Air Con in a classic car, is there a solution ?
Discussion
Just curious,
My Marcos is bearable but not very comfortable in really hot weather around town and on motorways a little noisy with the windows down so wondering about air con.
I have done a search on this forum but did not find anything relevant.
Has anybody done any research on fitting a air con unit that actually works in their Classic car using either a after market kit sold by the usual kit car suppliers or removed one from a eurobox and squeezed it in their car, what do TVR use ?
Not looking to spend a fortune but if there is a easy option then well worth considering,
Martyn....
There's a few companies specialise in retrofit for classics.
http://www.alpinair.co.uk/classic-vintage-cars/ is just one.
With something like a Marcos, I'd have thought there's big scope for gains just from improved insulation between engine bay and cabin. No matter what you do, it's going to struggle if there's big heat ingress.
http://www.alpinair.co.uk/classic-vintage-cars/ is just one.
With something like a Marcos, I'd have thought there's big scope for gains just from improved insulation between engine bay and cabin. No matter what you do, it's going to struggle if there's big heat ingress.
Try a modified big block Corvette for heat in cabin during summer. Mine is a T Top - if I get stuck in a motorway traffic jam for more than 15 minutes when the traffic flow improves the heat that blasts from under the dashboard and bulkhead is like a blast furnace and actually makes my eyes water!
Stateside most of the guys rip the interior out and line it with Dynamat, Reflectix or similar. There are after market A/C from companies like Vintage Air, but they will most likely be for specific vehicles. What engine is the Marcos running? - if a Ford V8 you at least may be able to sort compressor, brackets and belts simply enough.
Stateside most of the guys rip the interior out and line it with Dynamat, Reflectix or similar. There are after market A/C from companies like Vintage Air, but they will most likely be for specific vehicles. What engine is the Marcos running? - if a Ford V8 you at least may be able to sort compressor, brackets and belts simply enough.
Wear a gimp suit when driving & hook it up to this http://entrosys.com/
Hi,
Thanks for the replies, i have already doubled up on the Dynamat which does help a lot as originally i was running the car without interior and the transmission tunnel is now a lot cooler but with a 5.0V8 (Rover) just inches away from you and a large sloping windscreen the cabin just gets so hot in the afternoon sun, not a problem on shady days and cool summer evenings but as the car is laid up in the winter i just want to get the most out of it during the summer months.
As for manning up, getting out of a car with a soaking sweaty shirt is not really a look i try to go for,
Martyn
P..S a couple of photo's for those who may be interested.
Thanks for the replies, i have already doubled up on the Dynamat which does help a lot as originally i was running the car without interior and the transmission tunnel is now a lot cooler but with a 5.0V8 (Rover) just inches away from you and a large sloping windscreen the cabin just gets so hot in the afternoon sun, not a problem on shady days and cool summer evenings but as the car is laid up in the winter i just want to get the most out of it during the summer months.
As for manning up, getting out of a car with a soaking sweaty shirt is not really a look i try to go for,
Martyn
P..S a couple of photo's for those who may be interested.
I had a look around at this a couple of years back. At the time, American Hotrod was on Quest every evening, and I noticed that they fit aircon to virtually everything they build on that show, and I managed to find a few kits that seemed quite reasonably priced. As my project car is currently in bare shell, that gives me plenty of scope to find places to fit the various bits.
So far what puts me off is that the car isn't used very often, and not for several months at a time over winter (other than the odd run up and down the drive to keep things freed off) and I got concerned at the damage it might do to the system. As the project is a really dark red colour, I am sitting here at the end of a very hot, stuffy week and it seems appealing again.
So far what puts me off is that the car isn't used very often, and not for several months at a time over winter (other than the odd run up and down the drive to keep things freed off) and I got concerned at the damage it might do to the system. As the project is a really dark red colour, I am sitting here at the end of a very hot, stuffy week and it seems appealing again.
A year or so ago I was working on an idea exporting some classics to the middle east we spoke to these folks who were very helpful:
http://www.vehvac.com/
The project stalled due to the in country man changing jobs but would certainly use them in the future.
http://www.vehvac.com/
The project stalled due to the in country man changing jobs but would certainly use them in the future.
Martyn-123 said:
Just curious,
My Marcos is bearable but not very comfortable in really hot weather around town and on motorways a little noisy with the windows down so wondering about air con.
I have done a search on this forum but did not find anything relevant.
Has anybody done any research on fitting a air con unit that actually works in their Classic car using either a after market kit sold by the usual kit car suppliers or removed one from a eurobox and squeezed it in their car, what do TVR use ?
Not looking to spend a fortune but if there is a easy option then well worth considering,
Martyn....
The TVR system is from something like a 106 Pug. My Marcos is bearable but not very comfortable in really hot weather around town and on motorways a little noisy with the windows down so wondering about air con.
I have done a search on this forum but did not find anything relevant.
Has anybody done any research on fitting a air con unit that actually works in their Classic car using either a after market kit sold by the usual kit car suppliers or removed one from a eurobox and squeezed it in their car, what do TVR use ?
Not looking to spend a fortune but if there is a easy option then well worth considering,
Martyn....
The key to any retrofit is finding space for the condenser. There are some pretty small ones about that do fit in larger glove boxes.
If you search for aircon under kitcars there is a small unit that crops up, in fact, it's pretty much the only unit and I seem to recall it combined the condenser with the heater matrix in one box. Might be wrong and it might also be crap.
DonkeyApple said:
The key to any retrofit is finding space for the condenser. There are some pretty small ones about that do fit in larger glove boxes.
Condensers are normally quite large, I've never seen one small enough to fit in a glove box. They're usually fitted in front of the main cooling system radiator. Hmm, that looks quite interesting, especially as it's possible to duct the cool air to the existing outlets. Must do some measuring, though I expect my issue with the car remaining unused for weeks or months on end might still kill it off for me. Pity there are no reviews of that kit.
SV8Predator said:
DonkeyApple said:
The key to any retrofit is finding space for the condenser. There are some pretty small ones about that do fit in larger glove boxes.
Condensers are normally quite large, I've never seen one small enough to fit in a glove box. They're usually fitted in front of the main cooling system radiator. On our forking lift on the farm, which has a very small cab and a lot of glass and very little room for fitting air con, I fixed an 12 volt axial fan on the corner of the windsreen to blow a lot of cold air at my face which works surprisingly well and is relatively cheap and easy and worth a try.
I have bought and in the process of fitting this in the GT40:
http://nostalgicac.com/evaporator-units/indash-eva...
looks exactly like the CBS version but without heat and at a much better price even taking into account the shipping and tax.
Nostalgic AC were great to deal with and I would highly recommend then to anyone.
http://nostalgicac.com/evaporator-units/indash-eva...
looks exactly like the CBS version but without heat and at a much better price even taking into account the shipping and tax.
Nostalgic AC were great to deal with and I would highly recommend then to anyone.
Interesting, thanks for the link. It does look very much like the other one linked earlier.
I'm wondering if, like power steering, any smaller cars use an electric compressor rather than a belt-driven one. While I can move the alternator up top and mount the belt-driven compressor in the space vacated, it leaves a problem with having an extra belt.
I'm wondering if, like power steering, any smaller cars use an electric compressor rather than a belt-driven one. While I can move the alternator up top and mount the belt-driven compressor in the space vacated, it leaves a problem with having an extra belt.
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