About 1957 Air Conditioning.

[57flw]

As some will know I have finished my rebuild, well enough to get it to the Formal.


During the process I fitted some of the air con parts. I purchased a complete system from Canada.
I have not fitted the Compressor as yet. Nor have I had it rebuilt.
I have fitted a new condensor and receiver dryer.

I have been told the Compressor was designed for the R12 Gas and would not be suitable for the R34A? I am a bit out of my depth in regards to the air con. This is one field I failed to learn about.

My questions are:
1. Can I use the existing compressor with the current Gas R34A or R134A or whatever it is?
2. Is it reasonably easy to overhaul the compressor?
3. Is a rebuild kit available?

I did not take a picture of the system when I made the purchase but I am pretty sure the photo attached is the same system.

Thanks for any help and advise.
It goes without saying that my local Air Con "experts" want to sell me a new compressor and throw the old big one away. I would like to keep it reasonably original looking if possible.

Regards
Ken

[J. Gomez]

Ken,

As for your questions,
1.Can I use the existing compressor with the current Gas R34A or R134A or whatever it is?

If you search the forum you will find several threads regarding the R12 to R134 topic from several experts on this subject. Good reading material for sure.

2. Is it reasonably easy to overhaul the compressor?

The answer is yes but there are caveats with these units it all depends on how deep you will go in the rebuild. I’ve done a few of these from ’56-’60 and they each have their own complexity.

3. Is a rebuild kit available?

Well the answer is yes and no, you may be lucky in finding a NOS kit in eBay at a $$$ price.

You could find the “O” rings from your local auto or hydraulic shop. The two paper gaskets you could trace and make this yourself real easy. As for the rotating shaft seal well that is another story.

If your shaft seal carbon face is intact with no cracks or chips it could be re-used, the surface may need to be smooth just use caution with polishing it. Also there is an “O” inside the shaft seal.

The oil seal for the coil housing you could find a replacement for this, you may need to take the measurements and cross reference them for an equivalent replacement. I found the Federal Mogul 471647 and/or SKF 9307 fit but width is roughly 2mm larger than the original, again there could be others.

The clutch has three nylon balls, these tend to get off-round with friction and heat, I’ve used ceramic balls with good results (you have to use none-metallic material on these). They are a bit $$ but will stand the heat and friction better.

Now to the last piece of the puzzle, the pulley bearing the Z995202B will be a hard item to find and some bearing place list these at ridiculous prices. From what I recall the Z995202BT is an equivalent replacement, but checked first I’m going from memory here.

There is some additional information at the aaca.org forum that you could use as reference. Here is the link, http://forums.aaca.org/f162/low-tech-tips-mid-50s-buicks-301055.html

Hope this helps!

Good luck

[57flw]

Many thanks for such a comprehensive reply.

I have just come back from what I believe was a well deserved scuba dive trip to the Great Barrier Reef.

After reviewing all the information you have sent me I have decided that I will have a go at fitting a new Sanden compressor if I can manage to work out how I can use the original mounting brackets without altering it.

Since I have had my car on the road I have not been able to drive anywhere without being asked if I would make my car available for a wedding. This will go a long way to recover some of the money I have spent on the rebuild.

I have done a search for a rebuild kit without success.

Our summer here has just started and the temperature is quite warm and in fact where I live never really gets too cold anyway. We only need air conditioning in our cars. I can not remember the last time I used a heater in a car.
I need to get the air con side working quite quickly so I think fitting the new compressor will be the way to go.
I will try and make sure the original system will be able to be refitted if necessary.
This will be for the purists if I ever sell the car. 

Ken

[J. Gomez]

Ken,

There are a few companies in the states that deal with rebuilding these units and others that have conversion kits. However since you are several thousand miles away and with your time frame it may be impractical for you to deal with them with such loooong distance.

I recall some folks had retrofit Sanden and the big log (old GM A6) units with minor modification, the original bracket was removed and new ones made to fit them. In addition, you could post a topic in the Modified Cadillac LaSelle chapter http://www.modifiedcadillac.org/forum/ for additional feedback.

Good luck, and stay cool..! 

[David King (kz78hy)]

Ken,

Checkout Classic Auto Air, they can rebuild original or retrofit with a modern version.  I had them do my entire system, but have some issues getting my original stuff sorted. 

Big money to get going, so you might have to promote a cold car for selling those wedding parties.

http://www.classicautoair.com/

Just an idea

David