411 air conditioning

[Kevin H]

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.

[peter dowdle]

Spoke to my radiator man who I have a lot of time for. He suggests I fit the air conditioner radiator hard up against the front of the cars radiator and have it sealed at the edges, this will cause the fans mounted at the rear of the radiator to draw the air through both. The fan wiring will need to be modified so that as soon as the air is switched on the fans will run.

If the air is not cold when driving slowly or parked, he suggest fitting a small open fan at the front to force air through the air conditioning radiator. His words were trial and error.

Back to the shed. I have the alternator installed to the drivers side next to the distributor with sufficient movement to take up the slack on the belt without needing an adjustable tension pulley, hoping to get away with fixed pulley. Thats my next task. I also ordered today a Vintage Air compressor $395.00 Australian for which I will need to make a fixed mounting bracket.