Original 1967 A/C Condenser? If so, can it be rebuilt? (AC, 67)

[Scott S.]

I found Joe Randolph's Thread on this subject (from 2007), where Mike McCagh identified the condenser in Joe's picture as a service replacement, but the pictures are no longer on the Forum.

This is the AC condenser that has been on the car (1967, L79) since at least 1976... is it an original?


Thank you,

Scott

[Larry M.]

Re: Original 1967 A/C Condenser? If so, can it be rebuilt? (AC, 67)

Scott:

It looks original........but it is hard for me to say for certain without looking at it firsthand. Someone else may be more sure.

Long Island Corvette Supply advertises a correct reproduction, and Classic Auto Air and/or Old Air Products offer an "original duplicating service" for rebuilding your condenser using the original frame. You may want to check into this. Your pictures indicate that a rebuild is probably overdue.

Larry

[Scott S.]

Re: Original 1967 A/C Condenser? If so, can it be rebuilt? (AC, 67)

Scott:

It looks original........but it is hard for me to say for certain without looking at it firsthand. Someone else may be more sure.

Long Island Corvette Supply advertises a correct reproduction, and Classic Auto Air and/or Old Air Products offer an "original duplicating service" for rebuilding your condenser using the original frame. You may want to check into this.

Hi Larry,

The LIC condenser seems to be a very good reproduction, so that's the direction I would probably go if the one I have turns out to be a service replacement. If the one I have is original, and it could be salvaged and brought back to reliable, serviceable condition by Classic Air or Old Air Products, I would rather do that. Most of the car has turned out to be original when I can find casting numbers and date codes, so I'm trying to restore as much as possible, and only replace when necessary.

I can take pictures of a specific area if that would help with identification.

Your pictures indicate that a rebuild is probably overdue.

Larry

Yep, along with the rest of the car. I'm working on it!

[Larry M.]

Re: Original 1967 A/C Condenser? If so, can it be rebuilt? (AC, 67)

Scott:

After my last post, I went into the garage and popped the hood on my 1967 factory air car. 26,000 miles....the condenser and rest of my AC system are original.

The details from your pictures ARE THE SAME as what is in my car. But unless I can make a side-by-side comparison, I won't go on record as telling you your condenser is original. I'm not sure what the older repros or service replacements looked like in the 1970's, and how close they were to a 1967 original.

Larry

[Scott S.]

Re: Original 1967 A/C Condenser? If so, can it be rebuilt? (AC, 67)

Thanks for checking yours, Larry. It sounds positive so far, hopefully someone who has experience with older service replacements will be able to rule that possibility out.

The factory A/C (engine bay components only) was removed by the previous owner (1972-1976) to make the car lighter for drag racing. All of the original A/C parts were included with the car when my Dad bought it in 1976, and he reinstalled the A/C.

Also, the car was hit on the front passenger side circa 1971, which the previous owner (1972-1976) knew about before he bought it. We confirmed the fiberglass repair when the paint was stripped, and a couple of items on that side of the car were incorrect, including the radiator overflow tank (dated "65 J") and the passenger side horn appears to be a service replacement. The passenger side's horn date code is hard to read, it looks like it says , and the bracket was attached with a large hex-nut (instead of welded as the driver side?). The driver-side horn itself looks the same as the passenger-side horn, and is clearly stamped (for December 5, 1966, if I understand correctly).

The radiator is original (dated 66 M, car's build date was 1-11-67), and the radiator shows minor damage that could be from the collision, so it's certainly possible that the A/C condenser was damaged and replaced as a result of the accident.

Is there a date code stamped anywhere on the A/C condenser? I can't even find a part number. There is the remains of a sticker on the back, but time has removed any writing. There is also an outline on the bottom of the drier where it looks like there used to be a sticker, about the same size outline as the remnant of the sticker on the back of the condenser.

[Larry M.]

Re: Original 1967 A/C Condenser? If so, can it be rebuilt? (AC, 67)

Scott:

I know that paper stickers were present on the bottom of the receiver/driers on original cars. I don't think service replacements had these stickers, but I could be wrong. No one paid them any attention back then.

There was a post about 4-6 months ago about the paper stickers on the driers. It should be in the archives, but may take a bit to find. You could look for it.

If the drier is original, the condenser should be also.

Larry

[Scott S.]

Re: Original 1967 A/C Condenser? If so, can it be rebuilt? (AC, 67)

Scott:

I know that paper stickers were present on the bottom of the receiver/driers on original cars. I don't think service replacements had these stickers, but I could be wrong. No one paid them any attention back then.

There was a post about 4-6 months ago about the paper stickers on the driers. It should be in the archives, but may take a bit to find. You could look for it.

If the drier is original, the condenser should be also.

Larry

Thanks Larry, I found the Thread you referenced about stickers on the driers, titled "a/c receiver-drier stampings for 66 vette" (10-6-09):
https://www.forums.ncrs.org/showthre...icker&uid=2220


I just took some pictures of the bottom of the drier, and a picture of the remains of the sticker on the back of the condenser. The drier looks like it has the "outline" of a sticker the same length and width as described in the other Thread (1/2" x 1-3/4"). There are no other numbers or letters stamped near the "EVAP" or "COND" on top, and no other numbers or letters stamped on the bottom, which according to the other Thread, is further indication that this is an original drier.

I suppose this means, when I restore the drier, I'm going to have to leave the bottom of the drier "as-is" for authentication purposes, to preserve the outline of a missing sticker...

Regarding the condenser specifically, according to the 1967 Judging Guide (4th edition): "Air conditioned cars have an aluminum condensing coil painted semi-gloss black in front of the core support. Original condensing coils have squared off outlet and inlet tube blocks. Replacement condensers have rounded corners on the tube blocks and usually multiple holes drilled in the end frame for universal applications. The 1967 condenser core has square 90 degree corners in all three dimensions, unlike earlier condensers." (p. 93)

This condenser has the squared-off outlet and inlet tube blocks, and only four holes (two per side) in the end frame. A search for "AC condenser service replacement" didn't turn up any photos (or commentary) for comparison.

[Peter L.]

Re: Original 1967 A/C Condenser? If so, can it be rebuilt? (AC, 67)

Scott - The inspection sticker on the bottom of the receiver/drier was put on before the drier was painted black, so when the car was received at the Dealer, the sticker should have been painted over and you probably could not read the information on the sticker. I have a number of original driers from junk-yarding and the stickers are all black painted over. Some driers have 2 stickers. I do have some driers from Dealer Add-on AC units and one of the inspection stickers reads "I282 SEP 16 66" Because of the location of the driers on the 1967 Corvette (66s also), the inspection sticker(s) typically came off leaving a void spot on the bottom of the drier. Typically, NOS driers purchased thru DEALER SERVICE PARTS do not have the same stickers on the bottom of them but do have a crayon mark on them that I assume is an inspection mark. Pete

[Joe R.]

Re: Original 1967 A/C Condenser? If so, can it be rebuilt? (AC, 67)

I found Joe Randolph's Thread on this subject (from 2007), where Mike McCagh identified the condenser in Joe's picture as a service replacement, but the pictures are no longer on the Forum.

This is the AC condenser that has been on the car (1967, L79) since at least 1976... is it an original?


Thank you,

Scott

Hi Scott:

I did more research after my 2007 posting, and concluded that the condenser I had was, in fact, original. Eventually I purchased a reproduction from Long Island Corvette that LIC claimed was an exact reproduction.

I carefully compared the LIC reproduction to my presumed-original, and found that they matched very well. There were some slight differences in the sheet metal brackets on the sides, so I removed the brackets from my presumed-original condenser and put them on the LIC repro. As I recall there was only one small difference in the remaing portion of the LIC repro.

The resulting condenser assembly got no deductions in NCRS judging at the regional and national levels.

Attached are three photos of the presumed-original condenser from my 67. The LIC repro brackets differed slightly in the circled areas, and the spacing between the fins on the LIC repro was smaller than the original spacing shown in the photo. Other than that, the LIC repro was essentially identical to the presumed-original.

[Dale S.]

Re: Original 1967 A/C Condenser? If so, can it be rebuilt? (AC, 67)

Could someomne post a picture of where the A/C condensor inspection sticker goes on my 67 car. I see the picture in this post but can not figure where it is located in relation to the condesor in the car. The reproduction sticker arrived an hour after Peter L. left the house. thank you Dale

[Scott S.]

Re: Original 1967 A/C Condenser? If so, can it be rebuilt? (AC, 67)

Scott - The inspection sticker on the bottom of the receiver/drier was put on before the drier was painted black, so when the car was received at the Dealer, the sticker should have been painted over and you probably could not read the information on the sticker. I have a number of original driers from junk-yarding and the stickers are all black painted over. Some driers have 2 stickers. I do have some driers from Dealer Add-on AC units and one of the inspection stickers reads "I282 SEP 16 66" Because of the location of the driers on the 1967 Corvette (66s also), the inspection sticker(s) typically came off leaving a void spot on the bottom of the drier. Typically, NOS driers purchased thru DEALER SERVICE PARTS do not have the same stickers on the bottom of them but do have a crayon mark on them that I assume is an inspection mark. Pete

Thank you for the information, Pete!

[Scott S.]

Re: Original 1967 A/C Condenser? If so, can it be rebuilt? (AC, 67)

Could someomne post a picture of where the A/C condensor inspection sticker goes on my 67 car. I see the picture in this post but can not figure where it is located in relation to the condesor in the car. The reproduction sticker arrived an hour after Peter L. left the house. thank you Dale

Hi Dale,

If you are referring to the white remnant of the sticker in post #4 (with a tape-measure next to it), that is a close-up of the second picture in post #1. The sticker remnant on this condenser is on the backside of the frame, opposite the end from the drier.

[Scott S.]

Re: Original 1967 A/C Condenser? If so, can it be rebuilt? (AC, 67)

Hi Scott:

I did more research after my 2007 posting, and concluded that the condenser I had was, in fact, original. Eventually I purchased a reproduction from Long Island Corvette that LIC claimed was an exact reproduction.

I carefully compared the LIC reproduction to my presumed-original, and found that they matched very well. There were some slight differences in the sheet metal brackets on the sides, so I removed the brackets from my presumed-original condenser and put them on the LIC repro. As I recall there was only one small difference in the remaing portion of the LIC repro.

The resulting condenser assembly got no deductions in NCRS judging at the regional and national levels.

Attached are three photos of the presumed-original condenser from my 67. The LIC repro brackets differed slightly in the circled areas, and the spacing between the fins on the LIC repro was smaller than the original spacing shown in the photo. Other than that, the LIC repro was essentially identical to the presumed-original.

Hi Joe,

If I go the restoration route, I think Old Air or Classic Air would have to replace the 'core' on this one anyway. I'll check into it, but your solution is probably the best idea.

Thank you very much for the pictures and the explanation,

Scott