I want a/c real bad !!! so now what????

[bassman]

i have a 93 with no a/c .
i am looking for a wreck or parts car that has a/c .
i know there has been posts on this but cant find them.
is it a hard swap??
i got a shop and a big toolbox so i am ok there .
also what does a/c do to gas millage?

thanks

shayne

[aithanmier]

well, go to your local junk yard, preferably a u pull it, remove the parts you need. check the "other articles" section for the how to. your gas milage? it's gonna get worse, when it's off because of the extra weight, and when it's on because of the extra drag on the engine. be sure to get your windows tinted or that ac is gonna have a hard time competing with the greenhouse effect. to get the most out of it you should use some heat insulation on the firewall and floor under the carpet.

[gomer]

Any parts you get at a u-pull-it will be at least 12 years old ... and you won't know if critical (in terms of the hours and hours of install time) such as the evap are any good... if you go the u-pull-it route bring a tank of nitrogen and a sniffer with you ... check the compressor shaft seals and the evap area very carefully before investing time and money hoses are easy to repair... most good a/c shops can take the fittings from bad hoses and replace the rubber... I did a Mercedes that way ,, new hoses at dealer were about $500 ,, took old hoses to "amazon rubber" they changed metal bits onto new hose for about $25 . R12 is about $15 a pound on eBay ,, if you know someone in Mexico or anywhere else outside the US, it's still about $1 per pound and can be bought anywhere (have someone you know who is going on vacation mail you a few cans from Jamaica or wherever) .. the ban on R12 was just a scam to get new players into the production of the chemical and make DuPonts patent worthless....

the best advise I can give is to buy a car that has working AC and sell this one,, you'll save money and time,, if you love this car I'd suggest a newer Aspire , essentially it's a restyled Festy (1993 was the last year auto seatbelts were an allowed substitute for airbags... KIA restyled the car when they were redesigning the dash... rest of the world still has festy ,, aspire was NA only AFAIK)...

I have a local BHPH that will let an A/C (1990 I think) silver Festy 5spd with about 130,000 miles go for $350 cash ,, it's in Orlando FL ,, ac doesn't work but the parts are there ... car is near impossible to drive as the shifter bushings are gone (you'll have to fabricate new ones) ,, you can get 3rd/4th easily but 1st/2nd and 5th/Rev hit the seat cushions , last idiot that bought (and returned) it set the idle up high and apparently started in 3rd????

[bassman]

thanks for the input.
i have yet to see a festy with a/c ever....
i have 2 for parts and 9 in my area that are not for sale as gas is high and festies dont use much
there are some aspires around but they also have no a/c.
i live in canada so it dosent really get crazy hot here like in vegas and other us areas so i am thinking that is why i am not able to find any a/c units.
no big deal as it is just what i drive for delivery and running around town.
i am looking at a pt cruiser for highway road trips.
today i was offered another parts car for cheap but i will pass as i have 2 good ones and this one is really beat.
but if i ever see one with a/c i will own it and try do a swap as i like a challenge.
once again thanks for the help.

shayne.

ps there is a guy where i live that has 700 big bottes of that r12 in a shop and we call him the r12 nazi .
guy used to be a air conditioning fixer

[Tim]

I got most of the stuff for conversion to 134a.


Worked when removed, see the ad in the For Sale forum



Regards,

Tim

[noreneol]

[quote="bassman"]thanks for the input.
i have yet to see a festy with a/c ever....

Who ever heard of that? My Festy is a '89 and it has AC!