Original A/C vs vintage air
 

For those with A/C cars do you find that it's worth to install all new original stuff or do a complete vintage air kit?

My complaint with vintage air is I never felt their condensers were big enough. Been a while since I installed one so maybe it's changed but the kits I've done they always made the condensers small, I guess thinking it makes a neat package and easier install taking up less room. Problem with that is it makes the AC system less efficient, especially when talking about the new freons.

Factory systems have about the largest condensers that will fit, taking up every inch of available frontal area of the car, that's a big reason they work so well.

I'm a factory AC guy but the aftermarket setup does have its place in cars where factory AC wasn't available, like street rods as one example

Mine is half and half. Compressor, brackets, hoses, condenser is vintage air. Evap is vintage air in factory case. Everything in the car is factory.

I run slightly modified factory setup. Instead of the heavy A6 compressor I run a Pro6ten compressor that Ames sells. It bolts right up to the factory brackets. It takes up way less horsepower to run. I also run a parallel flow condenser. I use R12 and it blows ice cold even when its over 110 degrees here in Phoenix.

Classic Auto Air is a superior system to Vintage in my opinion. Look them up and do some research. It’s what’s in my car right now and blows nice and cold.

I agree with Bruce all the way. I use all the factory stuff except the modern compressor and a parallel flow condenser. Works great and trouble free. I am using R34 and it blows very cold. Amazingly all of the components are the original AC system for my 67 LeMans and are functioning as they should. I think Pontiac did a great job for this system to last this long. I serious doubt the Vintage Air most likely made in China will last 57 years.

Sounds like a pro6ten compressor and original parts is the way to go. Original air seams to offer a kit with the upgraded compressor and condenser and is significantly cheaper than vintage air.

I like Vintage Air. I've installed 3 F bodies and a Corvette, all work perfectly. Plenty of cold air as well as dry heated air for defrost during summer storms. Many cars such as our Firebird and your A body utilize the factory dash control for a stock appearance as long as the car originally had factory AC or find a used AC control. Kits are easy to install and quality is very good IMO.

What is the significant difference between the two?

The significant difference is it’s serviceable, it’s not a sealed case. The second difference is the condensers do tend to be more like OEM. Also they use separate heat coils.

Vintage Air
 

I installed Vintage air into my 68. Great system and it installed so easy. my only complaint was the belts. I had to go through 3 belts until I found the one that fit.It makes the engine bay look so much better. I do have the whole 68 OEM air system ..

Good to know!

I chose VA for my 69 bird in part due to the compressor bracket Classic Air had at the time - not sure if it’s been updated. Visible in pic below from Squiward’s thread on the install:
http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...ht=Classic+air

The VA bracket has an OEM look.

Since I had to go with a serpentine system for valve cover clearance with the A/C compressor, I wound up the a CVF compressor and an R134A system. The evaporator and condenser are brand new OEM, and the R12 POA valve was replace with an R134A model. The performance is acceptable, but not nearly as cold as the original R12 system was, the issue being the condensor. I worked for Zexel and Behr Climate Systems for over 10 years, supplying A/C systems to Mazda, Subaru, Isuzu, Saturn, Volvo, BMW & Peterbuilt and can attest to the incredible efficiency of a micro-tube parallel flow condenser. The old style tube and fin just doesn't work that well with R134A.

I went with Classic Air (Old Air), because most of my system (72 Lemans) was missing or needed rebuilding since it had been inoperable for some time. I bought their whole system. It was a straight forward install (I have never messed with AC before). It also used my stock AC controls, which I believe Vintage doesn't. I like the fact that the Sanden compressor is way lighter and takes less power to run.

THAT is the route I should’ve gone vs my Original Air kit. There was some confusion as to whether or not Vintage Air offered a kit or the ability to upgrade a factory system and maintain the factory air box and controls. Glad to see it’s possible.

A lot of what they used to offer is no more depending on what you’re looking for. Their Original Air division is gone along with any related customer service I’m afraid. I have a system in my 77 T/A and I’m unimpressed

My red '67 GTO came with factory air. Was converted to 134a and that simply sucked. I spent $2,200 two decades ago replacing everything with NOS parts and going back to R12. Finished product was comfortable as long as it was on recirculate and max fan. It spent every summer on max high recirculate. Main problem was air output - or the lack of. At least a total of four different fans were tried and I went back and double sealed all the joints and re-foamed the diverter doors. Again a comfortable system, but I haven't been in any early GTO that had good air output out the vents.

On my blue '67 GTO that never had AC I went with a Vintage Air Mark IV system. I told the rep that I wanted to oversize the condenser and compressor and his answer was simply "trust me, the standard ones are great". I installed the system six years ago and it is still freezing me out of the car. Unlike the original system that needed to stay on max, I'm reaching down and turning down the fan speed and cranking up the temp within five minutes even on 100°+ days.

Oh, and weight. I weighed the complete Vintage Air system including the cans of Freon and everything weighed 54.78 pounds. The old A6 compressor by itself weighs 33.36 pounds.

I chose the Mark IV under dash unit because my original heater was working fine.

I've installed VA systems in 71 Trans Am, 69 GTO, 70 Monte Carlo and 65 Impala. All were straight forward installs and work great.

I reinstalled the original AC system in our '67 LeMans. The parts were all in the trunk. I had no idea if it would work or not: The system had been open for decades. Got it together, pulled a vacuum, and filled it with R12. I got lucky, some guy had an unopened 30lb bottle that we got for a song. The system works flawlessly and blows ice cold even on the hottest of days.

Ha Ha!!!:hooray::hooray:

Wow, what a blast from the past! Actually, it's very timely. I took my ac belt off years ago when drag racing, and I lost it. I couldn't remember what size it was until I saw the post you linked. In that writeup I included the belt size - 59.5"!

Thank you sir! My racing days are all done, so I am making the Bird a little bit more comfy.

Yeah, that CAA bracket still seems better suited to mount a 50 cal Browning M2.

That’s a great thread! Haha

Sounds like there's a few ways to go but pro6ten compressor and parallel flow condenser seems the easiest to upgrade.

I like the newer sanden compressors, I've used quite a few.

Yeah they take less HP to turn but that comes with a price. They also don't pump as much as the old A6 does.

A proper working A6 is one hell of a freon pumper, the internals are much larger, they simply move more freon than any sanden will.

The sanden will get the job done though and is a nice way to go if you don't have a good working A6

A note. The pro6ten compressor comes filled with oil compatible with R134 Freon. If you decide to use R12 you need to drain it and put in R12 compatible oil.

Great information. I like the Mark IV 'suitcase' system because it looks like the factory AC in my old '64 Galaxie---which looks like a lot of factory and 'add-on' AC systems of the '60's and early '70's. It's attractive, 'period correct' and looks like it belongs there, instead of something from decades after the car was built. If I pull the trigger it'll be a Mark IV.

Moving in that direction with the Mk IV
I'm using the Pro6Ten compressor to utilize the factory mounting brackets.