1973 Blazer Air Conditioning Retrofit

[TallCowGirl]

Hi All...believe it or not, I've bought another Blazer. Unlike the '73 Blazer that I've fixed up, this one doesn't have a rusty body. However, life has once again taken me to another part of the country, and I've just moved to Florida. I would like to put stock GM air condtioning in the new Blazer before it gets painted--it's a lot hotter down here than Illinois. The parts seem easy enough to get, but have any of you done this? What type of holes do you have to cut in the firewall for the a/c style heater/evaporator box? What is the difference between the old style freon (R12) and the new freon (R134)? Any advice or assistance would be helpful.

Thanks,
Diana

 

[K10ANDYKHAMNIC]

i have been told the retrofits dont work too good by A/C guys, i even tried it and it was worthless . the condensor is just not big enough for the r134 . oh and i live where it get to be 120 * in the summer .

 

[azblazer]

The conversion is possable...a friend of mine has done it before on a 85 diesel sub. Its been many years so i don't have the details on how to and where tocut and weld to go from non a/c to a/c.

I've tried many things over the years to make several of my K5's work good with R134A...the results aren't worth the trouble. To make it work a new style crossflow condensor will have to be used in conjunction with a helper fan tied in with the a/c low psi switch via a relay to kick the fan on.

My advise...goto the ASE website....download the pdf on their recycle test...pay the 15 dollars or so and get ase certified to buy your own R-12.
My cost at NAPA is around $24 a can....well worth the price. Just mention you work at so and so's auto and truck so you can get the discount....otherwise it's around $44 a can....if you have a shop do it add 40% to that...

DW

 

[HarryH3]

If you want to get everything in a single package, check out www.vintageair.com They've been selling complete A/C retrofit kits for years.

It looks like http://www.vintageair.com/download/pdf_singles/48.pdf is what you're looking for. They list a model that is intended for 73-86 GM trucks that don't have factory air.