411 air conditioning

peter dowdle · #1 (**permalink**) 29-03-20, 08:40 AM

Thank you all for your efforts unfortunately no one in the UK seem to worry about air conditioning . The 603 installation of course is with the next generation motor (completely different). Then along came Kevin. How can I thank you enough. Your second installation is very interesting. The new radiator hose must mean a new radiator. The compressor I have not seen its most unusual.The heater hoses have been re positioned. How do you get to the distributor ? I note you require a new pulley or two as your running 3 belts.

The thing I am amazed at is its still possible despite the power steering box to mount an original alternator on the drivers side of the motor , I felt this could not be done.

My current thoughts to use the latest Vintage Compressor which mounts as per standard Chrysler and mount my alternator the same as yours.

Thanks again Kevin.

Im off to the shed.

Kevin H · #2 (**permalink**) 29-03-20, 09:55 AM

Hi Peter,
I will provide more details tomorrow.
Kevin

Kevin H · #3 (**permalink**) 30-03-20, 03:55 AM

Here are some photos on the AC pump and ancillaries and changes we made to the cooling system.

The AC pump (compressor) has a casting number on it 2002747. The pump also has a plate on it with "Chrysler" and a serial number stamped into it.

I should emphasise however that this pump does not seem to perform very well. So if you intend to go down this track you might want to source a remanufactured one from Four Seasons in the USA.

Kevin H · #4 (**permalink**) 30-03-20, 04:55 AM

After installing AC I found that the engine was no longer cooled sufficiently for the Australian summer climate. The reasons were two fold - firstly a condenser was now in front of the radiator and the original twin electric fans mounted in a cowl, were positioned at least 6 inches away from the condenser and were not forcing air through the condenser and radiator - it was too easy for the air to go around these obstructions. A large electric fan was added to the rear of the radiator, this improved the situation, but the engine cooling was still marginal at best on 30+ degree days.

The original, radiator, cowl and fans were removed and a new radiator and twin fan assembly was fabricated. The condenser was moved forward and this new assembly was mounted behind the condenser, so effectively the fan were sandwiched between the condenser and radiator. We found that an additional fan on the back of the radiator was still required, but this was effective in keeping the engine at the correct temperature even in hot weather.

It has since occurred to me that the AC performance may be improved by fitting a fan to the front of the condenser.

Philip · #5 (**permalink**) 30-03-20, 03:08 PM

Puller fans are far more efficient than pusher.

peter dowdle · #6 (**permalink**) 31-03-20, 01:44 AM

Kevin thank you for all of that.

I am now on top of how to set up the alternator , tension pulley and compressor. I am trying to source a new water pump pulley from Elco.

Your radiator , condenser and fan set up I must admit I am a little confused and rather than bore the readers, if you could possibly ring me on 0428574296 or email me your phone number you could talk me through that.

Your latest compressor seems to be a twin system and I guess is a piston pump. I would be looking at the Vintage Air standard pump used on all their systems I believe it is very good. They can even supply a mounting kit ex US for a big block motor. I have been considering using a Toyota Hilux 2.8 Diesel pump which moves plenty of cold air in my old twin cab ute. It only needs one belt to run it and are cheap to buy but would need a fabricated mounting kit made

Thanks again

Kevin H · #7 (**permalink**) 01-04-20, 01:48 AM

Peter,

I think I should explain it here as it might be of interest to others.

The idea of sandwiching the fans between the condenser and the radiator was so that we could maximise the size of the fans on the radiator (because the condenser is smaller than the radiator), and ensure that as much air as possible was forced through the radiator.

However, it may have been just as effective, or even more effective, to mount the condenser on the radiator, and have two big fans on the back of the radiator, pulling air through, and two smaller fans on the front of the condenser.

There's no doubt in my mind that mounting the fans directly on the radiator is far more effective than having the fans mounted in a cowl more than six inches in front of the radiator, which was the original Bristol configuration.

To be honest with you, I was talked into doing numerous modifications and it was so long ago I can't recall the justification for some of them - moving the radiator forward falls into that category. With hindsight I don't think I should have allowed this to be done, because I don't think it was really necessary and of course it is another step away from originality.

Thankfully I do still have the original radiator and mounting brackets.

The compressor in my later setup was used because it is the original compressor that would have been found on these Chrysler engines (I'm fairly sure it is what was used on the Jensen Interceptor), so the mounting points were already there. However, based on my experience I do think you would be better off using a modern compressor. My AC system is also from Vintage Air and it came with a Denso compressor. Having to fabricate some brackets shouldn't be a huge job - just getting the alignment right could be tricky.

Let me know if you still want me to call you to discuss further.