You guys have had great info for the 56 Coronet 4 Door project so far, so I have another question. Who would you recommend for the aftermarket A/C and heater selection? I would need something that didn't require a huge amount of trimming/fabrication.

Thanks.

What motor?
Vintage Air is the company that has been around for the longest; they had a street legal Stude that ran over 200 MPH at Bonneville with the A/C on! There are a bunch of copycats and a couple others that do nice stuff. If rodder type A/C is what you want, check them and the others. See if anyone has a custom-fit for your application, and use that to compare the others.
If you want the resto crowd vintage aftermarket (dealer-installed) type, it will be harder.
Go down to the local news stand and pick up a Street Rodder and a Hemmings (the big thick one, not the pretty pictures one). That should give you a shopping list.

I've had good luck with Vintage Air and Hot Rod Air. Hot Rod Air seems a bit cheaper the last time I looked. I think it's vintage Air that has released a MARK IV under dash unit.

For my personal 50s cars I generally like a nice under the dash unit to kind of give the interior an era correct look. They also have a couple of advantages in that there are no holes to cut in the dash or tacky plastic under dash vents, and are pertty easy to hang.

I've picked up fairly nice units out of wrecking yards and swap meeets and seen some on E Bay for not too much. Usually a good cleaning and a bit of detailing is all that is required to put them back in service.

The rest of the pieces (condencer, receiver dryer, and compressor (I like the Sanden 508s)) I pick up locally. Compressor brackets can sometimes be a bit problamatic depending on the engine but there is usually something that can be modified a bit to work.

I have hoses made up locally.

I normally use Freeze12 which is a drop in replacement for R12 as it seems to work a bit better than R134 in the older systems.

One last thought when adding an AC system is that normally you will need to upgrade your cooling system also.

I won a vintage air mark IV at the york street rod nats. it looks just like the dealer installed units that fit under the dash. I am going to put it in my 5 0 dodge truck. I really like the unit and the way it looks. I just have get the underhood stuff now. the unit is heavy but i believe all you do is hook up the ac lines and power. I wish it had the heat though but oh well

I will be running a 383 in the car since the one I have was rebuilt not too long ago. I was checking the vintage air units out, but didn't know if there was something better or not. I wanted the one that was both heater and A/C and fit underneath the dash and used the existing heater holes. My heater box that is in the car is cracked.

Thanks for the replies.

What unit did you end up using for your project ? How has it worked out so far ?

Bochillon Performance makes A/C brackets for Mopars, even one that allows you to mount the compressor underneath the alternator.

http://www.bouchillonperformance.com/BPEaircondition.asp

John