Yeah I’d agree. I’m just running turbo mufflers so not super loud, but I definitely noticed exhaust and road noise were a bit quieter.
This COVID-19 situation sucks, but while home I’ve been making the best of it and getting some more garage time in.
So my next project to tackle is air conditioning. Rather than keep an original style system I decided to go with a Vintage Air setup. The nice thing about their system is you can order the components a la carte, you don’t have to purchase the whole kit in one shot. I decided I would start under the hood and work my way back, so I ordered their condenser and hose kit, as well as a black V-belt Sanden compressor from CVF racing. I wanted to make the Sanden-style compressor blend in with the rest of the engine bay as much as possible. Not easy since it sits right up top in your face, but I figured the black color would help a bit.
To get ready for installing the condenser I pulled out the radiator/fan, hood latch support, battery tray and the old condenser. This is where the “while I’m in there” mentality got a bit out of hand. The core support and headlight door brackets were looking pretty dingy and rusty, so I couldn’t bring myself to install nice new parts over that. I decided to just pull the grille assembly out and repaint the entire core support. Unfortunately, I also got a good look at how badly the apron had rusted under the battery tray. This would also need to be addressed before I put everything back in.
Unfortunately, I also got a good look at how badly the apron had rusted under the battery tray. This would also need to be addressed before I put everything back in.
While the cooling system was drained and accessory brackets would be off the motor, I decided this would be a good time to ditch the $20 water pump and upgrade to high flow unit.
To fix the rust under the battery tray I cut out the bad metal with an angle grinder. I bought a replacement passenger side apron and cut out a patch panel to match the piece I removed:
My friend helped me weld the patch in place. After I ground down the welds I went over the seams with POR15 epoxy putty. It’s not the prettiest metal repair of all time, but with the welds and epoxy it’s plenty strong to handle the weight of the battery. This car has some flaws in the core support and both aprons to begin with, so I wasn’t concerned with getting this to absolute perfection:
While I was at it, I cleaned up and repainted the front half of the engine bay to freshen it up:
The battery and tray conceal the repaired area pretty well:
With the engine bay painted and some parts powder-coated I could start putting the front end back together. I started with the Vintage Air condenser assembly, followed by the headlight door and hood latch supports. I wanted to do the electric headlight door motors, so I figured now is a good time while the grilles are out of the car:
I also got the new water pump, brackets and AC compressor installed. This car still gets hot in the summertime when idling, so I went with a FlowKooler pump as well as a high-flow thermostat. Not sure if they’ll help, but it’s worth a try.
Just an FYI the temp sending units they sell now are not exactly accurate. It looks like 20 ohms should put the gauge at the mid point (192 degrees).
The most accurate I found is the WCCC one. All the auto parts store senders seem to read too hot:
I should probably clarify, my running hot problem isn’t a gauge accuracy issue. This car runs EFI with it’s own CTS sensor so I know the actual coolant temp. When stopped or moving under 25mph the temp starts creeping up. Start moving above 25mph and it cools right down. I have a new 24" ACP aluminum radiator, the 7-blade fan with correct shroud and new fan clutch (I’ve tried a couple from different vendors, no difference). In theory the rest of the cooling system should be more than adequate so I figured I’d give the high flow water pump a shot.
Since I was planning to add some electrical load with electric fans, headlight door motors, etc. I decided to move to a higher amp alternator. I went with a Powermaster 8-47141 (1-wire 150 amp, looks a bit more period correct than the 3G-style alternators). I installed 4 AWG power and ground cables to the alternator. The alternator brackets are powder-coated, so I added the additional ground cable to ensure the alternator was grounded well. I attached it to an unused threaded hole on the passenger side of the water pump.
The Powermaster 1-wire alternators have an additional terminal (GM 12SI connector) for activating the ALT light on the dash. Wiring this to the green/red stripe wire at the voltage regulator will allow the ALT light functionality. Even though the voltage regulator isn’t used with this alternator, I kept it and soldered a connection to the “I” terminal on the underside for this purpose. I’m trying to wire around the factory harnesses rather than cutting them up whenever possible.
Having to watch the temp gauge with anxiety every time you come to a stop gets old real fast, so I decided while I had the radiator out I was going to fix that problem. I tried everything to keep this motor cool with the mechanical fan setup, but for whatever reason it just didn’t move enough air at idle. I suspect it’s an issue with the replacement fan clutches out there, similar to the problem with all the temp sending units, air filters, etc. It physically fits but the specs are not right for the car. I really didn’t feel like playing a game of trial and error trying different fan clutches, so I decided to switch to a decent dual electric fan setup.
I ended up going with the Maradyne MM22KS dual 11" fan/shroud assembly. It has dual 225W motors so moves quite a bit of air. This assembly fits on a 24" big-block style radiator perfectly, no brackets or anything needed (the reason I chose this one). The mounting flanges on the sides overlaps the radiator mounting flanges, so it’s a as simple as lining it up and drilling a few holes. I also mounted my existing overflow tank to it.
The motors are fairly tall, so it is tight getting the radiator in the car with the fan attached. Was tricky maneuvering around the AC compressor and power steering pump.
Nice work, I was just looking at alternators recently, glad to know that power master single wire works out well.
So now that I had the headlight motors, fans, AC components installed it was time to wire this all up. I knew between the fans and the relays needed for the EFI to control the AC there was going to be a lot of wiring. Rather than having a bunch of relays all over the engine bay I decided to get a pre-wired fuse/relay box and ground bus bar from Concours Specialties. This box is really nice compact unit with 30 amp relay and 15 amp non-relay circuits. After mocking up wire lengths I crimped connectors on and loomed everything up:
I wanted to keep it out of sight, so I painted the brackets black and installed the box at the bottom of the fender apron under the starter solenoid. I also attached the ground bus bar to the underside of the battery tray. A bit difficult to access, but completely hidden:
I ran all the wiring across the front of the core support where the vacuum lines would normally be. Luckily the clips have plenty of room to accommodate all the wires. I also got a waterproof connector for the binary switch on the AC condenser. I didn’t think spade connectors were the best choice for something in the front of the car that’s likely to get wet:
I was able to go out for a short drive and test out the LED headlights and electric motor conversion. I clearly need to work on getting the headlights aimed better, but the LEDs make a huge difference compared to the old traditional style bulbs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVz0i4NaEzU
The alternator and electric fans also seemed to work well. It was only about 60F outside but the fans had no trouble managing the temp during extended idling. The alternator maintained good voltage with both fans running.
Thanks for the tip on the relay/fuse block. I have been looking for a proper solution for our 1969 IIA Land Rover and this will fit the bill.
Finally time to pull out the old heater/AC box. It actually wasn’t too bad of a job, and Don has a great video on it that walks you through the whole process. Once everything was out, I secured the old HVAC wiring out of the way and covered the connectors in heat shrink. While I was in there I pulled off all the old jute firewall insulation and installed a new set from WCCC. The new insulation isn’t perfect so will take some trimming, but not too big a deal:
The Vintage Air kit supplies a block off plate for the passenger side fresh air opening, so the A/C system will basically only use recirc air. Becuase of this I thought it would be important to have a reliably working fresh air vent on the driver’s side, so I ripped out my old siezed one. Be aware the gaskets they sell for these things are by no means a good fit. You’ll have to punch your own holes through them, and the shape didn’t perfectly match the new vent. I had to glue the gasket on to get it to lay correctly:
Here’s the Vintage Air box fully dressed and ready to go in. It’s actually quite a bit smaller than the original heater box, so fitting it into the car wasn’t too bad. It comes with brackets that reuse the same firewall mounting holes as the original box. The kit comes with a firewall block-off plate that you silicone and bolt into place:
Nice work, your doing all the stuff on my list!
Im envious of your car already having ac, makes the swap a little cheaper I imagine. My car dod not have AC originally so I need all the vents etc. would like to get the original
Dash face vent too for my conversion
Looking good! where did you get the “waterproof connector for the binary switch” ? I want to get one.
Thanks! Yeah the Vintage Air kit replaces most of the factory stuff but it does use those vents.
Here’s where I sourced that connector:
https://coldhose.com/universal-binary-switch-pigtail.html
Just a few more steps to finish the A/C system up.
For the condensate drain hose they want you to drill a new hole for it, but I found I was able to use the factory hole if I paired it with a 1" (I think) body plug:
The Vintage Air system comes with a controls adapter kit that converts the physical movements of the stock HVAC controls to digital inputs. Once you get it attached and plugged in there’s a short calibration procedure. Pretty slick setup and they are dead on accurate after calibrating:
Got all the A/C and heater hoses installed. The kit includes o-rings and mineral oil for making all the A/C line connections. I wasn’t 100% thrilled with the length of the A/C hoses, while they do fit if they were a bit shorter it would have made for a much easier and cleaner looking install:
I’m really impressed with your work here! The car looks great.
Thanks! Chipping away at it day by day.
Because I can’t leave well enough alone, I decided to clean up some of the interior parts while they’re out. I removed the dash and spray it with a coat of SEM Landau Black. I also sprayed all the center console pieces, as well as the dash pad that goes over the bezel.
Don at WCCC had a few blemish-grade instrument bezels, so I decided to pick one up. It does have flaws, but it’s fine for a driver and the price was too good to pass up. I touched up the gauges with the fluorescent needle paint and installed the LED light kit with new diffusers. The finishing touch was the G1S tach conversion from Rocketman. As you can tell I really don’t want to pull this dash apart again anytime soon, so I decided to just get it all done now.
These aren’t the best photos, but here’s how it looks all back in one piece:
I also finished up the underhood wiring for the A/C system. I probably could have just used a fuse, but the instructions insist you use the included circuit breaker on the power line. The mounting holes for the breaker actually line up perfectly with the holes for the OEM heater control valve, so I mounted it there for now. Not sure I love it there, but I’m leaving it for now in the interest of getting this car back on the road.
Did i see an injection carb on top,?
How do you like it, is it a significant improvement over carb ? Does it run smoother and more economical etc etc