My HVAC restoration thread.

[tashakes]

My 3 months-ago acquired 73 convertible comes with factory air but it is currently not sparking correctly. I will document my journey as I tackle parts of this hoping it can help others in the future.

I think the compressor is out because it makes horrible noises. That does not worry me much because at least I know the systems that make it turn on are working and replacing it is not terribly hard. So far I have dug in lightly onto the vacuum lines and they also seem to be working.

In the engine compartment, the hose from the water pump to the valve is bypassed by looping it back to the pump. That makes me think that it was disconnected because the heater core must be leaking, but I still need to test that. The heater water control valve in the engine compartment is completely rusted so that will get replaced. And I need to find the vacuum hose that goes to it because it is currently MIA.

Also in the engine compartment, I see that my vacuum collector tank has only one hose with a tee check valve on the hose coming from the manifold. All the other tanks I see have the check valve on top of the tank. It seems to be working and holding vacuum so my question is if this is something that can stay or recommended to replace. Pic below.

 

[Steve McMahan]

I’ve also have a 73 with AC, but mine is way gone for now; I’ll be following along. You can rig up a pressure tester for the heater core, or, you can remove the HVAC unit and have both of the coils tested out of the system. Good luck on your journey.