The Dodge Challenger Message Board

Hi all , Has anyone ever put A/C in a non A/C car?
What did it take? New Dash? condenssor? Etc?

Thanks

If you want to put factory stuff in there you better start looking for a donor car as there are a lot of components to change, this is no small job.

If you just want cold air look for a kit, vintage air makes them I believe.

Are the holes already on the Firewall, or do they need to be created?


Thanks,
Chris

This site rocks

There are several new holes needed to fit the a/c heater box and evaporator core, dash is different (good luck finding a good one of these), radiator size is larger, etc. My best advise is find a 70-74 donar car with all a/c components intact and transfer the parts to yours. To find all the components seperately in good working order is very difficult and most of all very, very costly!

I would like to know the same. 1972 challenger

Try this.

Classic Auto Air manufacturing Co.
202 W. Kennedy Blvd,
Tampa, FL 33606;

813-251-2356.

They make systems that fit in the stock dash and use the stock controls.

I have a 1970 R/T that was non air. Here I was around 1984, on a hot Summer day in St. Louis, sitting at a stop light with a 440-4sp. thinking that I had the best car on the road. Next thing I know, a '72 Cuda is coming from the other direction, making a left turn right in front of me. We check out each others cars: They notice mine looks good (I hope), I notice they had their windows up. It's hard to look cool cruising with a towel in your hand to wipe off the sweat.

I found a complete A/C car in the junk yard and pulled the air box, then traced all of the holes onto a piece of cardboard. I then lined it up on my firewall and drilled and sabersawed all of the holes to bolt it in. The only thing on the firewall missing is the lip that goes all the way around the heater motor. I then spent the next few years getting a complete dash assembly (with ducts and A/C control) , finally finding all of the brackets on a 440 wagon, then finally finding the correct hose that connects the compressor vacuum side to the firewall on a big block 72 Roadrunner.

It can be done and it looks FACTORY.

I still have the car that I bought in 1980.
Here is a link to a pic, Just ignore the other Fast and Furious toys that I built, I did it for the money.
Oh, the tilt column from a Cordoba that I modified looks FACTORY too!
www.issisolutions.com/cars.htm

Shelbydogg wrote:I have a 1970 R/T that was non air. Here I was around 1984, on a hot Summer day in St. Louis, sitting at a stop light with a 440-4sp. thinking that I had the best car on the road. Next thing I know, a '72 Cuda is coming from the other direction, making a left turn right in front of me. We check out each others cars: They notice mine looks good (I hope), I notice they had their windows up. It's hard to look cool cruising with a towel in your hand to wipe off the sweat.

There is an alternate solution to this problem. How about moving up to the northern parts of Europe . Then both you and your stormer will stay cool 99% of the time

...but there is always an exception to the rule! Today, it is about 28 degrees Celsius (about 82 degrees F) here in Sweden. That is quite unusual, but nice (unless you sit in a car without AC )!!!!

There´s an article in Mopar Muscle, October issue, about installing an A/C into a Challenger. The Challenger´s already an A/C car with the dash and firewall already done the right way.The owner wanted to upgrade the 318 with a 426 crate Hemi (no Hemis made with A/C) and used a bracket from XtremeBillet.com – the bracket mount the A/C compressor under the alternator.