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I don't know the exact capacity of the Add-On A/C in my Packard but . . . .

My 1600 square foot house in Phoenix AZ (where it was 120 degrees last week) has a 3.5 Tons of A/C system which will keep the house below 83 but it runs continuous this time of year.

The old 1960's cars had as much as 7 Tons of A/C

The Packard system is a Sanden compressor and I don't know what it is rated for.

1 Ton of air conditioning is equal to about 3500 Watts.
1000 Watts is equal to about 1 Horse Power.

I would guess my add-on system is good for about 3 Tons of A/C so figure about 10.5 HP from the fan belt.

On top of this, the fan motor and compressor clutch needs about 200 Watts of electricity that also has to get generated by way of the fan belt.

A home refrigerator is a small fraction of a Ton so nothing in the system would do anything toward cooling a car.

The system in my Packard does cool the car adequately as far as refrigeration is concerned but the 12 volt alternator can't keep up and eventually the 12 volt battery goes flat. If I keep the fan on low it will go on a road trip but not stop and go in the city.

The under-dash is not as effective as blowing in your face in a modern car. The Dark Blue top is not insulated well on the inside.

I choose to keep the car original 6 volt and I am looking to augment the 12 volt system with a converter for the time being.

Once summer cools off here in Phoenix I am going to extract the 12 volt alternator and see if it is working properly (it is stuffed in a hard to get place). A 6 volt fan motor would solve part of my problem.

The original Packard system was almost an Add-On itself. The compressor ran continuously with no clutch. The Evap unit was in the trunk under the back shelf and I have no idea how it was ducted into the car. The controls appear to have been mounted to the steering column. There was a complicated control system which appeared to allow the compressor to bypass until you turned on cooling. The fans and system ran on 6 volts.

Jim

The original Packard system was almost an Add-On itself. The compressor ran continuously with no clutch. The Evap unit was in the trunk under the back shelf and I have no idea how it was ducted into the car. The controls appear to have been mounted to the steering column. There was a complicated control system which appeared to allow the compressor to bypass until you turned on cooling. The fans and system ran on 6 volts.


Prewar and first postwar units just had a louver outlet on the package shelf. The prewars had a single large one in the center which was raised above the seat back and angled slightly toward the front of car. Return air was from below and came in under the seat. The first postwar Packard factory units were a Frigidaire design -- functionally the same as Cadillac used. Cosmetics and cases differed slightly though. Packard had two outlets on the package shelf similar in shape to the fresh air vent louvers under the dash. They were located near the corners of the back window but only had straight slots slightly angled forward. Return air was via two large oval grills toward the center of the package shelf. Later 53-4 Packards adapted the transparent outlet ducts across the rear window instead of the louvers. That raised the opening to near the headliner and angled it toward the front. Some GM cars which used the trunk unit ran their transparent duct into or above the headliner and then ducted the air all the way to the front seat area. A couple of outlets penetrated the headliner on each side of the car. By the mid to late 50's trunk units were almost all phased out to the in or under dash units.

Temp control was by hot gas bypass. The early postwar versions used a normally open solenoid valve which just connected the compressor suction and discharge ports together so the gas was just going in a loop and couldn't do anything. When cooling was called for, the valve closed and the freon went thru the normal refrigeration cycle. Control was by an operator adjustable mercury thermostat which opened and closed the voltage to the valve. Later 55-6 versions had the same hot gas bypass control method but was done by a fixed temp modulator valve which regulated and varied the gas bypass needs according to load instead of the just on or off solenoid. Most other units of the era also used hot gas bypass but with varying valve control methods -- cable operated, electric, fixed.

When clutches and compressors became smaller and more reliable, the cycling clutch method gained favor on lower cost units. Hot gas bypass or other complex means of controlling actual refrigerant flow remained the method of choice to prevent evaporator freezing on most factory and more expensive aftermarket units. After the gas crisis of early 70's almost all went to cycling clutch because of the added fuel economy gained by not having to run the compressor all the time.

thanks,,

jim,,and howard,,

Maybe a member of this forum has some actual pictures of installed A/C in various models and years.

The owner manual for my 54 Cavalier has a picture of the control panel on the steering column.

I think it would be fairly easy to build an Evap unit that would fit the trunk and pass the concourse judging.

Here in 120 degree Phoenix we don't drive much without A/C and I have been driving my Packard regularly.

My under-dash unit is on the passenger side and doesn't cool the driver well. I have a little vent unit more to the driver side with a maybe 3 inch piece of flex hose and some air does come out but not enough. The other problem I have is my 12 volt system won't cover the load of the fan on high. The noise level is irritating as well.

Jim, a friend here in Austin, and sometimes poster, has a 54 Cavalier with factory AC. I will try and get over to his house next week and photo document the system for you and others. He was out of town, and then it was my turn to go motoring. We are both back home enjoying the central Texas summer weather.

(o{}o)

If a 53/54 has true factory air, then it will have the quaterpanel mounted intake scoops. I've been looking for a set of those since I got the car....unobtainium.

Only seen one car in person with correct working factory air and that is gentleman out in Longview, TX who brings his car to Salado. His name escapes me, but he is always enjoyed with staging the cars for judging.

That would most probably be Billy Vaticalos. He is the Rodney Dangerfield of the Salado meet - he gets no respect. Every year he tries to arrange the parking lot at the Stagecoach Inn to group like classes together for the Saturday showing. And, every year drivers ignore him and park where they want. Poor Billy, every year he says this is his last. We may have come up with a parking scheme that will make his job easier next year by providing a parking map with the registration packet. We shall see.

Billy also happens to be a movie star - Billy appeared in the recent movie "Bernie". Great film, view it if you get a chance.

And, speaking of movies, "Parkland" the Tom Hanks produced HBO movie where my 1955 Clipper with Jackie Weaver may have a starring role is scheduled for release on November 8 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the event. Where were you on that day?

(o{}o)

Yes, Billy! His name always escapes me.

Here is a picture from the PAC meet. I believe this is Dwight's car.

It does not have the plastic tubes.

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BTW Did you know that the sound designers of the Porsche Panamera use different settings, depending whether the car goes to Germany or USA? The reason is that the speed of rotation of the A/C fans is two times higher when a car is intended for your area.