Quote:
Originally Posted by VA72C10
Nice work. Keep at it!!!
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Thanks! I've only taken a break from it to paint one of my other vehicles, but I'm planning on having the Suburban driveable before it gets cold outside again.
Quote:
Originally Posted by vectorit
What's your plan with the AC and heat?
Rear air?
Or is there something new out there for burbs as far as aftermarket AC?
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Okay, the plan for the A/C involves utilizing Vintage Air components in conjunction with the stock pieces I have to make a hodge-podge of sorts. It'll be front A/C only until I come up with a way to get a good system in the back.
For one, I'm not a fan of the current SureFit for 67-72 trucks. Those plastic covers for the firewall and leg vents don't sit well with me. My burb had rear A/C originally but unfortunately I threw the whole thing in a dumpster a long, long time ago. The only stock pieces I still have from that system are the condenser and receiver / dryer as well as the long lines snaking to the back. I also have a Harrison R4 compressor mounted to the serpentine belt setup on my '88 EFI engine. The SureFit systems are for trucks that didn't have a condenser or compressor, and aren't designed for an engine with a serpentine belt either. If I ordered one of their kits then I'd be left with extra pieces and wouldn't be quite satisfied with a funny bump coming out of my firewall either, not to mention being unable to properly mount the Sanden compressor which is supplied in their kit.
Instead I will be making use of their Gen IV Magnum unit. It comes with the evaporator, mounting brackets, heater valve, drain kit and ducting. I recently purchased new original style hard lines for my condenser and installed them.
My originals had been cut by a previous owner and were no longer serviceable.
Sometime in years past I pulled the side A/C ball vents from a junkyard cab too. Just recently I pulled them out of a dusty box and gave 'em a good scrubbing. They'll only need adapters for use with the Gen IV magnum which has four A/C outlets unlike the Gen II unit in the SureFit kit which only has three. I might route the fourth one down to the floor in my setup.
Among other parts I'll need will be the universal hose kit which I'll cut to length, mark fitting orientation and then have a local shop beadlock crimp them. Then it'll need a 4-way inline bulkhead for the A/C and heater lines to pass through the firewall, bulkhead fitting kit, the electronic control panel for the unit itself, new drier with binary safety switch, original style middle dash vent and the compressor adapter block to let the Vintage Air lines properly and securely fit my existing R4 compressor.
Because this isn't a pre-packaged setup it will involve some fabrication to mount the unit on the inside of the firewall. That's why I'm not planning on smoothing or painting the outside of the firewall yet because any filler or paint would only burn off again once the sparks started to fly.
Here's a writeup from Custom Classic Trucks magazine where they installed this same unit in a 67-72 project truck of theirs:
http://www.customclassictrucks.com/t...ing/index.html
I spent plenty of time researching the components needed to put this system together and from what I can see I've got it all figured out on paper. Here's the hard part though: It's expensive, even if I already have a compressor and condenser as well as a couple of other miscellaneous tid-bits. Yes, insert little violin playing guy here:
Due to the vicissitudes of life I am now very seriously contemplating selling the Blazer in part to fund my other project vehicles. The main reason I'd sell it though is that I simply don't have the time to give it the attention it deserves. Even if I was slaving full time on my project vehicles it'd probably be another full year until I could have the time to start work on it in earnest. I expect to become a premium member here shortly to sell some small stuff and the Blazer will probably find its way into the classifieds here as well. You can't keep 'em all I guess.