Classic Auto Air Question

[trillizo_y_uno]

Well, I think I answered my own question.  Looks like they didn't include this bracket:

https://www.originalair.com/sanden-idler-adapter-kit

 

[Mister 4x4]

Jason, I believe you are correct (the link won't open for me here at work, but I figured it out by staring at this picture for hours, thinking I could make my own... but then found it on their Original Air Group site and ordered one, too).  You can clearly see the 'bent piece of flat stock' bracket joining both the idler pulley assembly and the Sanden air compressor together - just like with Mezell29's post toward the top of the thread (he has a prettier shiny bolt, though).



And before anybody asks, the article said that the Monte Carlo bar is custom.  I know... I want one, too.

 

[mezell29]

You are correct. If you look at my pic it is there. It came with the kit I bought. I am not sure its needed however. I saw some installs where it looks like they went around the PS pump and didn't have any top brackets at all. Its 4 bolts on the bottom so... I put it on because I had it. 

 

[trillizo_y_uno]

Yeah, that bracket is essential to secure the idler pulley to the compressor.  Without it you only have it mounted via the 2 bolts to the water pump housing and it's just not very secure/stable.

It sucks that CAA has a long history of shipping these kits without that bracket and they continue to do so.  You literally cannot properly secure the Sanden compressor to the factory brackets without it.  Also, it took about 3 weeks for me to get my kit after I ordered it.  I had no issue with that, CAA was upfront about the delays due to the pandemic.  But what really stinks currently, I cannot get in contact with CAA at all.  I realize Texas (where they are based) is in a bad way right now.  But they don't answer the phone, reply to voicemails, emails, or messages left via website.  No indication on their website or via phone messaging they are shut down either.  Overall, not very impressed with their service.

Having said all that, I have no idea if/when I might hear back from CAA.  I don't want to simply order the bracket via their website and wait another 3 weeks for it.  So I simply ordered the bracket from CJPP.  Cost me an additional $50, but they had it in stock and I will have it tomorrow via overnight shipping.  I simply want to wrap this project up at this point and enjoy the ride for a bit.

Thanks to all for their assistance!

 

[71coop]

You are correct. If you look at my pic it is there. It came with the kit I bought. I am not sure its needed however. I saw some installs where it looks like they went around the PS pump and didn't have any top brackets at all. Its 4 bolts on the bottom so... I put it on because I had it. 

FWIW - I’m running mine without that bracket and on the PS/water pump pulleys. I gave the kit for a heater-only car - no issues so far. It cools my interior well.

 

[trillizo_y_uno]

FWIW - I’m running mine without that bracket and on the PS/water pump pulleys. I gave the kit for a heater-only car - no issues so far. It cools my interior well.

Right, but this really only applies to factory AC cars who have the 3rd AC belt slot on the crank and are using the factory AC brackets and idler.

 

[Mister 4x4]

Correct - but you can easily swap a 3-groove crank pulley just the same.  That's one of the 4 pieces of the puzzle (A/C compressor, factory idler pulley assembly, 3-groove crank pulley, and adapter bracket - and a belt, of course).  I pulled mine from an A/C equipped parts car (but no A/C or idler pulley available - they must've forgotten the crank pulley).

Check with Don at OMS to see if he's got one to offer, find one from a parts car, or check ebay... otherwise, CAA has them for sale (for JUST $150 - geez, they're proud of those things).

 

[Mister 4x4]

FWIW - I’m running mine without that bracket and on the PS/water pump pulleys. I gave the kit for a heater-only car - no issues so far. It cools my interior well.

That's encouraging!  I installed mine, charged it up, and struggled finding the right belt set-up (with idler pulley, et al).  Now that I have all the components, it's too dang hot to work on it (triple-digits for the foreseeable future in West Texas) and I've gotten a bit lazy over the years since I pretty much just hop in the car on weekends only every now and then.  I have so many little nit-noid things to do to mine, but finding that optimal time (and pleasant temperatures) to work on it when I'm not actually busy with something else is a major challenge.

Even so - I lost my calibration card at some point, and haven't really chased down a new one yet.  CAA said they'd send me a new one for $35 (Geez!), but then also slipped that it's 'green,' not 'red' like I thought.  Time to go looking for a 'green' one this time, I guess.

I know... first world problems.

 

[tony-muscle]

I bought the bracket to add the Sanden compressor from here:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/162555007071?ul_noapp=true

Since I have the steering cooler, I made my own brackets to hold the steering cooler above the Sanden compressor.

 

[trillizo_y_uno]

I figured it was worth making a few notes on my installation experience, for anyone curious in the future.  The installation was pretty straightforward, but the instructions from CAA are vague in some areas and downright inaccurate in others.  It wasn't all that hard to improvise.  Here are a few tips:

1.  You do not need to pull the whole dash.  You do need to remove the top of the dash, glove box door/insert, passenger kick panel, and center console.  Speedo panel optional, I left it in place, but it would give you more room to work with for the driver's side duct.  I recommend pulling the passenger seat also, as it will give you more room to work with.  This is especially important when removing the factory heater box.

2.  While you are back there, run the orange wire loom for the heater valve through the firewall.  It's also a good spot to run your own wire out to the engine bay which will eventually connect to the high pressure switch.  The wires on the switch itself are not nearly long enough to reach, so you need your own wire

3.  Before installing the CAA heater box, install the drip tube and install the defrost ducts to the correct ports on box.  Much easier to fish the drip tube out the firewall into the engine bay than vice versa.  With the defrost ducts, It's very hard to reach those ports once the box is installed with the dash in place.

4.  You can *barely* reach the drivers vent with the supplied ducting.  You also have to end up using one of the ports marked for the center section.  Not a big deal, since they all shoot out air the same.  But it won't reach if you use the designated port.  The side vent adapters supplied are also way to big.  Literally only one side will mount.  Move both clips to the outside edge and mount to the factory vent.  The ducting will pull it and keep them securely in place.  The center adapter was too small.  I had to cut it on the side to get it to mate up.

5.  I tapped into the brown wire with orange stripe which went to the original heater switch for power.  It is connected directly to the fuse box, 30A if you had factory air.  CAA calls for a 20A fuse, you can easily swap it out.

Well, those were the main issues.  If I think of anything else, I will update this post.

Thanks!

 

[tony-muscle]

After all, I may have to do the CAA conversion. I was not looking forward to pulling the evaporator and heater block, but I have no choice if I want cold air.

 

[Mister 4x4]

Old Air doesn't offer replacement factory style HVAC units?

If you do go with the CAA, once you get the old HVAC out, the Perfect Fit HVAC unit should go in quite easily (it's a bit smaller, actually).  I'm not sure what kind (if any) adapters they might have for the factory ducting, but the flexi-tubes should be easy enough to run.  Recommend pulling off the dash pad and cover to help with the installation.  I installed mine when I had no windshield yet, and before I reinstalled the dashboard, so it was super easy for me.

If you do go that route, I would recommend getting one of their control units - it'll be a direct plug-n-play installation, as opposed to installing a set of slider-adapters for the factory style controls, then having to calibrate them before first use (DO NOT LOSE THE LITTLE GREEN PLUG-IN CALIBRATION THINGIE FOR THE CONTROL UNIT!!  Ask me how I know).

Hope this helps.

 

[mbrew2]

I installed what was supposed to be a "Perfect Fit" system in my 73 vert with factory air. My kit does not use any of the factory brackets or pulleys. It came with a compressor mount that bolted to the front of the driver side head, which I kind of liked because it moved the compressor from basically on top of the motor to lower in front of the head/valve cover. The mount is a 2-piece part with the compressor mount slotted to allow back and forth adjustment for pulley alignment. The kit did not include a tensioner and would not adjust enough to line up with the factory 3rd A/C pulley on the crank. CAA told me that it was designed to use the alternator as a tensioner which requires a pretty long belt. I wasn't too happy about putting that much pressure on the alternator bearings but it has worked for almost 3 years now with no problems except for occasional belt squeal. I think I stopped that by going to a 1/2 inch wide belt. Overall, I am pleased with the unit and their electronic controls. 

 

[jmontes]

Reviving this one... I installed a CCA kit on a 71 that was missing all the factory compressor brackets. I reluctantly ran the A/C compressor belt off the Alt. as recommended using their supplied Sanden adjustable bracket. After 30 miles the belt melted from getting so hot and came apart. Towed the car home because of course, now I had no alt. Replaced the belt and checked for trueness using a long metal straight edge and made an adjustment to the compressor mount. Belt is still getting smoking hot. Thoughts? Doesn't seem too tight. Got about 1" up and down.

 

[tony-muscle]

Reviving this one... I installed a CCA kit on a 71 that was missing all the factory compressor brackets. I reluctantly ran the A/C compressor belt off the Alt. as recommended using their supplied Sanden adjustable bracket. After 30 miles the belt melted from getting so hot and came apart. Towed the car home because of course, now I had no alt. Replaced the belt and checked for trueness using a long metal straight edge and made an adjustment to the compressor mount. Belt is still getting smoking hot. Thoughts? Doesn't seem too tight. Got about 1" up and down.

Do you have a steering pump because that would work better. Otherwise, I don't know. The alternator being on the passenger side is long ways from the compressor to probably provide good tension. How many grooves do you have in your engine pulley? If you have two or three then you can run the belt to the compressor through a tensioning wheel.

 

[jmontes]

Have P/S but the compressor bracket does not have enough rear-ward movement... Car was factory air, so i would just rather buy the factory air brackets and tensioner with the York to Sanden mount. i think...

 

[tony-muscle]

I actually adapted the Sanden compressor on my own before getting the CAA system. I purchased a plate adapter from Ebay. Just search for York to Sanden adapter plate and you will find many hits. I don't know what comes with the CAA kit since I bought it w/o the compressor. Maybe you can post a picture of the adapter plate that comes with the CAA system.

Here are some pics of what I did to adapt the compressor:

Plate adapter from ebay. I modified the stock bracket by cutting the top hanging section. I don't know how the CAA bracket looks like.



Sanden compressor on bracket. I made couple brackets to adapt the steering cooler above the compressor. There was enough room to align the compressor. Note that my compressor has a two groove pulley which gives me one more fitting point.



Pulley from crankshaft to compressor through tensioning wheel:

 

[Don C]

One inch of deflection is way too much. Your belt is being melted due to heat being generated by the belt slipping. The deflection should be no more than 1/4 inch when pressed with your finger.

 

[jmontes]

Tony - Thanks for the pictures. My bracket is similar to what you have with the York/Sanden adapter. however, it sits much lower than your compressor. I will try don's suggestion, but ultimately, I think i will fab a fixed idler like what you have and move the whole thing forward to run off the front crank pulley.

Thanks Don! I will tighten it up and see what happens.

 

[tony-muscle]

I assume you tried the rear groove.