Yup. My AC doesn't work and the heater core is bypassed right now. Weather is alternating between unseasonably cool and rainy, hot and humid. I REALLY need to fix this crap.
CK5
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Finally decided I had to get me one of these here build threads.
- Thread starter uao85
- Start date
uao85
1/2 ton status
yeah I already looked at that kit, its $1300 before tax. Although they do have a kit I am interested in which is the gen2 super, it comes with the underdash box and everything from the firewall back, with the lines, condensor and compressor being supplied by the customer. I found that particular kit from a dealer in florida for $500 which is for the a/c, heat, and defrost, so its not nearly as expensive as that bolt in kit. Seeing as I am installing the late model dash, this might be an option.
It seems spendy, but I can see a lot of R&D and tooling on their part...so I'm not surprised. It definitely doesn't look cobbled together and does fit your criteria. I'm considering this very kit for my Crew Cab for a few reasons. First I also want an uncluttered engine bay with a smooth/clean firewall. My truck never had AC, and in keeping with my end goals for this truck I'd like to have AC for creature comforts.
I don't live in AZ of TX, but that doesn't mean I might not visit those places with this truck one day. If it has AC the wife and kids will be a lot more likely to join me.
Looking at their price list I found:
74180-LCU-A 81-86 CHEVY P/U W/O A/C KIT 134A 1125.00
Rene
I don't live in AZ of TX, but that doesn't mean I might not visit those places with this truck one day. If it has AC the wife and kids will be a lot more likely to join me.
Looking at their price list I found:
74180-LCU-A 81-86 CHEVY P/U W/O A/C KIT 134A 1125.00
Rene
So what changed 87-91 that they don't list it?
Nothing that I know of. My CC is an '87...
Rene
Rene
uao85
1/2 ton status
well its official, newer factory a/c box is way too big, so I will be either modding the old factory box with the new controls or picking up a vintage air half kit that includes basically everything from the firewall back.
original balzer
1/2 ton status
Im a bit confused now...... Why did you swap cabs again? Sorry if I missed the explaination but I thought you said you did it to get the AC and 12v wiring? Or was it just to get the prep and bed liner done more easily and keep the truck on the road longer?
Or maybe your project just progressed past what you originally planed?
Or maybe your project just progressed past what you originally planed?
uao85
1/2 ton status
Yeah the plan originally was to swap cabs in order to gain a/c, power accessories and 12v wiring without all the blackout light/24v bs that seems to cause trouble when shorting out. At the same time it allowed me to prep the cab all around like I had wanted to do in the first place so I was able to kill two birds with one stone.
However like you stated, my plans have somewhat progressed like they tend to do often. I dont like the clutter that the factory vacuum actuated a/c system creates with all kinds of tubing & wiring running around inside and outside of the cab. I also dont like the fact that the frame of the dash is non-removable because it makes it a bitch to get behind and work on stuff. So I am in the process right now of fixing those issues one way or another.
uao85
1/2 ton status
well to the top for this evening. Rolling it over in my head this past week I just decided to use the KISS method on my truck and to just keep it simple, because I am making myself stupid with all these ideas.
I still want a removable dash, and have already cut out the old frame/support, so I will be creating a removable factory style dash. This week I will be picking up another dash frame that was cut out right at the windshield, which will allow a lip that overlaps.
Also decided to keep the factory collumn instead of swapping in the 95 collumn I have, again unneccesary headaches. Decided to take sweetk30's advice and going with the lokar kit that converts the collumn to cable shift...PS. Thanks for that idea, I have never even heard of that kit before.
Also talked to a company in Selma, Tx called Hotrod air about there air conditioning systems that they sell. The fellow that I talked to over the phone was awesome, and had a lot of very useful information. He filled me in on the differences between there vacuum and servo operated systems they sell including the warranty that they offer, and the longevity of each system, construction, comparison to other aftermarket a/c companies etc. He was helpful and incredible knowledgable on the systems. They offer a LIFETIME warranty on there vacuum operated systems, and I think a 5 year warranty on there servo operated systems.
I already have everything from the firewall forward, so they tallied up all the parts for my application, and it came out to right around $600 for everything from the firewall back, which also includes adapting the system to my factory controls to have a stock appearance. All that will be needed to hook it up is 1 power, 1 ground, and 1 vacuum line. SIGN ME UP This is the kit I will be using once I reach that point.
Starting to cut out some of the spot welds on the firewall this week, and found some spots of rust that I will be dealing with while smoothing it all out. It is the seem where the cowl comes down the top of the firewall and is spot welded to the lower portion of the firewall. Inside the cowl where the windshield wiper linkage is located, there is some seam sealer that lifted and allowed some moisture to sit and rust. So while I am cutting out portions of the firewall to be replaced with a flat piece of 18 gauge, I will also be pulling up all of the seam sealer across that seam to sand down to bare metal, remove any rust, repaint and reseal it.
Also in the power doors that I have for the truck, the driver side window motor is out so I stripped both doors for a sound deadening treatment courtesy of the dynamat kit that should be arriving this week. While everything is apart, hopefully will get a couple of coats of paint on them so I dont have to worry about taping off everything. Hopefully will get some new seals for the main window soon, cleaning up the track that is attached to the lower part of the window and regreasing the rollers and tracks.
Hopefully when classes start tomorrow, this build will be able to keep its momentum.
Remington
I still want a removable dash, and have already cut out the old frame/support, so I will be creating a removable factory style dash. This week I will be picking up another dash frame that was cut out right at the windshield, which will allow a lip that overlaps.
Also decided to keep the factory collumn instead of swapping in the 95 collumn I have, again unneccesary headaches. Decided to take sweetk30's advice and going with the lokar kit that converts the collumn to cable shift...PS. Thanks for that idea, I have never even heard of that kit before.
Also talked to a company in Selma, Tx called Hotrod air about there air conditioning systems that they sell. The fellow that I talked to over the phone was awesome, and had a lot of very useful information. He filled me in on the differences between there vacuum and servo operated systems they sell including the warranty that they offer, and the longevity of each system, construction, comparison to other aftermarket a/c companies etc. He was helpful and incredible knowledgable on the systems. They offer a LIFETIME warranty on there vacuum operated systems, and I think a 5 year warranty on there servo operated systems.
I already have everything from the firewall forward, so they tallied up all the parts for my application, and it came out to right around $600 for everything from the firewall back, which also includes adapting the system to my factory controls to have a stock appearance. All that will be needed to hook it up is 1 power, 1 ground, and 1 vacuum line. SIGN ME UP This is the kit I will be using once I reach that point.
Starting to cut out some of the spot welds on the firewall this week, and found some spots of rust that I will be dealing with while smoothing it all out. It is the seem where the cowl comes down the top of the firewall and is spot welded to the lower portion of the firewall. Inside the cowl where the windshield wiper linkage is located, there is some seam sealer that lifted and allowed some moisture to sit and rust. So while I am cutting out portions of the firewall to be replaced with a flat piece of 18 gauge, I will also be pulling up all of the seam sealer across that seam to sand down to bare metal, remove any rust, repaint and reseal it.
Also in the power doors that I have for the truck, the driver side window motor is out so I stripped both doors for a sound deadening treatment courtesy of the dynamat kit that should be arriving this week. While everything is apart, hopefully will get a couple of coats of paint on them so I dont have to worry about taping off everything. Hopefully will get some new seals for the main window soon, cleaning up the track that is attached to the lower part of the window and regreasing the rollers and tracks.
Hopefully when classes start tomorrow, this build will be able to keep its momentum.
Remington
original balzer
1/2 ton status
I will really be interested to see how you go about the dynamat. I been scratching my head trying to figure out how to get a large sheet with a sticky back through a small hole.
Keep up the good work and dont forget pics.
Keep up the good work and dont forget pics.
uao85
1/2 ton status
well to the top for today, havent gotten a whole lot done, its been raining every weekend for the past month. Although I did break down and wrench in the rain for 8 hours last weekend, I have been side tracked getting a new air compressor since the little portable unit I have didnt cut the mustard. couldnt even keep up with my impact, so I sold that and picked up an 80 gallon kobalt compressor off of craigslist that needs wired up and a new motor. Got a 5hp ingersol rand motor off of a fellow yesterday for $40, so I am excited I didnt have to shell out $250 for that one. Hopefully will get it wired up and running soon.
Got some of the dynamat in, but it really does require that little wooden roller to get it to lay down flat and smooth. Also the roof looks like its going to eat up a ton of the dynamat, not to mention the inside of the doors.
off to class.
Got some of the dynamat in, but it really does require that little wooden roller to get it to lay down flat and smooth. Also the roof looks like its going to eat up a ton of the dynamat, not to mention the inside of the doors.
off to class.
docjake
1/2 ton status
I don't blame you for the AC, I had never even used AC in a truck until I got to Texas it is just to out of hand.
uao85
1/2 ton status
here is a pick of the new compressor, should be able to get it running when I get a chance to pick up a good belt for it. Pick is of when I picked it up sans the motor, but now have it mounted up, wired, and just waiting for a belt. Also while I was at it, changed the pump oil, added a ball valve on the bottom for easy draining of water, new cutoff switch, and a little pipe off of the side port for a separate air source for my oil/water separater for painting.
This thing dwarfs the pitiful little 26 gallon I had for exactly 2 weeks and used once before selling on craigslist. Boy it sure was fun moving it around the side and to the back porch up a set of stairs without a moving dolly..
mmmmmm cfm
and Bryan, yeah the heat is pretty rediculous about 7-8 months out of the year. The wife is definitely getting tired of it and the humidity, and I am too sort of.
This thing dwarfs the pitiful little 26 gallon I had for exactly 2 weeks and used once before selling on craigslist. Boy it sure was fun moving it around the side and to the back porch up a set of stairs without a moving dolly..
mmmmmm cfm
and Bryan, yeah the heat is pretty rediculous about 7-8 months out of the year. The wife is definitely getting tired of it and the humidity, and I am too sort of.
docjake
1/2 ton status
It isn't as bad as it is here but yeah it's pretty dam close Nice compressor, did you get some new tools to go with it?
Nice compressor, did you get some new tools to go with it?
uao85
1/2 ton status
nah already had several air tools from the 60 gallon unit I had a year or two ago. Ended up selling it since we moved into an apartment when I got married. I knew I would have upgraded eventually so it wasnt too hard of a choice.
Got the lokar steering column cable conversion in the mail today as well, cant wait til this weekend when I get it installed and hooked up, and hopefully driving again.
I also think I scared the heat by hurting its feelings as a cold front came through yesterday evening, I am praying that it sticks around til Sunday atleast.
Got the lokar steering column cable conversion in the mail today as well, cant wait til this weekend when I get it installed and hooked up, and hopefully driving again.
I also think I scared the heat by hurting its feelings as a cold front came through yesterday evening, I am praying that it sticks around til Sunday atleast.
GMC1977
1/2 ton status
Yea im up about 25 miles south of dallas and really hope the weather sticks around for a little while. I finally got to wrench on the jimmy for the first time in about 3 months the other day. Nice build and i hope it all turns out good for you
uao85
1/2 ton status
Got a little work done today. First got the kit from lokar pulled out and ready to install.
Went great for about the first five minutes. some of the next info is FYI for some that are looking to use this kit like sweetk30 and some others.
The mounting is pretty tricky the way they have it setup in the instructions, although it does work, it will take some finageling(sp?) because the area is so cramped and difficult to get to, especially to reach down into if your truck is lifted. The easiest way to do it would be to pull the wiring out of the bulkhead and put it aside out of the way, along with the speedo cable, and the fender and inner fender. Fender and inner fender arent neccesary, but will make it go alot quicker.
The tough part, was mounting the billet arm to the column in a way that would both use the intended surface of the steering column, and still not interfere with the firewall since it is rediculously close in that area.
Once I post up some pics tomorrow, it will explain what I am talking about. Normally on older muscle cars, there is a little bit of length exposed on the steering column with plenty of room to mount the arm, but this is not the case in our trucks.
Got everything in the engine compartment mounted and fixed to the steering column, then got the cable in place and it was too short by a couple of feet. The design of the steering column shifting mechanism places the route of the cable straight into the fender just about and has to curl down between the inner fender and cab and loop back around between the body and frame. The steering column itself sits a bit higher than in the older muscle cars as well, which leads to the need for a cable that is 8ft long, instead of the 6ft cable that is included.
So mine is getting sent back monday for an exchange. They already have the longer cables and can be readily swapped out in the kit at time of order if you mention that you need the longer cable(sweetk30). Just get the 1804 kit with an 8ft cable and you should be good to go.
Also after I figured out the cable wouldnt be long enough, I put things away and got to work on the air compressor. Got the new pressure switch mounted and wired up, motor wired up, got the new belt, got the air filter/dryer mounted to the side outlet. All that is left to do is hard mount the motor, but not totally sure how I want to do it yet.
There is no tensioning mechanism, but figure there should be. The pump is hard mounted and bolted down. So what kind of mounting setup could I use to mount the motor to the top of the compressor while still keeping the adjustability that allows me to tighten and loosen the belt for maintenance etc?? My last compressor has a bolt that the motor pivoted on and another tightened it up, something similar? This motor just has a flat plate on the bottom.
Went great for about the first five minutes. some of the next info is FYI for some that are looking to use this kit like sweetk30 and some others.
The mounting is pretty tricky the way they have it setup in the instructions, although it does work, it will take some finageling(sp?) because the area is so cramped and difficult to get to, especially to reach down into if your truck is lifted. The easiest way to do it would be to pull the wiring out of the bulkhead and put it aside out of the way, along with the speedo cable, and the fender and inner fender. Fender and inner fender arent neccesary, but will make it go alot quicker.
The tough part, was mounting the billet arm to the column in a way that would both use the intended surface of the steering column, and still not interfere with the firewall since it is rediculously close in that area.
Once I post up some pics tomorrow, it will explain what I am talking about. Normally on older muscle cars, there is a little bit of length exposed on the steering column with plenty of room to mount the arm, but this is not the case in our trucks.
Got everything in the engine compartment mounted and fixed to the steering column, then got the cable in place and it was too short by a couple of feet. The design of the steering column shifting mechanism places the route of the cable straight into the fender just about and has to curl down between the inner fender and cab and loop back around between the body and frame. The steering column itself sits a bit higher than in the older muscle cars as well, which leads to the need for a cable that is 8ft long, instead of the 6ft cable that is included.
So mine is getting sent back monday for an exchange. They already have the longer cables and can be readily swapped out in the kit at time of order if you mention that you need the longer cable(sweetk30). Just get the 1804 kit with an 8ft cable and you should be good to go.
Also after I figured out the cable wouldnt be long enough, I put things away and got to work on the air compressor. Got the new pressure switch mounted and wired up, motor wired up, got the new belt, got the air filter/dryer mounted to the side outlet. All that is left to do is hard mount the motor, but not totally sure how I want to do it yet.
There is no tensioning mechanism, but figure there should be. The pump is hard mounted and bolted down. So what kind of mounting setup could I use to mount the motor to the top of the compressor while still keeping the adjustability that allows me to tighten and loosen the belt for maintenance etc?? My last compressor has a bolt that the motor pivoted on and another tightened it up, something similar? This motor just has a flat plate on the bottom.
GMC1977
1/2 ton status
You could get some plate strips from the hardware store and drill holes for the mount and more holes to adjust tension and bolt it to the bottom of the motor and top of the compressor. i had to do it on my old one. ill take some pics if i have time.
uao85
1/2 ton status
here are a few pics of most of the lokar kit installed. I took the cable back out since I need to send it back for a longer 8ft piece. What you basically see is the ring mounted to the shifter arm which rotates the shifting point of the cable around to allow the cable to be positioned east to west instead of pointing straight at the hood.
Normally the transmissions in our trucks have non cable linkage that is pushed straight from the shifter arm, but the 4l80e transmissions require a pull to bring it through the gears, so this has to be done in order to compensate.
Here you can see how close the billet arm is to the firewall and how little room there is to work with.
It pb took me atleast 45 minutes just to get it positioned in there with the allen head screws in to hold it together.
The cable ends up pointing east to west because you cant rotate the billet arm any further south to use the other holes further down the ring. The firewall interferes too much to be able to rotate it any further because of the angle of the column on the firewall. The way it is, I will be using the uppermost hole in the ring to mount the pivoting assembly to.
Reason I cant move it at all is because the billet arm mounts the way a rod bolts to the crankshaft in an engine, it comes apart from 2 allen head screws that holds the top of the assembly together. But its machined to fit a 2" column exactly. With the 2 small nobs that stick out just in that area, it wont sit over them, or below them without hitting the shifting arm, and just barely has enough room to sit above the nobs.
Normally the transmissions in our trucks have non cable linkage that is pushed straight from the shifter arm, but the 4l80e transmissions require a pull to bring it through the gears, so this has to be done in order to compensate.
Here you can see how close the billet arm is to the firewall and how little room there is to work with.
It pb took me atleast 45 minutes just to get it positioned in there with the allen head screws in to hold it together.
The cable ends up pointing east to west because you cant rotate the billet arm any further south to use the other holes further down the ring. The firewall interferes too much to be able to rotate it any further because of the angle of the column on the firewall. The way it is, I will be using the uppermost hole in the ring to mount the pivoting assembly to.
Reason I cant move it at all is because the billet arm mounts the way a rod bolts to the crankshaft in an engine, it comes apart from 2 allen head screws that holds the top of the assembly together. But its machined to fit a 2" column exactly. With the 2 small nobs that stick out just in that area, it wont sit over them, or below them without hitting the shifting arm, and just barely has enough room to sit above the nobs.
