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Aircon
Feb 27, 2007 12:54:14 GMT
Post by andymaslen on Feb 27, 2007 12:54:14 GMT
Has anybody got aircon on their car? Either original or retro fitted? I believe (from James Taylor's book) that Rover did authorise an aftermarket kit. Would be very cool (geddit ) in the summer - especially if it turns out as hot as last year. Or do we just open the windows and the cold air vents and just sweat it out?!
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Aircon
Feb 27, 2007 15:09:27 GMT
Post by dorsetflyer on Feb 27, 2007 15:09:27 GMT
Andy, I have been using my classics regularly now for just over four years, and even in the hottest times of the summer I haven't wished I'd got aircon.
With the cold air vents open and everything else on cold plus the windows open it's not that bad. At least with the our cars you can have the drivers side window down and not get blasted with a side wind coming in as you do on a modern car.
Not only that but you are saving some fuel as all cars fitted with it use a fair bit more when switched on.Not only that it can be expensive when the system needs re-charging again.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Aircon
Feb 27, 2007 16:57:52 GMT
Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2007 16:57:52 GMT
If it's 33 degrees C outside, it won't be any colder with the windows open and the heater on cold apart from any wind-chill factor, just blowing 33 degree air around in the car.
My Citroen Xantia and Vauxhall Vectra came with aircon.
Fuel consumption (summer and winter) never varied when the A/C was on, not by any amount that I could notice. Its true that the old fashioned piston type a/c compressors were not too efficient but new cars with rotary type a/c compressors are much better.
When a seal on the outlet pipe on my Vectra compressor failed (on the hottest day of the year!) it cost me £1 for two seals and £45 for professional to fit the seal and re-gas the system - my first ever expense of any a/c on my cars. Not too bad I think.
Freddy
PS I have a complete A/C system from a P5B ready to fit when I get around to it!
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Aircon
Feb 28, 2007 10:41:35 GMT
Post by fortnum1977 on Feb 28, 2007 10:41:35 GMT
Freddy,
where did you get that P5B air con unit??? or where can I find one??
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10mpg
Rover Rookie
Posts: 65
Location: Bradfield berkshire
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Aircon
Mar 13, 2007 23:24:06 GMT
Post by 10mpg on Mar 13, 2007 23:24:06 GMT
oooh i wouldlove air con in all my cars... If i had the skills i would retro fit it to everything.
In my modern i even run it in the winter sometimes, but then i am allergic to heat and have the heating off and the windows open in my house most of the year...
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Aircon
Mar 13, 2007 23:34:32 GMT
Post by Phil Nottingham on Mar 13, 2007 23:34:32 GMT
Perhaps you should drive a drafty landrover even with a heater on its still cold. My P2 does not even have a heater!
I am sure someone could sort one out these days with compact compressors/evaporators that are used in modern super minis'? The parcel shelf and perhapd picnic tray would be lost though.
The period ones do look homemade anyway
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10mpg
Rover Rookie
Posts: 65
Location: Bradfield berkshire
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Aircon
Mar 16, 2007 0:36:53 GMT
Post by 10mpg on Mar 16, 2007 0:36:53 GMT
I would love to have a draughty Land-Rover if only i could find one for the 'right' price that isn't a rusty old shed.
I work with Vintage cars everyday, many of them racers without roofs or widscreens so I'm well used to cold cars especially this time of year when everyone is gearing up for the racing season and there are a lot of road tests.....(fun)
I have oftem thought about cobbling together a system from scrapyard bits, as the principle is fairly simple..
The pulley and compressor/elctro-clutch system would be dead simple space allowing and the evaporator/rad thingy should be simple also, then the pipework again equally feasible with a few assorted fittings pipes and a handfull of silver solder.. The part that confusues the hell out of me is how to get the cold refrigerant into the airbox and cool the passage of air into the car especially on an older car like the P5 which has no real sealed ventilation system.
Then once you have this figured out you have to pay a nice man to fill it with refigerant at a cost of nigh on £100 (for a large system) without any knowledge that it will stay in their or even work at all, Hmmmmm, dons thinking cap and heads in direction of workshop, with a tape mesure
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Aircon
Mar 30, 2007 14:31:05 GMT
Post by Deleted on Mar 30, 2007 14:31:05 GMT
Hi Guys.
I have been watching this board fora while, I dont have a P5B yet, I am in the "Shall I / Shan't I" stage before I dive in. ( I just know it will happen eventually) I have been thinking about AirCon for a P5B having got used to it in my "normal" cars. ( I even spec'd it for my MGTF !)
I was thinking about the possibility of fitting a slim evaporator unit into the heater box under the bonnet where the large hose runs to the blower motor. By cutting the box apart, extending it about an inch wider towards the motor to accomodate the evaporator and then reconnect back to the motor with a shortened piece of hose. This means the air would pass through the normal motor, then be chilled by the evaporator before passing to the normal heater matrix. With the heater control on cold I assume the air flow bypasses the heater matrix and the cold (or now chilled) air would enter the car by the normal vents.
The Compressor / mag-clutch could be sourced from other V8 engined rovers (Discovery/SD1) and I am sure regulator / dryer units could be found homes under the bonnet.
The interior would then be untouched, except for the control switch to turn on the system. Maybe adding a microswitch to the cold end of the hot/cold slider, so that when the control is pushed "fully cold" the switch operates and turns on the air-con.
Sound feasable?
As I said I don't have a car to try it on. Does anybody know how the internals of the heater box are arranged and does the heater matrix bypass work as I assumed ?
Regards
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Aircon
Mar 30, 2007 16:30:14 GMT
Post by Phil Nottingham on Mar 30, 2007 16:30:14 GMT
It does sound feasible - why not obtain a heater box and try a conversion - you can then offer it for sale to those that feel it an essential part of 21st motoring
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Aircon
Apr 2, 2007 10:50:21 GMT
Post by petervdvelde on Apr 2, 2007 10:50:21 GMT
Hello,
I was at a radiator repair shop a few weeks ago to get my MGB V8 radiator repaired and spoke with the guy about fitting a airco in a P5B and he suggested the same routing as Cosmocat. He suggested to leave a heatherbox at his shop and he then would source a suitable heat exchanger. I then would fit all components to the car and they would fabricate suitable hoses and then fill the system. I haven't finished the restoration of the MG so haven't started working on my P5B coupe but i am very interested in fitting aircon in the P5B. Regards Peter
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Aircon
Apr 2, 2007 13:38:32 GMT
Post by Paul Harris on Apr 2, 2007 13:38:32 GMT
Owners who use their cars on a very regular basis may find air con beneficial, but I've had my P5 for five summers now (some hotter than others!) and can honestly say that the P5 feels relatively cool even when sat in traffic on a hot afternoon, where both my modern cars feel hot and stuffy without the ar con on. I don't know why, perhaps it's the general design. Once moving in the P5 the air vents are positively icy! I also find that having the windows open and the smell given off by warm leather, carpets and wood is all part of the P5 experience.
I'm actually a great fan of air con in cars. I remember buying a brand new, top of the range Renault 19 in 1992 and asking the salesman if air con was an option. He looked at me as if I was mad, and said it wasn't available as no-one wanted it, and in any case, the sun roof came as standard. How times change.
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10mpg
Rover Rookie
Posts: 65
Location: Bradfield berkshire
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Aircon
Apr 2, 2007 22:03:17 GMT
Post by 10mpg on Apr 2, 2007 22:03:17 GMT
This is all sounding very hopefull, now if someone could suggest a suitable source for purchasing the said evaprator (sorry for getting all the names wrong) preferably one that could be sourced from a breakers yard for small £££ i may well start stockpiling some bits... in anticipation of the day the P5 moves under her own power again it would be good to use as a test 'mule'!Its not going to be driving about any time soon tho so plenty of time to mess about (sorry design) an air con system which could then be adapted for my other cars!..
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Aircon
Apr 3, 2007 8:51:51 GMT
Post by DanielSheard on Apr 3, 2007 8:51:51 GMT
Be very careful in a breakers yard with ac systems - you must be certain that the system is degassed. I think they should be - but it is best to check. Most evaporators are inside a climate control box and some can be very hard to get to.
Putting it in an extention of the heater box is all very well, but wont that just feed to the footwells and/or the windscreen vents? If I had ac in the P5B I'd want the air coming out of the small dashtop vents - face level and direct.
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Aircon
Apr 19, 2007 3:39:48 GMT
Post by Warwick (Ozcoupe) on Apr 19, 2007 3:39:48 GMT
I've just bought a 1970 Coupe which was fitted with air-conditioning by the dealer prior to customer delivery in Melbourne (Aust.). The picnic/tool tray has been relocated to the left but still under the parcel shelf and the evaporator/fan unit sits neatly in its place. It was made in Australia as a Clyde Vornado by Clyde Apac and looks like a typical small under-dash unit of the time. Presumably this division was a joint-venture or licensing arrangement with O. A. Sutton Corp. of the US who made fans and air-conditioners under the Vornado brand. The car now has a modern rotary compressor, a new condensor behind the grille and new plumbing. Another under-dash brand common on Australian cars back then was Mark IV. My 1976 Range Rover had one on the passenger side where the drop-down glovebox was originally, but this was too big for a P5. Hope this helps if you're searching for period units.
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Aircon
Apr 20, 2007 15:38:48 GMT
Post by Ken Nelson on Apr 20, 2007 15:38:48 GMT
The 1964 Rover I got as a parts car with my coupe had A/C fitted and seemed to be a dealer installed unit. The interior evaporator and fan unit sat on the parcel shelf in front and there was a condensor radiator fitted underneath the car all the way in the back by the spare tire. Does this seem correct?
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Aircon
Apr 21, 2007 0:37:30 GMT
Post by Warwick (Ozcoupe) on Apr 21, 2007 0:37:30 GMT
That's a strange arrangement for the condensor, but quite interesting. I presume it is mostly tubing rather than fragile aluminium fins that would be prone to stone damage. But it would overcome part of the problem we have here when fitting aircon to cars that were not designed for it. When you need the aircon it is hot and you are pumping preheated air through your radiator from the condensor. The other problem with the front-mounted condensor on the P5B is that there is no room for an electric booster fan in front. But then the under-floor mounted unit would get no airflow at all unless the car was moving.
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theroveringmember
Rover Fanatic
P5B Saloon - P4 110 - P6B x2 - 2200TC - 2000TC (S1) 2000SC........How Many Is Too Many?
Posts: 446
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Aircon
Apr 24, 2007 15:16:26 GMT
Post by theroveringmember on Apr 24, 2007 15:16:26 GMT
Owners who use their cars on a very regular basis may find air con beneficial, but I've had my P5 for five summers now (some hotter than others!) and can honestly say that the P5 feels relatively cool even when sat in traffic on a hot afternoon, where both my modern cars feel hot and stuffy without the ar con on. I don't know why, perhaps it's the general design. Once moving in the P5 the air vents are positively icy! I also find that having the windows open and the smell given off by warm leather, carpets and wood is all part of the P5 experience.
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Deleted
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Aircon
Apr 24, 2007 15:49:37 GMT
Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2007 15:49:37 GMT
It must be me! I do find when I am driving in hot weather that I stick to the leather seats!! Not so much of a problem if I wear a string vest though! It's what the Cyprus men wear to stay cool!!
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Aircon
Apr 24, 2007 15:58:34 GMT
Post by glennr on Apr 24, 2007 15:58:34 GMT
On hot days I tend to go totally naked but use plenty of talcum powder. Honestly, you should try it.
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Aircon
Apr 24, 2007 18:30:20 GMT
Post by johnwp5bcoupe on Apr 24, 2007 18:30:20 GMT
Glenn that vision of loveliness bring strange pictures to my mind ;D as long as your wearing your cap thats COOL you dont need aircon
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theroveringmember
Rover Fanatic
P5B Saloon - P4 110 - P6B x2 - 2200TC - 2000TC (S1) 2000SC........How Many Is Too Many?
Posts: 446
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Aircon
Apr 25, 2007 14:58:02 GMT
Post by theroveringmember on Apr 25, 2007 14:58:02 GMT
On hot days & wearing shorts I do put a towel between the seat & my skin as it can get sticky & uncomfortable. Still prefer it to modern cloth seats though the P6 cloth seats I find O.K. They're not as fuzzy or itchy.
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