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Hooray !!
So far today we have only reached a high of 100 ! with humidity of about 50% with over 40 days of 110 plus temps thats a cold snap !!
I've been itching to take the Olds out and even though it has a/c I just don't see the need to take her out when it's 117 degrees outside.
So to my question HOWS YOUR A/C working ? do you have factory a/c or a add on knee freezer like me ?
When I purchased my 56 Olds Super 88 I didn't really care if it had a/c ot not although it's definitely a plus and since I was looking for a driver and not a concourse car I didn't care if it had add on a/c
Well such is the case, it has a add on knee freezer, now when I was inspecting the veh prior to purchase one of the first things I noticed was no electric cooling fan wow, these days that's like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with out peanut butter !! what I did notice was it had a 5 blade aluminum flex blade fan with a spacer, what I also noticed was it had a fan shroud, metal not plastic.
I loved the car and brought it home and have been thinking the whole time I have to go on line and find a appropriate elec. fan kit.well I may have changed my mind,
As I said today it was about 100 degrees and about 50% humidity, I said come on old girl were going to run a few errands (approx 15 miles) with the a/c on, well during the run I kept an eye on the temp (I Have a aftermarket gauge) and it never climbed past about 185, and the a/c blew cold the whole time,
I don't who installed this unit I don't believe its Vintage Air but it seems to have been done well, I mentioned earlier it has a metal fan shroud that I'm almost positive is not factory , for not being factory it looks
damn correct , it is a 134 system with a Sanden compressor .
So after todays errand runs with the a/c on and working quite efficiently I think I'm going to leave it be (no elec fan) if it aint broke dont fix it !! (i'm not going to say it turned me into Frosty the snowman but it kept me comfortable)
So part two of the question, how is your a/c working ? is it a factory R-12 unit ? converted R-134 unit or a add on knee freezer.do you use it,any temp concerns when you use it .
just curious.
Once the cars started, I'll turn on the A/C. (just kidding)
Mine's a factory A/C unit running R-12. Used a reman compressor, and reman hoses from RMACC in Glendale, AZ. Had a guy in the local Olds club help with the installation and set-up, and it now runs nice and cold.
Mine is factory A/C...runs about luke-cool after 90+ degrees. R-12. Haven't had a chance to check it out. I have about 20# left. That stuff is like gold.
The Nova is factory R-12 as well but, now the dash control cables are locked up, which is typical. Just located a replacement. I hope.
'75 Omega has R134a with an R4 compressor and Valve in Receiver unit that was mid seventies only. Replaced compressor and VIR recently and it's working fine. It's my understanding that the dessicant bag inside the VIR gets changed annually. Nice way to sell freon.
My '55 is a mostly factory installation. But it has an A6 compressor in place of the A5. Charged with R12. It cools well. The car's cooling system keeps the engine around 160-170F in mid 90s summer weather.
I have a factory installed system in my '56. Like Ozzie^^^, I have an A6 compressor in place of the A5. Mine is charged with 134. The temp stays at about 165, A/C on or off.
Solly, you are correct. The factory radiator shroud was not metal.
My 71 CS AC evap core shot before I purchased it. It was previously converted from R12>R134A. I replaced the evap core, new rebuilt A6 comp, new dryer, new accumulator, seals, valves & POAC. Good as new. Blows seriously cold air.
Solly, our temps in south Texas have been high this year as well, but only into the mid-100s. I can't imagine what it feels like at 10° warmer.
Don't stress about your humidity though. The US Weather service says your humidity is 50% at your overnight low and 28% at 105°.
My profession is industrial HVAC designer, so I am familiar with humidity levels throughout the US. The most humid station is in the Florida panhandle. The second most humid is 40 miles north of Corpus Christi.
Humidity, not heat, puts the greatest load on your air conditioning. Your humidity is moderate and your car air conditioning should still be able to do a decent job.
My 63 Starfire had factory A/C. It had been backyard converted to R134a and sort of worked when I got it but I had it serviced to check it out. The shop added the correct charge ports, changed a few o-rings and replaced the dryer. They evacuated and recharged the system and it worked fine for the next 9 years with no additional work. Made me doubt all the experts that say all the hoses, o-rings, expansion valve and condenser have to be replaced on a conversion - all of my hoses were the same ones installed in 1963. It is true that the old style condensers do not work as well with R134a, my black car would feel fine on a 100 degree Texas day right out of the garage but if I spent too much time stopped in traffic or if it was left baking in the sun it took a real long time to cool off the inside!
My 63 Starfire had factory A/C. It had been backyard converted to R134a and sort of worked when I got it but I had it serviced to check it out. The shop added the correct charge ports, changed a few o-rings and replaced the dryer. They evacuated and recharged the system and it worked fine for the next 9 years with no additional work. Made me doubt all the experts that say all the hoses, o-rings, expansion valve and condenser have to be replaced on a conversion - all of my hoses were the same ones installed in 1963. It is true that the old style condensers do not work as well with R134a, my black car would feel fine on a 100 degree Texas day right out of the garage but if I spent too much time stopped in traffic or if it was left baking in the sun it took a real long time to cool off the inside!
That's one handsome Starfire !! When I worked as a tech my shop completed several r-134 conversions, we were advised in most cases that the original hoses were fine for re-use we were told the insides of the hoses were coated with the refrigerant oils and that would act as a barrier against leakage from the smaller molecule R-134 we also would retain the original expansion valves but of course swap out the receiver driers, we would however advise the the customer that the condenser was kind of a 50/50 crap shoot and it may have to be retrofit with a ribbon/serpentine style condenser , we would try it first with the tube style and if the customer was satisfied with the cooling fine if not condenser replacement required in all case when the cooling did not seem up to snuff replacement with the ribbon style condenser solved the problem.
One pro for the old tube style condense was they could be flushed !! with the new style condensers if you have a ruptured desiccant bag or failed compressor that distributed debris through the system 90% of the time it cant be flushed out and the cond. has to be replaced.
My 87 Cutlass Supreme would freeze you out of the car. After it had been running awhile low fan was still too cold unless you blended some warmer air. But when it was converted fromR12 to R134 performance suffered. It was only adequate at highway speeds and got warm sitting in traffic. Car is off the road right now but I've accumulated a 15lb tank and a dozen cans of R12 off Craigslist. Going to convert it back.
My 87 Cutlass Supreme would freeze you out of the car. After it had been running awhile low fan was still too cold unless you blended some warmer air. But when it was converted fromR12 to R134 performance suffered. It was only adequate at highway speeds and got warm sitting in traffic. Car is off the road right now but I've accumulated a 15lb tank and a dozen cans of R12 off Craigslist. Going to convert it back.
Remember a change in refrigerant often requires a change in oil.
I have a factory installed system in my '56. Like Ozzie^^^, I have an A6 compressor in place of the A5. Mine is charged with 134. The temp stays at about 165, A/C on or off.
Solly, you are correct. The factory radiator shroud was not metal.
This is interesting, every photo or video I see for 56's there is no shroud , the concourse restoration video I saw today of a 56 Olds convert had no shroud, Ill have to do some research, maybe the Fac A/C cars had a shroud and the non a/c cars didn't ?????
I converted mine to 134a about 3 years ago after the original clutch seized. It just seemed like a good thing to do at that time because of the cost of R12. Changed out the dryer, evap, A6 compressor/clutch and the POA. Every spring I have to recharge it after sitting all winter. But other than that it blows ice cold for me all summer long.
Solly non AC cars didn't have a shroud while AC cars did. Also there were rubber air dams on the radiator support top and bottom which are seldom seen any more as they deteriorate very rapidly.
Me I just sweat a lot and become jealous of others who have AC in their classics...Tedd.
My '75 is ice cold. New A6 compressor, still R-12. Just replaced the compressor a few months back, theres times I have to shut the air off because it gets chilly. Love it!
When I bought my '68 back in 2012 it had been converted to r134a. The a/c was cold but nothing to right home about. In '18 I noticed a leak at the rear of the compressor, so off it came(it ruined the paint on part of my restored frame & right side suspension, pissed me off that I had to redo all those parts again). The large case o-ring seals had failed. They were still the old style black neoprene??(they don't work with r134a,) This was a fairly recent rebuilt compressor, you'd think by now they would have used the newer green o-rings that work with anything!. Lucky for me a buddy came up with a few cans of R12 that he found in his late dads garage while cleaning it out. I flushed the system,resealed the compressor, bought the correct oil from Napa & a new drier. Now that it has R12 again it's great! It will freeze you out of the car now!!!
Georges75, Love your '75 98!!!
(just kidding)
