jft69z Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 26 minutes ago, John Burns said: My wiring diagram show 2 types of AC systems called "Comfortron" and "Four-Season". I searched and only found 1 reference to "Four-Season" and none for "Comfortron". Did these Montes ever come with the "Comfortron"? Looked a little deeper in the service manual. It looks like the Comfortron system came in the 'Chevrolet' and the '125 W.B. station wagon'. I'm taking that to mean the full size chevy, Impala. (W.B. = wheel base). The rest of the models, including Corvette had the 4 seasons system. A couple different spots and tables show the differentiation between the other models (including the 116.W.B. wagon), and the Chevrolet/125" W.B wagon. Disclaimer: I only looked at the 1972 Service manual because it's sitting right here next to me in the living room. I'm going to go out on a limb and say 70-71 are probably the same. If I find out different, I'll update. Finally, yes, post pics. You know how we like pics around here. 🙂 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dtret Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 Post it. This is how we learn. This may be very valuable information for some people. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Peters Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 11 hours ago, John Burns said: I got side tracked but I hope to finish this modification today or tomorrow! I got the blower working using the AC wiring harness and AC resistor. My wiring diagram show 2 types of AC systems called "Comfortron" and "Four-Season". I searched and only found 1 reference to "Four-Season" and none for "Comfortron". Did these Montes ever come with the "Comfortron"? I'll post pix of what I'm doing if anyone is interested. John, Of course we are interested. As you may know, we LOVE pictures here. You know, even better I see you live in Delaware which isn't that far from Carlisle, why not get registered for the Eastern Meet in Carlisle PA this June and you can point out in person what you have done. As of right now we have 67 members registered to attend. Just let me know how I can help get you registered, what better way to meet a large group of members and see their cars. rob 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Burns Posted February 29 Author Share Posted February 29 On 2/26/2024 at 9:07 PM, Rob Peters said: John, Of course we are interested. As you may know, we LOVE pictures here. You know, even better I see you live in Delaware which isn't that far from Carlisle, why not get registered for the Eastern Meet in Carlisle PA this June and you can point out in person what you have done. As of right now we have 67 members registered to attend. Just let me know how I can help get you registered, what better way to meet a large group of members and see their cars. rob Hi Rob! I started writing up what I've done and I figured out how to post pix again! (I know: it didn't happen if there aren't pix. :)) As I am writing it up, I realized I did a ton of little things that I want to include and I'm getting wordy... I love this stuff! (At the same time, I wonder is anyone still doing this sort of thing and does anyone care? Glad to see the interest from FGMCC!) Anyway, I hope to post something next week. Carlisle is on my radar, but I need to see how some family stuff goes before I can commit. Stay tuned. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Burns Posted March 15 Author Share Posted March 15 Whew! Ok, I knew this wasn’t going to be simple, but I learned some things about AC vs. non-AC cars. And my AC controller no longer taunts me: it said “AIR CONDITIONING” … obviously I know I don’t have AC! 😉 And my leaky vacuum switches and hoses are no longer an issue. (Huge props to you folks that keep those vacuum hoses and switches functioning!) I want to start out by saying I wish I had functioning factory AC, but the system didn’t work and was missing too much to try to revive. I know removing the AC is common and I have seen many evaporator boxes removed and “AC delete plates” installed. I’m hardly encouraging that, but if it has been done, it seems to me that is only half of the job! I even purchased a non-AC heater control a few years ago, but then realized it was way more involved than just swapping controls! Fast forward to a few weeks ago… the idle went goofy. I tracked it down to a vacuum leak under the dash in the AC controls. That leak was the last straw, so I dove in. I popped the dash pad off and pulled the heater core box. I was expecting to buy and install a non-AC heater box, but then realized the firewall, ducting and cowl are completely different than a heater-only car. The heater core is in a different location and heater-only cars have fresh air ducts from the cowl to the vents in on either side of the dash. I changed my plan and decided to make the AC heater core box work. I pulled the box apart (mostly small screws and drilling out a few rivets). I unbolted the 2 vacuum actuators from the box and removed 2 additional actuators that are part of the system- one in the passenger side kick plate and one in the cowl. I also removed what I guess is a “mixing” door in the heater box. I’m not sure what it does… I couldn’t figure it out- so I removed it! 😊 But it did seem to rattle a lot, so I figured “one less rattle.” I haven’t missed the door! I used the existing actuator cable to operate the “COLD/HOT” door, and 2 cables from an old Camaro to operate the DEFROST and OFF/AIR doors. (Repop Monte / A-body cables are available.) I had to get a little creative to make the DEFROST and OFF/AIR doors swing fully open and closed with the full swing of the controls, but it works nicely. There are 2 ways to wire the blower switch. (The switches are different between AC vs non-AC and they don’t swap between the controls.) Either way gets to the same result- the blower switch operates OFF, LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH. And you don’t have to move the top control lever from the “OFF” position to turn the fan on. (I always thought that was a little weird with the AC controls.) 1. Use the existing AC wiring. Get a 4-pin connector and pin it as shown from wires in the AC blower switch connectors. (There are 2 connectors.) This method uses the AC heater resistor- I installed mine in the delete plate when I removed the evaporator housing. The high-speed fan relay on the fire wall is removed as well. (NOTE: the purple wire is “hot” when the blower is running and the other big wire runs to the horn relay- take care to make sure these can’t ground out). The blue wire is dead at this point. 2. Use the existing non-AC wiring. AC cars have the non-AC blower connector (black 4 wire plug) and heater resistor connector (white 3 wire plug) tucked up under the dash. There is also an orange 14g wire with a connector that plugs into the blower somewhere bundled into the harness in the engine compartment on the firewall. A heater resistor needs to be installed in the heater box- then plug in the heater resistor connector. Remove the purple wire from the blower and plug in the orange wire. At this point, the entire AC harness can be removed or tucked away. See my note above about the high-speed fan relay. I bolted the box and controls back in and installed the duct work. Oddly, the Defroster duct doesn’t attach to the heater box. There is a gap between them but it doesn’t impact the flow to the windshield. I did notice the duct swings and rattles, so I put a rubber pad between the duct and the firewall and the rattle was gone. I used the rest of the AC ductwork, but I removed the 2 (creaky) vents that come out at knee-level in front of the driver and passenger. And I used black gaf tape on the plastic vent connections under the dash. This cuts down on the plastic squeaks. (Use gaf tape- never duct tape!) I wanted to keep the “factory correct” heater hose valve but it is Normally-Open and it needs a vacuum signal to close. I hurt my brain trying to incorporate a switch and an electric solenoid to control the vacuum signal to the Normally-Open heater hose valve. (My logic: I didn’t want the vacuum solenoid activated or “on” in the COLD position- I consider this the “normal / off state.” The solenoid activates and opens the heater hose valve when I want some heat and can cut in some cold with the COLD/HOT lever… whew.) I found a factory-appearing Normally-Closed heater hose valve. I installed a micro switch to operate the vacuum solenoid. As soon as the COLD-HOT lever comes off of COLD, the switch energizes the vacuum solenoid, opens the heater hose valve, allowing coolant to flow through the heater core. To power the circuit, I used the brown “key hot” wire that was no longer needed for the AC system power. The repop kick plates fit well. My only complaint is that the knobs for the vent cables are kinda cheap looking. There isn’t much to the factory ac kick plates (mine had been butchered with a bad speaker install, so I won’t miss them). Because I do not have fresh air vents from the cowl, I removed the top cable from both kick plates and installed black rubber plugs into the holes. Installing the driver side kick plate is a bit of work twisting under the dash. The parking brake pedal assembly needs to be unbolted (you can leave the cable alone and swing the assembly out of the way). There is a plate that covers the vent hole that needs to be removed, and then the whole assembly needs to be finessed into place. I have driven the car quite a bit with the new set up. The controls work very well and there is a satisfying, more direct change when moving the levers around, rather than waiting for vacuum to build to open / close the various doors! The fresh air vents in the kick plates are nice too. My Camaro has them and it is nice to open them to get air flowing around your feet. There are also much fewer squeaks from under the dash (I’m a nut about getting rid of squeaks and rattles), and I get a kick looking at the heater controls! Success! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jft69z Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 You're just working your butt off lately, lol. Good job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Burns Posted March 15 Author Share Posted March 15 40 minutes ago, jft69z said: You're just working your butt off lately, lol. Good job! Thanks- I'm actually recovering from a detached Achillies tendon... too hurt to work my day job, but I'm able to slowly pick away at the Monte with many long rests in between. Strange times but I'm rolling with it. I guess the Monte is therapy! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Burns Posted March 15 Author Share Posted March 15 If someone has a time machine, please pop back 20 years ago and tell me not to install that radio! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cny first gen 71 Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 29 minutes ago, John Burns said: If someone has a time machine, please pop back 20 years ago and tell me not to install that radio! Yea we'd all like a time machine wouldn't we. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willie Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 Hey John, go at your pace, whatever progress is, it is!!! I remember when i had my shoulder surgery i used force myself to go by the cars and do a little everyday, and i looked at it as its progress. Good job!!! And get better soon!!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Burns Posted March 16 Author Share Posted March 16 I thought I put these up: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dtret Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 Well done. If you ever decide to go back to original ac I’m sure that as a group we can all help you come up with the necessary pieces for a complete stock installation. But what you did looks great and pretty factory looking too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
70Monte402 Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 Great work ! I love seeing the pics as well. Regarding my '70 A/C car, is there anyone that might know why my actuator cable that operates the “COLD/HOT” door won't move past 1/4 away from cold? It will move a little to the right, towards HOT but then just stops. I don't want to "force" it AND I'm not sure what to do to get it to release and move all the way to HOT. It will move back to COLD without much effort but it will not move past that 1/4 area towards the HOT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott S. Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 Corrosion in the cable or on the "hinge" mechanism might be the problem. If you can get to them, a little penetrating oil might solve the problem. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
70Monte402 Posted April 16 Share Posted April 16 23 hours ago, Scott S. said: Corrosion in the cable or on the "hinge" mechanism might be the problem. If you can get to them, a little penetrating oil might solve the problem. I was thinking that, and getting to them might be an issue for sure. I'll give it a try this weekend. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott S. Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 On 4/16/2024 at 12:58 PM, 70Monte402 said: I was thinking that, and getting to them might be an issue for sure. I'll give it a try this weekend. Hey Dennis, Another thought.... Are there any kinks in the cable ? And, are the ends of the cable that mount to the controller and housing secure ? I'm talking about the little tab ends with the hole for the screw. Sometimes if they're loose, they'll twist and bind the cable. Just a thought you might want to check. Scott. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
70Monte402 Posted Thursday at 12:46 PM Share Posted Thursday at 12:46 PM Thank all for the suggestions. Surgery has put me behind on this so nothing to report back yet. Will let you know when I get some "feel better" time to try the suggestions. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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