Re: Has any one added AC to the 356 straight eight

Posted by HH56 On 2009/1/5 22:59:50

Unless your car has been converted to 12V, don't think the issue is room but rather nothing aftermarket is available for 6V. Several people have been interested in adding AC to various models and all run into that fact.

The other problem you're going to encounter is the driving pulley arrangement for the compressor. The original prewar AC (which is the only factory application I know of for that engine) apparently drove the compressor via an added groove on the fan/waterpump pulley. Someone was reproducing those but haven't seen any advertised for some time, although the one I bought appears to have been turned so probably not an issue with your shop if you wanted to go that way.

Turbopackman has identified a Ford damper and pulley arrangement that replaces the Packard crankshaft setup on the later straight 8's but I don't know if that would work on the 356--unless you can make some sort of adapter and just use the single drive pulley on your existing damper. If that complete assy were to fit though, then you'd have the problem of the wide fanbelt no longer available for the gen & fan pulleys.

The comp bracket was just a cast essentially flat plate that mounted on a couple of head studs and a couple of side bolts. A modern Sanden could easily be added to that & plate would be easy enough to fab. Could supply pictures of pulley & bracket should you be interested.