1980 Corvette Air Condioning pls help.

[celeryman22]

I am almost done the interior of the car just waiting on the carpet. My next task I think is going to be getting the air condioning working again. (too hot in the summer to drive ) So, the motor is a 305(not original) and the people before me reipped the A/C apart. The compressor and drier bottle are there I will have to look harder for the evaporator and condensor. This Corvette came with A/C. So, what is the easiest way to get this working again, the shop here in town was going to charge me 3000.00(Canadian) to get it going, I'm sure I can do it for less.

Should I buy an A/C kit for a place like Ecklers?


Thanks,
Cel

 

[Full_Blown]

Hi Cel,

I got thae same figures for putting back together the AC in my 79. I even looked into a used system ($500) but when you figure the Condenser and Compressor are 25 years old too, it's not worth the new can of worms. I personally resolved to give up on the AC and enjoy the "T" tops and a pair of sunglassess.

FB

 

[crause]

I tried to find the link but couldn't locate it right now but do a search here for a/c and maybe you can. there was an update a/c kit for the vettes that replaced the old, bulky compressor with the newer modern style. the kit came with everything and i do mean everything! all of the brackets and hoses. let me know if you find it i want to bookmark it.

Andy

 

[celeryman22]

The problem is when you need to stop, the heat is just killer. I added heat barrier under the carpet not sure if htis will make a big difference or not.

 

[Robin7TFour]

HELLO , try to find Vintage Air (they're in tampa fl) .they make complete retro-fit systems that will run you appx $1200(us) for a complete modern system.
you can do all the installation yourself then have it charged at your local garage.

hope this helps.

robin

 

[crause]

I don't know the prices but check this supplier. This is the kind of system I was talking about.

http://www.hotrodair.com/corvette.htm

Andy

I found the web site Robin was talking about:

http://www.vintageair.com/index.asp

 

[citruspilot]

I just fixed my A/C as well. I have a 79. My compressor was locked up but I knew this when I bought the car. Heres what I did:

I looked on ebay. I found a guy that was selling a remanufatured compressor and bid for it. I only paid $102.00 for it (which included $20.00 for shipping.) Now I know that your thinking. Buy an A/C part off of ebay huh? The seller had an excellent "seller rating" with over 400 responses of "good". That means he has sold over 400 parts. I got the compressor in only about a week. I then went to my local Chevy store and bought a new receiver/dryer. They only charged me about $60.00 for that. In my case I have a good friend who is a master technician with a/c ratings and he installed it with my help, free of charge, in his garage at home. (Well actually it cost me a bottle of good booze which I helped drink!) Anyway its really not that hard to do if you have the proper equipment and someone who knows what their doing. Labor will be charged in any case so saving on the parts is your best bet. I also changed mine from R-12 to R-134. The R-134 is only about $5.00 a pound versus $30.00 a pound for R-12. Thats a huge savings right there. Try the ebay thing for your parts. Mine works fine. Good luck!

Jeff

P.S. I saved my original a/c compressor if the next owner wants to have it rebuilt and reinstalled to keep it parts matching! That is IF I ever decide to sell it! :eyerole

 

[photovette]

You will find that by using 134a, the condenser puts out a large amount of heat compared to r-12. This is due to the higher head pressure of the 134a and does not mean the a/c is working better. It can cause overheating problems where none existed before.

 

[Tsker79]

A/C System

Here's my tale of woe on my 79. According to the seller of my car last Feb., ( bad time to try to check out a/c in Mich), all my system needed was a recharge. Well, $1600US later, I have a great system. I essentially needed the whole system. The compressor had siezed, the condensor was full of metal shavings, need I say more. The shop recommended that I stay with R-12, even though it costs more, because the car is still original, and if I ever decide to show it, the R-134 fittings will not be original. At least my wife was understanding about wanting to have the air working.