installing an a/c in my opel gt

[opel_nut]

I'm looking to install an a/c in my opel GT. I have the mechanical ability. I just don't have the parts I need and where to get them.
Thanks,
opel_nut

[namba209]

This could be a long post, but I'll try to make it as short as possible for a start. There were 2 units installed in the GT, A GM unit and an ARA unit. They differed in where the compressor was mounted and the type of cowling used between the seats. Both had the condensor mounted in front of the radiator which caused the battery tray to be rotated 90 degrees and a hole had to be cut in the belly pan to remove and install the battery. Both had the cooling unit mounted behind the rear seats and a raised shelf was placed over the units. The GM used the rotary compressor mounted above the alternator, the ARA had the compressor mounted low on the right side of the engine and to the water pump. Both had lines running under the car, through the floor and in to the cooling unit and they both had two groove pulleys mounted on the crankshaft. The GM used a vacuum operated microswitch to turn the compressor on and off depending on engine vacuum. Those are the differences I'm aware of, I have/had a GM on my 72 GT, and when working it would throw ice cubes, figuratively speaking out the hole between the seats. It was missing the ducting between the seats and around the brake and gear shift. HTH. For a start.

[tekenaar]

Originally Posted by namba209 This could be a long post, but I'll try to make it as short as possible for a start. There were 2 units installed in the GT, A GM unit and an ARA unit. They differed in where the compressor was mounted and the type of cowling used between the seats. Both had the condensor mounted in front of the radiator which caused the battery tray to be rotated 90 degrees and a hole had to be cut in the belly pan to remove and install the battery. Both had the cooling unit mounted behind the rear seats and a raised shelf was placed over the units. The GM used the rotary compressor mounted above the alternator, the ARA had the compressor mounted low on the right side of the engine and to the water pump. Both had lines running under the car, through the floor and in to the cooling unit and they both had two groove pulleys mounted on the crankshaft. The GM used a vacuum operated microswitch to turn the compressor on and off depending on engine vacuum. Those are the differences I'm aware of, I have/had a GM on my 72 GT, and when working it would throw ice cubes, figuratively speaking out the hole between the seats. It was missing the ducting between the seats and around the brake and gear shift. HTH. For a start.

The ARA unit also used this "engine load dependent" vacuum switch, since they were both "dealer installed" options. My '73 GT had an ARA unit and it had it. The ARA console is the nicer of the two units, IMO, and that old GM A-6 compressor, while it weighs a ton, is built like a tank. It's the ONLY automotive compressor ever made that has an oil pump in it, all the rest rely on atomized/splash oiling. I digress . . .

[opelenvy]

Originally Posted by opel_nut I'm looking to install an a/c in my opel GT. I have the mechanical ability. I just don't have the parts I need and where to get them. Thanks, opel_nut

Just so happens that Vintage Air is located in San Antonio as well.
Folks have contacted them in the past and they do not have a specific kit for a GT but they could use your car as a test model to fit one in. I have often thought about using them.
If you are serious I'd give them a call and see what you can do. Tell them that if they come up with a kit that there would be SEVERAL other Opel folks interested in buying this kit for years to come.
What do you all think? Who would be interested in a bolt on kit for the GT? Count me in for one.

[Old Hippie]

You know, I wonder how a A/C unit from a Chry Grand Voyager would work. I believe my mech told me its a seperate electric unit in the middle seat wall. If so, a unit from the junkyard, bigger amp alternator and, if desired, a second battery (large motorcycle) would work in the tire are. Evaporator would need some thought for location. Course, you would have to make sure your tires were in excellent shape.
Just a thought.

[namba209]

There is just no room below the windshield and behind the instrument panel and dash for an AC evaporator. I guess that's the reason the dealers put it behind the seats in the first place. On my GM system, the hoses from the compressor and dehydrator/filter went down the footwell along side the clutch cable, to behind the seats and up through the sheetmetal. The approximate 5" X 5" opening from the package behind the seats really cooled down the small passenger area fairly quickly. The only change I plan to make when I re-install it is to so put a louver plate over the opening to direct the cool air up toward the roof. For my V-6 setup the only thing I'm changing is the compressor, the original GM rotary is just too big to fit, so a Delphi compressor off a 2000 GM van will be mounted to the left head with a custom bracket and the inlet/discharge block has been modified to accept the R-134 fittings. Putting an AC in the GT is feasible, it was done by the dealers, and putting it back with the V-6 is just another minor mod that will be done along with the rest of the project. One of these days, it will be finished.....I hope.

[opelenvy]

Vintage Air has been getting their heater/air conditioner units pretty small. Since it is a package deal you could remove the Opel Heater and blower and utilize that room maybe?

[namba209]

I guess the only way to find out is to take out a heater package, give it to them along with the controls and dimensions of the box and see if they can put a package together within the confines of those dimensions, and run ducts somehow that would direct the airflow as needed. And maybe a flapper valve to close off the outside incoming air and recycle the inside air back through the AC unit. If they're gonna do it, do it right.

[benncojr]

I know this is an old thread but I though it was relavent to some folks looking into A/C for this summer.

I looked at the Vintage Air Catalog and found the following that way A/C was done on the GT's back in the 70's.

http://vintageair.com/download/pdf_singles/26.pdf

The price for this unit is $389 to $445 depending on if you want heat with it and or the Stander Louvers. You still have to purchase the compressor, brackets, hoses, etc... but it looks like an idea that may work.

[73 gt man]

If there is any more info on this I would be in your debt, it is going to hit 111 today and the summer has not started yet. I am using my newly purchased 73 as a daily driver i love it and will sweat alot if I have to, but any more help would be great.

[benncojr]

I would recomend getting in touch with Vintage Air directly. The first step would be to get a catalog from them! I have a request in for a hard copy but you can download it directly from the site!

http://vintageair.com

I did a search for dealers in your area and came up with this.

TOAD'S HOT RODS & COLLECTABLES
501 EAST MESQUITE STREET
GILBERT AZ 85296 USA
Tel: 6027999604 Fax: 4808926826 Toll:

There is also 4 other dealers in your area, Tempe, Scottsdale, and Mesa.

Two have web sites. www.impalas.com and www.streetrods-classiccars.com

The do say they have installers.

[matl59]

As I climbed into my smoldering hot GT yesterday afternoon I was really wishing I had AC... I know the original units are expensive and hard to find and 35 year old AC doesn't sound real efficient anyway.

I did a search for vintage air on the site and found lots of people talking about it but nothing on actually installing one of these systems in a GT. Just wondering if anyone has actually gone down that road and if they have pictures and tips for installation?

[ddoyle]

I cant make any recommendations for the inside of a GT. But on the outside...
I would use a condenser something like a newer honda, all alum, very small and compact and very efficent. It does use block type o-ring fittings so custom hoses needed(no hose clamps, please). Forget any of the york or gm a-6 type of compressor, big, heavy, take a lot of horsepower and quite leak prone(designed for R-12). Many smaller, efficent units on the market today. I would stay away from the variable displacement compressors(gm, V-5, V-7 ect). Design system to work with R134-A, proven to work good, easy to get(for now!). Lots of substitutes out there, stay away. I have not seen any stand alone units in the rear of the Chrysler mini vans, all the ones I have worked on, had an evap, heater core and a blower in them with heater and A/c lines going to the eng cpmt. Make sure there is a heater control valve that shuts off all hot coolant to the heater(even with a non A/C car this can help a lot). These are just my opinions. Hope someone got something useful from all this!

Dan

[matl59]

Thanks for the comments.

I'm primarily interested in if anyone has installed a complete system from Vintage Air...

[tekenaar]

Originally Posted by matl59 Thanks for the comments. I'm primarily interested in if anyone has installed a complete system from Vintage Air...

Sorry, but as stated earlier in this thread, there is no complete Vintage Air system for a GT.

[matl59]

Again, not looking for a complete system...I know that no such thing exists. Only asking if someone has used the universal vintage air system in their GT. What kind of things they had to overcome to make it fit and work.

I guess from the lack of response on the subject I can assume no one has done it.

[namba209]

Originally Posted by matl59 I guess from the lack of response on the subject I can assume no one has done it.

If they have, it's not been posted on this site. Having AC in Willit? when I bought it, and swapping out the engine/tranny, I can tell you for sure, the Sanden AC pump from Vintage Air will work nicely in a GT, just build up some brackets to mount it. It's about the same size as the alternator, maybe a bit longer. You'll have to have a condensor and dehydrator/filter mounted in front of the radiator, naturally. Which means you'll have trouble accessing the battery. The evaporator and fan assembly will have to be mounted behind the seats, which means hoses from the pump/condensor to the evaporator, just like the dealer add-on package. You'll also need to do the electrical and temp control package to get it all to work, but it's not too hard. It could be, all the components could be had from Vintage Air and just mod their components as far as mounting to get it to work. If needed I can take pics of the system I have in Willit? to give you and idea or two. All I'm going to be using as far as ducting is one outlet between and behind the seats, I didn't have the console ducting when I bought the car, but with that one large outlet, It cooled the interior quite nicely.

[Lindsay]

Looking at Vintage Air online catalog, page 24, Mini Slim Line is 5.25" H x 16.25" W x 12" Deep. Rear carpeted area could be raised 1/2 ft. for mounting, but not sure if seats would block airflow. One the three cooling vents would be between GT seats.

1973 Opel FSM (Factory Service Manual) has pictures of GT A/C system.
How high was rear carpeted area raised on Dealer installed units?

Presume hot air enters from back of Vintage Air unit, so would need air intakes like GT system or vents installed at rear vertical area below spare tire tarp.

[Geek]

For those of you who are lucky enough to be in places where the humidity is not normally 100% (unlike here in NoVA), you might want to check this out.

!Portable 12-Volt Swampy Air Conditioners & Evaporative Coolers.

They sell evaporative cooling (AC) units that run on battery. Would be a good choice for desert climates.

[namba209]

Lindsay, the shelf is raised up about 5-6", see attached pic. Also you don't need any fresh air inlets with that unit, from what I can see in the .pdf file, it uses surrounding air to cycle through the evaporator and out the outlets. In the pic you can see one of the 4 screened air inlets in the "OEM" package and the one outlet between the seats. The dealer package is sitting on and under a two piece plastic enclosure, so the entire unit is kinda sorta sealed. It draws air in through the screened inlets, cools it down and expels it through the large opening between the seats. When I get done repairing the plastic enclosure, I'm only going to have that one outlet with a louvered panel over it to direct the refrigerated air directed to the roof line. Oh yeah, you'll also need a moisture drain line or two from the unit or it will fill the cavity below the shelf with water. On mine there are two hoses that just exit through a pair of holes drilled in the floor pan. More pics can be uploaded if needed.