of a bracket mounting interference problem. Back then, you didn't have an assembly manual to consult, and you were flying blind on the first one. After that, if you did another of the same brand car, it was a lot easier.

1969w3155

Replacement parts are easy to find, I did it with my '71. Texas Old Air Products.

turnpike_cruiser

Not for a 67 Cutlass - I tried them...

brown7373

You can buy rebuilt POA from Classic Auto Air. My 72 Cutlass Convertible blows 38-42 degree air on 134A. Biggest improvement came when I bought a new crossflow condensor from Classic. It is designed for 134A and almost eliminated the temperature going up at idle or in stop and go traffic. And it is a direct drop in replacement. My car cools well and I live in south Florida.