Fleetwood Floyd

This photo (sorry about the small size) shows the A/C outlets as part of the control assembly attached below the glovebox on a '55 88. It has a GM compressor from that era. Could this be a dealer-installed unit?

Thanks,
Charlie

ignachuck

I can't resize your picture to see it clearly, but it looks a lot like the factory installed control unit on my 56:

Tedd Thompson

Do you have the fish eye vents in the dash? what I can see with your picture (hard to tell) it looks like a factory setup to me.... Tedd

ignachuck

Update: The picture of the AC controls that I sent above was not from my car ( my car is not rusty or scuzzy). I have no idea where I got it but it embarrassed me, so here are a couple of pictures that I just took:

ignachuck

Charlie, inquiring minds want to know. Do you have a 55 with AC? If so, we would like to see pictures. Not many of them left.

Fleetwood Floyd

Frank-
I am looking at a '55 with A/C on Ebay. I can't quite see the dash area where the round outlets would be. The lister sent me a pic in response to my question about where the outlets are, but only of the control unit. l have asked about the in-dash outlets, but no reply yet.

I've never had an Olds, but had a '56 Cadillac with air that still had the evaporator in the trunk and outlets in the package shelf.

Thanks
Charlie

Fleetwood Floyd

Don't know yet (see reply to Frank)

ignachuck

Charlie,

Here's a little history on the evolution of GM's AC's from some archive stuff I tend to hang on to:

General Motors offered factory-installed air conditioning systems in its Cadillac, Buick, and Oldsmobile automobiles beginning in 1953. These units were designed by Frigidaire and were a conventional refrigeration system adapted to automobiles. The compressor, condenser, and receiver-dryer were located in the engine compartment while the evaporator-blower unit was located in the forward trunk area; the air conditioning controls were located at the instrument panel. Cold air was delivered through outlets in the rear package shelf or through ducts/outlets in the roof headliner.
Harrison developed an entirely front-mounted air conditioning unit which was first installed in 1954 Pontiacs. Oldsmobile and Chevrolet followed in 1955, Buick in 1956, but Cadillac retained the trunk units through 1956.
Automobile air conditioning in the 1950's was a wonderful luxury.

Tedd Thompson

If I a'm remembering correctly the 55 fish eye vents (and maybe 54) were a one, two year only part and were a little smaller than 56 or later vents so if you could get a measurement perhaps we could tell if it was after market or original.I could be totally wrong on this it's been over 50 years sense I saw a original 55 AC setup. They aren't very common... Tedd

Rocketowner

Rocketowner