I did do the Classic auto air conversion to R134a...
I own a 70 Coronet 2 door hardtop with factory A/C.
The EPR is removed and they provide (at a not so cheap cost)
a thermostat to put into the system (external)...
The system works very well overall...
I had them redo every soft line,
pressure test and clean the evaporator and condensor
and they rebuilt the Air compressor removing the EPR and
replacing the oil etc... new clutch and I got a new
dryer (aftermarket) and new expansion valve (also aftermarket)..
Having done this...my recommendation is this:
If you have to have a stock appearance then obviously
rebuild/redo your original pieces...
If you can live with a non-stock look (and I've softened my stance
on this quite a bit, I used to be diehard stock)
then I think the better solution is to move to their compressor
upgrade package. it's lighter, more efficient and cheaper overall...
Granted it will not look stock...but you can install it and
have it look really good (IMHO)...
As far as the performance goes, I can't complain... I can get
36-38 degree discharge air on a pretty hot day... Even my newer
Ford can't do any better than that. It's usually around 40...
The external thermostat is installed per their instructions
I swear I almost never see it shut off... but on really hot days
it may not.... I can't say I've had any real issues with it
other than the thermostat line broke off and I had to replace it
(like $40.00 etc) which pissed me off...
Other than that they did a really nice job with the lines they look
exactly stock... the condenser looked like a brand new piece
as did the evaportator and heater core... I can't complain
Overall with shipping, freon and a couple of their thermostats
it was a little over $1000.00...
There is a gasket/insulation rebuild kit you can get for the
factory A/C box...it's absolutely worth the money...
But it's time consuming to disassemble/ clean/ refinish / and rebuild
that box....
Factory A/C cars can easily add $1000.00 and about 40 hours or
so to a restoration....If any of you have done it, I'm sure you
know by now that the 68-70 B-Body A/C box is a PITA to install by yourself!....
NOTE:
One of the problems I experienced with this overhaul/restoration was "expectations"...
I guess having spent a fortune on it I expected it to blow me out of the car....
We'll it didn't, but it's not because of the discharge air...
It's because the original factory blower motor circuit is by design LAME...
and my restoration even included and NOS blower motor!
As I learned from MAD Electrical...
All the voltage that goes to the blower motor, first goes through the fan switch...
then to a 3 step resistor and then to the blower motor...
So the voltage at the motor when running is not 12.6 volts.
It's more like 10.5. So your blower motor output vs a new car is very lame in comparison...
That has nothing to do with Classic Auto Air's rebuild.
You can bypass the MAX A/C full speed blower motor with a relay fairly easily.
But for the low/med setting, you're pretty much stuck with the
factory design...
I'm going to go the relay for the max setting but I have not done that yet...
I have done the alternator bypass and headlight relays from MAD
Electrical and they are EXCELLENT upgrades...
I also installed a relay for the A/C Compressor... from MAD...
Again an excellent upgrade...
That's all the news fit to print!
Best of luck to you either way...
