I’ll be working through a mostly restoration of a 79 I inherited. It has to be Herman TÜV acceptable so no aftermarket AC. I’ll be studying your work to see how to get working AC that is approved for use in hermz
I am doing a similar installation and am wondering what seals you used between the hose manifold and the air compressor .My kit only included flat o-ring style and do not seal in the recessed ports on the compressor. Is there some adaptor seals ?
Yes. I know this problem very well. On GM cars they used different seals for low side and high side ports on the compressor where the manifold attaches. I believe my compressor came with all the different possible seals but I ended up matching up a seal that worked better from my large supply of "o" rings and seals from nearly 40 years of working on car ACs. Use only the metal/rubber seals in this location. Match up the proper thickness and diameters. More than likely, one side of the compressor sealing area will be machined deeper than the other. Make sure and select ones that fit good on the manifold side and thick enough to seal on the compressor machined pockets. Why GM made this so stupid I don't know. I have owned GM forever and been dealing with this crap forever too. Best of luck and please let me know how it comes out, or better yet, make a video about it. Try this kit: www.oreillyauto.com/detail/murray-climate-control-4379/air-conditioning-16770/air-conditioning-o-rings--gaskets---screens-16762/a-c-system-o-ring---gasket-kit-15723/murray-climate-control-a-c-system-o-ring-gasket-kit/26729/4516778/1978/chevrolet/corvette
Thanks for the comment and question. For the low side, its P/N 409909 and high side is P/N 409907. In both cases, you must remove the valve located in the fittings on the car. The 90° fittings come with a valve. Fittings tighten down over the original R12 ports. Good luck on your project.
Great video.. I have a 1979 , that im gonna be starting to do a minor restore to get i back on the road soon.. A/C is going to get a major overhaul.. this video was great due to t the fact I wasn't sure what to do about the service port delema, those 90 degree fittings are awesome, thanks for that detail.. On a side note.. I noticed yours has Headers on the engine..I was wondering if the rest of your exhaust is stock, or other.. My problem is mine has had duel exhaust installed at some time in the past, and its nice aluminized pipe, but it has the stock Exhaust manifolds..Im trying to find a DIRECT REPLACEMENT HEADER to the exhaust manifold so I don't have to modify the exhaust.. just wondering what you had..thanks again for the video
Thanks for the comment Mike! A previous owner had dual exhaust on my car attached to the stock iron manifolds. When I pulled the engine to do the performance work that I did, I installed Hedman Header Elite, full length headers with the ceramic coating on them, which peeled off about 3 years later. Nevertheless, the headers fit and work good. I totally removed the entire exhaust system from mine and had a custom muffler shop weld up the entire system out of aluminized 2.5" pipes with Flowmaster 40 series mufflers in the stock location. Just ahead of the rear axle is an "X" pipe. My car was originally a 4 speed car. In the manual cars, the transmission cross member is welded in and has two pipes welded into them where the exhaust head pipes pass through. This situation makes it really hard to do a clutch job, especially now since I converted mine to a TREMEC TKO-600 5 speed. My exhaust really sounds great but does have a good bit of interior resonance at slow speeds. I usually use lower gears at slower speeds to get the engine up to about 2000 rpm which gets rid of the resonance and then the car has kinda of an awesome whine to it. Probably the "X" pipe contributes to that. I don't think they make a direct replacement header for these cars. I have seen many people just put headers on and have a muffler shop make a new head pipe connection. One more thing. I had to fabricate one simple little stainless steel spacer to go between the header flange and the AC bracket. Goes on the first bolt at the front on the passenger side. You will see what I mean if you change to headers. The spacer makes up the difference between the thickness of the header flange and the original manifold. Good luck on your project!!
Thanks for the info, I was watching the prequel to this video and I could see farther down that they were full length.. Oh well , I was hoping I could find a direct replacement, would be nice an easy , but like most things, it never is..lol.. thanks again
R4 "shorty" is stock on 78. My opinion is the older A6 your thinking of is better, but it is big, heavy and ugly. Also, the 78 and newer uses a fixed orifice, cyclic clutch which is more reliable. Suggest switching if you currently have the older system. There are kits available to do so.
I bought a 1970 Corvette two years ago that still has the old R12 compressor and factory A/C system intact, minus the belt and some wiring has been cut out. I was going to completely convert entire system to 134A but have been advised to just convert to a Vintage Air system. Was told the cost wouldn't be much more to do this AND the Vintage Air unit would perform much better. I had recently decided to sell the Vette but wanted to sell it with working A/C. Was it expensive to restore your 134A system...? Thank you.
Great video. It's really helped me. I'm looking to order all new parts as well and you're totally right. Some parts come in and look different than the originals. New condenser I purchased is just like yours and doesn't have the correct bend on the bottom tube. A question for you if you remember, at 8:50 you mention this "dum-dum," what exactly is this? When I took out my AC Box it had this stuff all over it and I have no idea what to purchase to replace it! Any help is appreciated. I have a 78 as well and hope to get mine in working order like yours! It'll be my first overhaul of an air conditioning system.
Matt Gundersen thanks so much for the comment. That stuff is self adhesive butyl tape. Look on line. Amazon has it but lots of other places have it too.
I just wanted to say thank you again for your video! I just finished my rebuild of the whole system yesterday and I am very proud to say I have ice cold AC in my Corvette. I took my time and did all the work very meticulously but it all works. Only thing I dont like is how hot the AC Compressor gets. But apparently they get hot when running. Your video helped me a ton and I wanted you to know that. Thanks a bunch.
Wow! Thanks so much for the nice comment. So glad my video helped. I haven't been able to make any videos lately because of some family issues. I enjoy making the videos and I make them in hopes that it will help someone. Glad yours turned out good. I hope to get better making the videos. Maybe even learn how to edit them. Someday!?!?!?!
Авто/Мото
Barely 4 minutes into this video and you've already provided some much needed help/answers for me. Thank you sir.
Glad it helped! Thanks!
Im doing this same project for a customer. What brackets did you use to mount the compressor. the vehicle has headers also
What was the Napa 90 deg. adapter model #?
I’ll be working through a mostly restoration of a 79 I inherited. It has to be Herman TÜV acceptable so no aftermarket AC. I’ll be studying your work to see how to get working AC that is approved for use in hermz
I have a '78 and my service port is on the fender wall just aft of the compressor .
I am doing a similar installation and am wondering what seals you used between the hose manifold and the air compressor .My kit only included flat o-ring style and do not seal in the recessed ports on the compressor. Is there some adaptor seals ?
Yes. I know this problem very well. On GM cars they used different seals for low side and high side ports on the compressor where the manifold attaches. I believe my compressor came with all the different possible seals but I ended up matching up a seal that worked better from my large supply of "o" rings and seals from nearly 40 years of working on car ACs. Use only the metal/rubber seals in this location. Match up the proper thickness and diameters. More than likely, one side of the compressor sealing area will be machined deeper than the other. Make sure and select ones that fit good on the manifold side and thick enough to seal on the compressor machined pockets. Why GM made this so stupid I don't know. I have owned GM forever and been dealing with this crap forever too. Best of luck and please let me know how it comes out, or better yet, make a video about it.
Try this kit: www.oreillyauto.com/detail/murray-climate-control-4379/air-conditioning-16770/air-conditioning-o-rings--gaskets---screens-16762/a-c-system-o-ring---gasket-kit-15723/murray-climate-control-a-c-system-o-ring-gasket-kit/26729/4516778/1978/chevrolet/corvette
I need the info for the high side adapter you used from napa. your video was a great help for a first timer
Thanks for the comment and question. For the low side, its P/N 409909
and high side is P/N 409907. In both cases, you must remove the valve
located in the fittings on the car. The 90° fittings come with a valve.
Fittings tighten down over the original R12 ports. Good luck on your
project.
the low side, its P/N 409909
and high side is P/N 409907 They still have the parts ready to go
I need to replace my blower motor. Can you point out where that is at? Thanks for your video and your help. V/r
Thanks for the comment. The blower motor is mounted on the firewall inside the passenger side fender. It's hard to get at. Good luck!!
Great video.. I have a 1979 , that im gonna be starting to do a minor restore to get i back on the road soon.. A/C is going to get a major overhaul.. this video was great due to t the fact I wasn't sure what to do about the service port delema, those 90 degree fittings are awesome, thanks for that detail..
On a side note.. I noticed yours has Headers on the engine..I was wondering if the rest of your exhaust is stock, or other.. My problem is mine has had duel exhaust installed at some time in the past, and its nice aluminized pipe, but it has the stock Exhaust manifolds..Im trying to find a DIRECT REPLACEMENT HEADER to the exhaust manifold so I don't have to modify the exhaust.. just wondering what you had..thanks again for the video
Thanks for the comment Mike! A previous owner had dual exhaust on my car attached to the stock iron manifolds. When I pulled the engine to do the performance work that I did, I installed Hedman Header Elite, full length headers with the ceramic coating on them, which peeled off about 3 years later. Nevertheless, the headers fit and work good. I totally removed the entire exhaust system from mine and had a custom muffler shop weld up the entire system out of aluminized 2.5" pipes with Flowmaster 40 series mufflers in the stock location. Just ahead of the rear axle is an "X" pipe. My car was originally a 4 speed car. In the manual cars, the transmission cross member is welded in and has two pipes welded into them where the exhaust head pipes pass through. This situation makes it really hard to do a clutch job, especially now since I converted mine to a TREMEC TKO-600 5 speed. My exhaust really sounds great but does have a good bit of interior resonance at slow speeds. I usually use lower gears at slower speeds to get the engine up to about 2000 rpm which gets rid of the resonance and then the car has kinda of an awesome whine to it. Probably the "X" pipe contributes to that. I don't think they make a direct replacement header for these cars. I have seen many people just put headers on and have a muffler shop make a new head pipe connection. One more thing. I had to fabricate one simple little stainless steel spacer to go between the header flange and the AC bracket. Goes on the first bolt at the front on the passenger side. You will see what I mean if you change to headers. The spacer makes up the difference between the thickness of the header flange and the original manifold. Good luck on your project!!
Thanks for the info, I was watching the prequel to this video and I could see farther down that they were full length.. Oh well , I was hoping I could find a direct replacement, would be nice an easy , but like most things, it never is..lol.. thanks again
I’m about to the same on my 79 L82, you have more videos and part numbers
So, does the C3's A/C now cool quite like a modern car/s A/C?
why the shorty compressor, is it better than the long one ..or was that stock on the '78?
R4 "shorty" is stock on 78. My opinion is the older A6 your thinking of is better, but it is big, heavy and ugly. Also, the 78 and newer uses a fixed orifice, cyclic clutch which is more reliable. Suggest switching if you currently have the older system. There are kits available to do so.
I bought a 1970 Corvette two years ago that still has the old R12 compressor and factory
A/C system intact, minus the belt and some wiring has been cut out. I was going to completely convert entire system to 134A but have been advised to just convert to a Vintage Air system. Was told the cost wouldn't be much more to do this AND the Vintage Air unit would perform much better. I had recently decided to sell the Vette but wanted to sell it with working A/C.
Was it expensive to restore your 134A system...? Thank you.
What are all of those wires on your radiator?
Great video. It's really helped me. I'm looking to order all new parts as well and you're totally right. Some parts come in and look different than the originals. New condenser I purchased is just like yours and doesn't have the correct bend on the bottom tube. A question for you if you remember, at 8:50 you mention this "dum-dum," what exactly is this? When I took out my AC Box it had this stuff all over it and I have no idea what to purchase to replace it! Any help is appreciated. I have a 78 as well and hope to get mine in working order like yours! It'll be my first overhaul of an air conditioning system.
Matt Gundersen thanks so much for the comment. That stuff is self adhesive butyl tape. Look on line. Amazon has it but lots of other places have it too.
Found it. Thanks! Getting ready to order all my parts now. Going to be watching your videos a lot these coming weeks.
Matt Gundersen Great! Hope it turns out good for you. Take your time, it pays.good luck.
I just wanted to say thank you again for your video! I just finished my rebuild of the whole system yesterday and I am very proud to say I have ice cold AC in my Corvette. I took my time and did all the work very meticulously but it all works. Only thing I dont like is how hot the AC Compressor gets. But apparently they get hot when running. Your video helped me a ton and I wanted you to know that. Thanks a bunch.
Wow! Thanks so much for the nice comment. So glad my video helped. I haven't been able to make any videos lately because of some family issues. I enjoy making the videos and I make them in hopes that it will help someone. Glad yours turned out good. I hope to get better making the videos. Maybe even learn how to edit them. Someday!?!?!?!