Addition of factory A.C. to 66?

[Dino L.]

Re: Addition of factory A.C. to 66?

John, what I did and what I recommend is get the AIM assembly manual for your car and compare the C60 option and make a list of all the parts and systems it effected.... for example on a 64 with a radio there was a different speaker used on AC, my car was a 365 Hp and it had special AC parts that went with RPOL76 once you get the list you can measure how complete of a kit you are buying. I found a person willing to strip his car clean of all components on my list for $4500 he included traces for cutting the firewall and the battery access cover in the wheel well. The kit included dash and battery access door all clips fasteners and of course major components. I never installed it and sold it 5 years ago for $6500. Best of luck.. Vintage Air is a good alternative.

[Jimmy G.]

Re: Addition of factory A.C. to 66?

I may be wrong but I thought this is the new sellers name for CHICAGO CORVETTE Please correct me if I am wrong and accept my apology for being in error, if I am.

[Domenic T.]

Re: Addition of factory A.C. to 66?

Mike,
keep in touch.

Dom

[Ronald L.]

Re: Addition of factory A.C. to 66?

The location of the parts I know about is Detroit Metro Michigan. Didn't Chicago Corvette move west?

I may be wrong but I thought this is the new sellers name for CHICAGO CORVETTE Please correct me if I am wrong and accept my apology for being in error, if I am.

[Harry S.]

Re: Addition of factory A.C. to 66?

I think it's GRAYGRACY

[Patrick S.]

Re: Addition of factory A.C. to 66?

My long gone 66 with A/C (928X) had the slot in the left side of the hood for the prop rod. It was a very original convertible.

[Tom B.]

Re: Addition of factory A.C. to 66?

Chicago Corvette moved to Oregon.

[John M.]

Re: Addition of factory A.C. to 66?

Looking for guidance on choosing an A.C compressor. This will be going on a 2-22-66 built car, L79 w/ PS. Can someone supply images of a compressor and clutch which would have been on a vehicle built in this time frame? Not sure if the crimped or non or non crimped "barrel" of the compressor was being used during the last week in February of 66. Same for the clutch assembly, as most listings say something like "early or late" with no dates given. Also curious as to the relief valve in the rear plate of the compressor ( I guess that is what it seems to be) . Any images or information will certainly be appreciated. Want this to be a one time only project and not something to go back and change later making a good choice of parts an important aspect of staging the correct parts for an AC system. Thanks in advance,

[Peter M.]

Re: Addition of factory A.C. to 66?

Hi John,
I will give you a bump back up to the top.
If you try doing a search for 66 air conditioning compressor questions by Mike Browning you will find some information he and Domenic Tallarita put together. I realize you have a 350HP 327 but I think some of the information may be helpful.
There has been a lot of discussion about all the pulleys used on L79, P/S and air conditioned cars so you might want to search for that as well.
Kind Regards

[Domenic T.]

Re: Addition of factory A.C. to 66?

John,
As I remember Mike Browning did a lot of searching for the correct 66 comp as peter pointed out in his post. I will try to get you pictures of the early case, clutch, and relief valve. As per our conversation there was a change in mid 66, so I think your Feb car will be a early 66 and have the non swaged case along with the 6 hole clutch. Also there were 2 different relief valves, both were the same with exception of the crimped cover at the rear of the valve. One was a straight slot that the gas would blow thru on a over pressure situation and the other had a round hole to exit the gas. Both had 440 stamped on the crimped end.
There was not the addition of the single prong switch that was on later A/6 compressors in 72 I believe. That switch was a thermal switch that released the circuit to the clutch if the compressor overheated. it was called the clutch cut out switch. The back plate for the later A/6 with the switch also had a different casting #. So all C2 A6 compressors never had the clutch cut out switch.
A picture would really be what you need, and I will try to get some today.
Mike had a early 66 which had a back plate cast in 65 which was correct. So if someone here on the forum has what John is looking for it will need the un-swaged case, correct back plate with a raised code just under the 2 manifold ports that begins with a alphabet letter ( I was used for Sept), and followed by usually 3 numbers (rarely 2) that will end in a 5 for compressor back plates cast in 65 for the 66 run, or 6 for compressor back plates cast after Jan 1st. Example: A156= Jan 15, 1966. I105= Sept 10th, 1965.

Dom

[Domenic T.]

Re: Addition of factory A.C. to 66?

Forgot to mention that the pulley size for ALL C2's, BB & SB were just under 5 3/4" diameter with exception of the 365 HP 327 which had a 6 3/8" pulley.

Dom

[Domenic T.]

Re: Addition of factory A.C. to 66?

John,
Computers take most of life! Tried to send pics with wife for almost a hour. The left pic IF in post is what you need. Camera is as difficult as computer. Either you have your face in a comp, or you can do the work.
Pics show non swage to left and 6 hole to left, safety valve to left and standard size pulley with a 6 3/8 next to it. Also note the B106, Feb 10, 1966. the back plate next to it has the clutch cut out switch and the back plate ends in 3. Can't be a 63 because they didn't have the switch, so it has to be a 1973.

Domn

[Domenic T.]

Re: Addition of factory A.C. to 66?

Made a mistake valve (3rd pic) is to the right on earlier compressors. Note that the first pic is smooth up to the front plate and the swage (apx 3/8") is just behind the front plate. Then comes the clutch cut out switch (C3) on the right back plate. Then on pic 4 is a Feb 10, 1966 back plate.
The back plates were cast that day with all the same dates. Possibly other markings with exception of the numbers starting with 655 could be the shift or other unexplained marking.
Now, after the raised casting # on the back plate came the compressor assembly date, which also shares the same date code as all compressors assembled that day. It is in the CODE section of the foil sticker. Only difference would be a 1, 2, or possibly 3 to denote the shift of the day following the year# such as 5 for 1965. Example would be the compressor was assembled.
It took time to get the back plates to the assembler, and time to assemble the compressor, so I would guess that a back plate casting would be a least a week (min) from the assembly date. Then there were 3 shifts, so anything is possible.
I spent some of my flying time moving parts for Detroit so they could keep the assembly lines moving without a need for parts.
So back to the assembly date which is called the CODE on the foil sticker. It also shares the same dates as all assembled. MM/DD/Y/shift. Example would be 021063, which would be 02= Feb, 10= day, 6= year, and 1,2, or 3 = shift.
That's as complicated as I can make it.

Dom

[John M.]

Re: Addition of factory A.C. to 66?

Dom, thank you so much for your effort. The pictures and the explanation were great! Will have a non swedged compressor in hand this week, with a clutch attatched so maybe we will get lucky and the clutch and date will be in the ball park. for others following this thread do any of you have a guess at when the "swedged" compressor replaced the plain barrel compressor shell? Did the clutch design change at the same time as the swedge or at a different time? Thanks again for the information and the images, I hope that others will post what apears on their 66 along with the date of vehicle build and compressor date if possible.

[John M.]

Re: Addition of factory A.C. to 66?

Anyone have additional images of January or February 66 air conditioning compressors or clutches, mounted or unmounted? The time frame of "early" or "late" still is a mystery but maybe with some examples we can get an idea of when the change happened.