Vintage Air & smooth firewall question

[Rod Run]

Originally Posted by Zeroman

Thanks, Rod Run.

I PM'd you.

Hope you have a good Autorama.

I mailed out your template. hope it helps

[Rod Run]

Originally Posted by Raleighswb

Truck is apart lines run out bottom of cowl lay on top of inner fender,they are hidden behind the area where the inner fender bolts to the fender here is the area at the bottom of the cowl where the bulkhead is located lines go from the unit through the fresh air vent---then you fab up something to close up that area around the lines hope this helps I ordered all my hose ends from summit

One quick question. I was about to drill out the holes like you did, but I was wondering......

How hard was it to tighten the fittings in that cramped space? I had already blocked off most of that area, by welding it shut, so I will have to open it back up again. not a huge deal, but just want to see if you think it will be worth it

Also, what type of fittings did you use near the inner fender (straight, 45*, 90*) etc?

thanks for the help

[1moretoy]

Originally Posted by Raleighswb

inside

I'm currently doing the same thing but without a bulkhead. I'm just drilling a hole and using a rubber grommet. I didn't want to deal with trying to tighten the fittings inside the fresh air vent(small spot). And that way there are less connections for possible leaks.

[Rod Run]

Kind of what I'm thinking too. Just have to make sure to put the grommet on before getting the ends crimped on the hose.

[1moretoy]

Originally Posted by Rod Run

Kind of what I'm thinking too. Just have to make sure to put the grommet on before getting the ends crimped on the hose.

Vintage air has their EZ A/C lines that are smaller diameter that allows for tighter bends and smaller holes to drill plus you can fabricate them on your own. No hose shop necessary.

[trkfrk]

Subscribed. Good thread, I am ordering my unit next week. My firewall is shaved/painted.

[1moretoy]

Here is a picture of my firewall. I'll take a picture later of how I mounted my evaporator. I'm using a unit from classic auto air but it's the same concept.

[aboesec10]

I did the same thing running everything through the kick vent, my firewall was already shaved and painted so i had to add the one bolt that holds the main unit in. I hung the unit in the cab then marked and drilled the hole from the inside. Once installed i painted the bolt....

[1moretoy]

Here is how I installed the evaporator. I used thru bolts in the cowl into a couple of strut angle brackets and welded nuts to them. Kind of hard to see but it's the best picture I could get.

[Rod Run]

That was a great idea too.

[Ta12sec]

Sorry to hijack this but im playing with some ideas on my 72 anybody have a vintage air unit they could measure the Evap unit? Or if someone could even just measure the distance from the bottom of the dash to the firewall that would be great too, my trucks 30 miles away and that makes it all so hard to get done

[Willie Makeit]

Originally Posted by Ta12sec

Sorry to hijack this but im playing with some ideas on my 72 anybody have a vintage air unit they could measure the Evap unit? Or if someone could even just measure the distance from the bottom of the dash to the firewall that would be great too, my trucks 30 miles away and that makes it all so hard to get done

vintage air provides dimensions on all of their evaporator units on their website.

[Raleighswb]

Originally Posted by Rod Run

That was a great idea too.

The bulkhead comes apart so you can connect the inside hoses one at a time starting at the lower one first,will get you some more pictures this weekend. I used the search option on the center top of the forum and typed in hidden ac lines gave me the idea,lot of good information.I found that the time it took to go through the information slowed me down so I could make a clear choice,so my advice to anyone out there is don't be in a hurry.These trucks take patience,money and time but are well worth it,I'll check on the fittings for you.

[Raleighswb]

Originally Posted by Raleighswb

The bulkhead comes apart so you can connect the inside hoses one at a time starting at the lower one first,will get you some more pictures this weekend. I used the search option on the center top of the forum and typed in hidden ac lines gave me the idea,lot of good information.I found that the time it took to go through the information slowed me down so I could make a clear choice,so my advice to anyone out there is don't be in a hurry.These trucks take patience,money and time but are well worth it,I'll check on the fittings for you.

Thought about this but I wanted my inside unit to be as far to the right and as much out of sight as I could.

[Scott2]

I'm also close to ordering a VA unit and plan to eliminate the holes and bolts on my firewall. I'm thinking about using these:

http://www.mcmaster.com/#carriage-bolts/=12akqzc

I can weld these inside wherever needed and they have a couple different types. I saw this somewhere, maybe a magazine install ?, and thought it was a good idea.

[Rod Run]

Where its in a hidden area, you can just weld the regular bolts in and you don't have to worry about ordering anything, plus the bolt heads gave me plenty of meat to weld onto

[crakarjax]

Originally Posted by Raleighswb

inside

Sorry to resurrect this old thread, but does anyone have more details/pics on how they plumbed the lines through the fresh air vent? Also helpful would be a rundown of the parts required to do so. Thanks in advance!

[trkfrk]

Here’s a couple of pics how I routed my lines. I avoided the fresh air door. It’s more work but I’m really pleased with the results.
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[crakarjax]

Ah, interesting approach! The thing I mainly can't wrap my head around is getting the plumbing into the fresh air vent without creating interference in the passenger footwell but your approach seems to bypass that concern.

[57larry]

does anybody have a template of the AC firewall hole. my firewall is bare & I'd like to cover the hole with a plate.

thanks, Larry