I'm back working on the truck. Was sidetracked for a few weeks because I got my wife a Chevy Astro cargo van so she can try and turn her side business into a real business, since her job is closed due to COVID.
Even while I was working on the cab in my last post, I have been ordering parts for the A/C system and figuring out which of my existing parts are worth keeping and what I need to replace. Now it might seem wrong that I am focusing on the A/C when I have so much body work left to do, AND right before WINTER, but there are reasons why I am doing it this way:
1. If I have gotten to be known on this board for anything, it should be doing stuff backwards.
2. I am still working towards having a drive-able truck in the spring. I want the engine work to be done with the exception of wiring and exhaust.
I plan to spend the next month or two welding up the cab and getting it ready to be blasted and epoxy primed.
Back to the AC story. I originally ordered all the A/C components for the engine except for the compressor and the evaporator from Classic Auto Air / Original Air. They are the same company, but they operate separately from each other. Classic Air is located in FL and Original Air is located in TX. They were really helpful before and after the initial sale when I bought the condenser, drier, hoses, and anything else I need in the engine compartment. They made a mistake on the hoses and one connector, and quickly corrected it when I asked questions (not because I knew anything was wrong, I was just super confused).
I ended up deciding to order the Sanden Compressor from them (Original Air) and having everything brand new in the engine compartment. During an hour long call with the rep, he was not sure if the bracket would fit my truck (I have a 90's serpentine belt system), but assured me he would help if it didn't.
Well, it didn't fit due to a lack of clearance from the valve covers. When I asked him about it, he responded that I could try moving the brackets to the other side of the compressor, but it's not designed for tall covers and only has a 1/8" clearance normally. I don't have tall valve covers; they are under 3" in height. I ended up getting a bracket from Vintage Air which solved the problem and made me wish I had just purchased everything from them instead.
Here is the compressor hitting the valve cover.
And it would not go low enough to mount to the inside of the bracket.
I found my own crazy way to mount it, but decided this was not ideal and didn't really like it sitting up this high.
Finally got the bracket from Vintage Air and all is good. You would thing Classic/Original Air would sell something like this.
Next I had to figure out how long my belt needed to be since the bracket raised the A/C. My old belt was 95.5". I used the string method to measure the belt size and got 98". I figured it was off by 1/2" and it only took 2 trips to Advance Auto to get the right belt; tried 97.5" first and returned it, then 98.5" did the trick.
Next story is about the radiator and tires, but I'll do a separate post to keep it organized.