Re: Aftermarket Air Conditioning

Posted by DavidPackard On 2021/8/23 21:04:48

Howard my ’48 is not equipped with the AC . . . it’s the ’54 Cavalier.

Joe Wareham ‘Joe’s ’49 Club Sedan’ project blog covered installation of a Sanden compressor starting on page 13. Joe and I exchanged several messages on what we thought was a competitive method to mount any such device. Two issues can be resolved by a two piece bracket design, where one bracket is rigidly mounted to the engine. This bracket will have slots (not holes) that a Sanden compressor bracket mounts to. The slots allows for alignment of the drive belt to the existing Packard pulley. This adjustment would be typically done once, and there would be nothing wrong if an attempt was made to fabricate this bracket with holes alone, as Joe shows in post #170. The Sanden bracket will have slots that will allow for belt tension adjustment, although some Sanden brackets allow the compressor to pivot to tighten the belt.

Back to my ’54, again it’s a 6+ car. I’ve looked for something that might boost/convert the voltage to power the AC . . . I couldn’t find anything, so I’ve concluded; 1.) The converter is inside the evaporator unit under the dash, or 2.) The unit is truly a 6 volt device. I’ve never determined whether the Sanden clutch has been changed or that clutch is intended for 12 volt. As luck would have it I just ordered a Sanden replacement for my ’99 Suburban, so I can compare the resistance of the two clutches and report those values. I have not noticed a problem with the engine coolant temperature on that car, but I do agree with HH56’s observation on the cooling margin available on the ’48-’50 cars.

As the photos show my compressor is mounted on the right side of the engine. It was installed prior to my ownership, and although I tried I have not figured-out who installed same. With power steering and an oil filter real-estate on the left side of the engine is at a premium.

dp