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As a reminder, I am the member that was given a 1955 Studebaker Coupe which had been owned by the previous owner fifty three years. He had swapped the running gear from a 1984 Oldsmobile 98 into the car and I am going keep it. My wife and I want to install AC in the Coupe. My initial efforts of finding an OEM AC bracket did not go well and I could not find one.
A friend of mine suggested going with a Sanden compressor rather than the OEM compressor. I did some research and ordered a Vintage Air 141008 bracket for Oldsmobile 350-455 engines. The bracket bolted up to the 307 heads and the compressor was installed. I was initially very pleased with the outcome. The only catch was the compressor’s pulley lined up with the third pulley out on the water pump. That pulley drives the alternator. The second one out drives the power steering pump so I had to get the AC compressor to match up with the first pulley.
I needed the compressor to set 1.4 inches further back on the engine in order to accomplish that goal. I did some cutting and fabrication work on the Vintage Air bracket. The modified bracket dog-legs back the required distance to be driven by the first pulley. I wanted the bracket as close to the engine without interfering with access to the valve cover. The cover can be removed with the compressor where it is. If more room is wanted, the compressor can be swung several inches further away.
that looks like it should work, i think you made a good choice on the sanden compressor, I wonder why it didnt line up well, is it a non AC setup to start ? I dont recall ever seeing a water pump pulley like yours (im not overly familiar w 80s big olds) youll know it needs adjustments if it throws belts. Olds are pretty particular about their pulley configurations.
I like different cars like Studebaker, one local guy fixes them up. Good choice dumping the R4 compressor. The died often once they start making noise and leaking, which was inevitable. The replacements seem just as bad. The 80's goofy Vin Y setup needs a second belt driven of the crank pulley since only the water pump turns the alternator. By running the A/C, you won't have a squealing power steering belt.
Last edited by olds 307 and 403; Feb 18, 2022 at 04:44 AM.
[QUOTE=. Good choice dumping the R4 compressor. .[/QUOTE]
I differ with this opinion. I have had very reliable service from R4 Compressors. I'm talking 200k miles. I don't really see the need for this modification. Something else was the problem with the system. Brand new units are available.
As I stated in the first paragraph I could not find an original AC bracket. If I could have found one I may very well be planning on running an OEM AC compressor. Instead of hoping to find one I decided to mount a Sanden type compressor on the engine. I will more than likely install a Vintage Air system and the compressor is compatible with it. Brand new units (compressors?) are available but not so much the AC brackets. The previous owner removed the AC system for a reason unknown to me.
FYI - try placing a post in the Olds parts wanted forum on this site next time. I expect that several people on this site have extra brackets that they would sell.
With what he is doing on a STUDEBAKER, the Sanden compressor makes way more sense, aftermarket systems have plug in lines for them, based on using that compressor. Pretty sure some fabrication and custom lines would be needed with a R4 compressor. I dealt with R4 compressors that were about 15 years old in a repair shop. My boss had a junk yard. We pulled used compressors for cheap customers as they were quite often leaky and noisy. It was 5 minutes away, we would grab multiple compressors, if they were noisy, which they often were, they weren't going to last and try another. I have had a couple of noisy R4's lock up on me. It may be they are sensitive to any contamination, systems that old have minor leaks and they like to leak oil. The R4 compressors are now very old and the rebuilt ones don't have a good track record for reliability. Supposedly there is a better heavy duty option, which is the only one I will spend money on. You made a smart move on a custom application like this one, to go with a Sanden compressor. It will be easier in this case👍.
