crholds442

I'm at a point in my frame off restoration that I need to find out if the
new Vintage Air replacement for the 69 442 factor AC is a viable alternative to an AC system that did not work prior to my teardown. With Edelbrock heads on my 455 and tall valve covers, I doubt if the engine will go in with the factory unit sticking out in to the engine bay. Anyone have any experience with this new "by wire" controlled ac and heating unit?

Texas69

Hookem horns here on this site went aftermarket ac on his 69 vert. Very slick unit. He may chime in, but do a search on here as well for old posts.

hookem horns

Still works great, hard to believe it's been 2 years but here's the thread on when I got it.
https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...ditioning.html
Heater may not be quite as strong as the stock unit if you want to cut hairs.

crholds442

Thanks Texas and Hookem H... I'll follow up when I have time. I'll do some digging at Vintage Air and find out more about what they're offering these days....I'll let you all know what I find out and what I decide to do for "Air" in Houston.

tmaleck

I did a kitbash of Vintage Air for my 67 last year. Works well, fit pretty easily and with ambient air at 92 degrees, I had 34 degree air at the center vent. I bought mine from a dealer in Mississippi at 10% off, no tax and picked it up at the factory with zero shipping or handling.
Couldn't buy the needed repair parts for my original system for $1300.
Tim

crholds442

Great info. from you guys!! Hookem H. showed a plate covering the
firewall.... is there another plate to the left for the old blower motor setup?
I talked to Mondelo last year and they mentioned a bracket to mount the Sanden compressor onto a 455 with Edelbrock heads and tall valve covers.
I'll find out what VA says about this for my 69. Much appreciate the experience you all have. I figure 1300-1400$ is cheap for labor & parts to get the old system up and running.... even if it would fit in with my 455 set up.

hookem horns

The blower was part of the big factory evap unit and all air flows though that one square hole in the firewall to the heater core and flapper box under the dash. Heater hose holes in the firewall are just filled with rubber plugs since the new hoses, wires and freon lines run into the cabin through the vent opening behind the inner fender. I think the VA installation instructions are online which may show it better than my explanation.

I know AC is a big priority for Houston, but you can put an AC delete box in place of the evap and keep factory heat only if not ready to install a whole new AC yet.