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Vintage Air


black07ss

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I used Classic Auto air and it was the same kit a the chevelle except I lived by them and had them make the final lines as they are longer and I moved the compressor to the passengers side.

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Bob

I have it on mine.

contact va and tell them its for a monte...

hoses are longer.compressor mounting my be different to.

 

im gonna be mia tomarrow, but pm me if you have any questions.

Bob

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Thanks guys. Bob you need to delete some PM's. I tried to send one yesterday but you are all booked up. The right side would look good. That looks like where you put yours Bob?

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You are definitely want to talk to me and others regarding the many nuances. Yhet will be helpful, but I t helps to know what to ask. It took me several weeks and many reorders to get every thing right........ugh.

 

but the good news is I love it and most people dont even know its there.ivehad people see me with the windows up and then I open the hood and thry say no air how can you stand it , lol

ps I cleared the pm s out

bob

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You are definitely want to talk to me and others regarding the many nuances. Yhet will be helpful, but I t helps to know what to ask. It took me several weeks and many reorders to get every thing right........ugh.

 

but the good news is I love it and most people dont even know its there.ivehad people see me with the windows up and then I open the hood and thry say no air how can you stand it , lol

ps I cleared the pm s out

bob

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I actually just ordered my kit. Its sitting in the living waiting to be installed over spring break next week. I had my compressor already so I just order the evap kit and condenser kit seperatly. I moved my compressor to the passenger side so I order a special hard line VA sells to do that. I also didn't order any hose because I am going to route them so they stay under the fender.

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there is a guy on you tube that installed a va unit it into his nova...talon4wd is his username..if you type in vintage air install it should come up

his videos of his rebuild are really good and informative

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Oh and correct me if I am wrong but you will need to remove your dash completely if you don't have a chevelle or aftermarket dash. Your glove box should be(my orginial 72 dash is) moulded in the dash. And with the VA you need to cut 2 inches off the glove box.

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the dash does need to be cut to allow room for the under dash unit. u simply cut it and then attatch a new panel to close the back off.

the control panel does go in the factory location ,but does no look like the oe panel.it is all plug and play electrical from controller to blend door/blower speed/outlet control.

the exterior hoses for the ac will come incomplete,meaning you will have to cut to length and have them crimped .make sure you test fit the lines and mark them with positioning marks/clock marks.napa stores usually can do the crimping.

by positioning the compressor on pass side,i was able to eliminate the long hose going accross the motor and the hose smaller hose that ran from compressor to condenser.if you are using an aftermarket pulley kit like mine ,be sure to specify the type of compressor you will need to make it work .

also i ran into issues with the pressure switch wiring for the fans.i hade to purchase a different switch than the one suppied.and a seperate wiring/relay kit to control my fans with the ac.probably more that will come back to me later

bob

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Can the controls be adapted to the factory location in the dash?

 

My factory system is intact but the compressor is shot (and the other components are 40 yrs old.)

 

Marc, if you want to retain the look and operation of your factory A/C controls, I suggest you look at Classic Auto Air and compare it to Vintage Air. The Chevelle Kit from CAA can be installed in your Monte with the same considerations as Vintage (i.e. slightly longer hoses). You can download all of the installation instructions from CAA and review them before you decide. Better yet, call Classic and talk with their tech/sales reps. They know what it takes to install their kit in a first gen Monte and they are keen on answering all your questions.

 

There are several significant differences between Classic and Vintage systems for Chevelles/Montes - the option to have manual controls that utilize your factory control panel and levers is only one. Another difference is that you do NOT have to shorten your glove compartment box with the CAA system (yet the CAA evaporator coil is actually larger) and you can retain the use of your lower Astro Vents (non A/C cars only). I believe Classic now also offers a digital control panel like Vintage, but I don't believe Vintage has ever offered a manual interface to the factory control panel like Classic still does.

 

Below you can see a photo of my factory-looking dash after installing the Classic Auto Air system.

 

B6ControlPanel.jpg

B4PassengerSide.jpg

 

Also, you can review my installation album at: Classic Auto Air Installation in a '70 Monte Carlo

 

Either Classic or Vintage systems will cool your Monte just fine, but there are some important differences to consider. Good luck!

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I used a the stuff from Classic and the help was fine.Changed over to 134a and they got the correct condenser for 134 instead of r12.Nice people to deal with

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Installed the condenser yesterday. The old one is far bigger then the new unit. For those considering Vintage air not you will have to enlarge the the holes which your condenser hard-line routed through the core support to 1-1/4".

Looking forward to taking off the dash Wednesday to mount the evaporator unit

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some pics would be cool..if you can..i am sure others would be interested in your install too...especially in the cabin..

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Blurry but you guys get the point dash is out! I highly advise using two people before you unbolt the last two bulkhead bolts.

 

IMG_20140305_140156_806_zps061e9f86.jpg

 

Safely on the workbench

IMG_20140305_140204_472_zps4be1beef.jpg

 

IMG_20140305_174700_473_zpsf9b9b9e1.jpg

 

How much you will need to cut off of the glovebox, comes with a new back plate with s clips to hold it on. the clips have tabs that dig into the plastic, that prevents it from coming back off

 

IMG_20140305_174653_964_zpsa8f83bf5.jpg

 

center vent cut for Vintage Air

 

IMG_20140305_174623_782_zps1d3bfeed.jpg

 

IMG_20140305_174559_475_zps5e30b390.jpg

 

Adapters for driver and passenger vents

 

IMG_20140305_174639_908_zps1b46742e.jpg

 

Parts I won't be needing, may put them up for sale if any interest you can PM me

 

IMG_20140305_174806_146_zps026c1d85.jpg

 

Fresh Air vents and ducts

 

IMG_20140305_174821_726_zpsfc402c8b.jpg

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Installed the evaporator, kind of been slacking and need to clean up wires behind the dash and then re-installed it.

 

IMG_20140307_184926_048_zpscf07da77.jpg

 

IMG_20140307_185002_819_zps5889e9cd.jpg

 

IMG_20140307_184950_599_zpsa0e1a4bf.jpg

 

IMG_20140307_184841_530_zpsd0b69112.jpg

 

Had to cut a portion off to get the panel to sit flush

 

IMG_20140307_162742_795_zpsa9fed2ba.jpg

 

IMG_20140307_162727_773_zpsa7ca036f.jpg

 

IMG_20140307_162715_910_zpsd3700f8e.jpg

 

IMG_20140307_140837_023_zpse0237bef.jpg

 

IMG_20140307_184859_083_zps96ddc94c.jpg

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Your experience makes me glad I went with Classic Auto Air. The only modifications it required were removing the stock heater box and two Astro Vent tubes and shortening the base of the center "Y" air channel ... retained a stock-looking dash, also. wink

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Well they have an option to use the stock panel, but mine wasn't in all that great condition and I am replacing the entire dash panel anyways. So for me it wasn't s big deal. Either way pretty stoked I get to enjoy ac on command this summer!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Does anyone know how far the ac charge ports can be from the ac compressor? I know traditionally they are on the fitting but I would like to make it less visible/less clutter near the engine. would use a splice like this to move charge ports ( linky )

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