Aftermarket A/C
Thread Starter
"Trying to fix her right"
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 749
From: Bartlett IL
Aftermarket A/C
Hi everyone,
Does anyone have or have seen a really good aftermarket A/C set-up for a 70-72 442? I am missing too much of my factory A/C parts, so by the time I'm done buying the parts I may as well buy an aftermarket more efficient unit. I really like the Vintage Air one because it hides the lines in the fender well and it has a somewhat "stock" look inside. I am going for more functionality, rather then the stock look under the hood and I like the "smooth" firewall look. If anyone has some suggestions please let me know.
Thanks,
Dave
Does anyone have or have seen a really good aftermarket A/C set-up for a 70-72 442? I am missing too much of my factory A/C parts, so by the time I'm done buying the parts I may as well buy an aftermarket more efficient unit. I really like the Vintage Air one because it hides the lines in the fender well and it has a somewhat "stock" look inside. I am going for more functionality, rather then the stock look under the hood and I like the "smooth" firewall look. If anyone has some suggestions please let me know.
Thanks,
Dave
Registered User
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 904
From: St Louis, MO
I've installed both Vintage Air (68 corvette) and Classic Auto Air. On my 72 442 I went with Classic Auto Air universal kit, partially because Vintage Air had not put out their Olds kit yet.
The Vintage air is a pretty hi tech unit. It uses computers to interpret the control positions, heater control valve is electric rather than vacuum, stepper motors control the air doors, even the fan speed is controlled by pulse width modulation rather than the old resistor pack.
I've had 3 issues with the VA unit in 5 years. The heater control valve stuck and had to be replaced. The fan speed control occasionally doesn't stay on high (not yet resolved). The controls had to be recalibrated for proper air door operation. I almost had to remove the computer and send it back for this (terrifying on a 68 corvette)
The Classic Auto Air is infinitely more simple, which is why I chose it for a custom install requiring modifications. Both the heat and air doors are controlled by cables. The unit is slightly smaller than the VA. The one drawback is that there is no separation between the floor heat ports and defrost ports. It was VERY easy to modify the Olds controls to operate the heat and air door controls (not sure why they never came out with an Olds kit, as simple as it was). Due to it's simplicity, it was easy to make mods that fit what I want. I drove all summer in 100 degree heat and it worked great! The classic Auto kit was a couple hundred dollars cheaper too.
Both companies were great to work with. I had a lot of mods (both were LSx swaps) and both companies worked with me and took a lot of tech calls.
If you want more details on one or the other, let me know.
There are a couple other companies out there. Be sure to do a seach on their customer satisfaction.
The Vintage air is a pretty hi tech unit. It uses computers to interpret the control positions, heater control valve is electric rather than vacuum, stepper motors control the air doors, even the fan speed is controlled by pulse width modulation rather than the old resistor pack.
I've had 3 issues with the VA unit in 5 years. The heater control valve stuck and had to be replaced. The fan speed control occasionally doesn't stay on high (not yet resolved). The controls had to be recalibrated for proper air door operation. I almost had to remove the computer and send it back for this (terrifying on a 68 corvette)
The Classic Auto Air is infinitely more simple, which is why I chose it for a custom install requiring modifications. Both the heat and air doors are controlled by cables. The unit is slightly smaller than the VA. The one drawback is that there is no separation between the floor heat ports and defrost ports. It was VERY easy to modify the Olds controls to operate the heat and air door controls (not sure why they never came out with an Olds kit, as simple as it was). Due to it's simplicity, it was easy to make mods that fit what I want. I drove all summer in 100 degree heat and it worked great! The classic Auto kit was a couple hundred dollars cheaper too.
Both companies were great to work with. I had a lot of mods (both were LSx swaps) and both companies worked with me and took a lot of tech calls.
If you want more details on one or the other, let me know.
There are a couple other companies out there. Be sure to do a seach on their customer satisfaction.
Registered User
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 877
From: Austin, TX
Vintage Air now has kits for the '68-'72 Cutlass. They used mine to develop the '69 system last winter and I was very happy with it all summer. Heck, it was in the high 70's yesterday and I'm still using it. Heater is not as strong as factory though. Here's my thread from the install:
https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...ditioning.html
https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...ditioning.html
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