Guest Anonymous Posted July 4, 2002 Share Posted July 4, 2002 Hey Zeds, I have a semi-important thing to decide on my upcoming turbo swap... and forgive my lack of knowledge in the HVAC field, I've never worked on/modified cars where this was of question. Well, my '79 zx is to be swapped in a turbo l28 in the near future, and I'd like to make the swap simple and efficient. This will be the car I drive daily, the 240 I can drive every once in a while... anyway, there are a few conveniences about the 280zx I want to keep, power windows, power steering.. and that's about it. I guess the heart of the debate lies in the nearby environment. Washington gets hotter than most people think. It truly is rainy/cloudy here 75% of the time but we often see 95 Degree weather during the summer. I've lived in much warmer/dryer places and so its much more mild comparitively. I'll say one thing, I NEVER use my a/c. The main reason is because it was probably never used for a year, and it smells. Its not pleasant. Plus I'm one who's more proned to just cruising with the windows down to get the feel of the open road. One thing I do NEED is the heat/defrost.. the old glass constantly gets all fogged up, unlike the new tempered anti-fog stuff on the folk's hondas. I would be able to get rid of the condenser and front heat exchanger core while still retaining defog/heat, correct? I would figure it out when I rip it all apart soon , but I'd rather have some foresight I took the a/c and smog stuff off of my 240, and got rid of about 60-80 lbs! Noticeably nimbler. I'm not expecting miracles with the zx but I would imagine that I could balance out my weight increase w/ turbo and i/c system. I also ordered a griffin radiator. Another benefit that I imagine would be freeing up the belt friction to run the compressor, even when not on. The increased space up front would probably allow me to mount my griffin and electric fan with greater ease and space. I definitely won't miss the a/c, not the smell anyway. I could probably dust out the venting system with decent results. Aside front the smell it blows nice and cold, I could probably sell the whole assembly to support the project. Plus it would be one less thing to deal with when the swap is underway. Open opinions, please! TIA -980mak Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jwelch Posted July 4, 2002 Share Posted July 4, 2002 Hey 980mak, Hows it going? IMHO I would leave the A/C on. It makes a considerable difference in your resale value and potential for sale in the future. I know we all say "I will never sell my Z or ZX" but it sometimes happens. I found out it was critical to selling my Z when it came time. Plus, although I'm married and wouldn't know, chicks dig A/C. Just my .02 worth. Regards, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted July 4, 2002 Share Posted July 4, 2002 Yeah, I think I agree with John, you will lose a bit of weight, but not enough to justify it, at least in my humble opinion. A/C is great, it only takes HP when its on (and even then with a sanden, maybe 5hp tops) and as John mentioned, chicks don't want to get dolled up only to look like a cheap sweaty tart by the time they get to wherever.. Gosh ladies, aren'nt we considerate, and you thought we only talked about football and cars... We're actually very caring and sensitive individuals... (ain't buying it huh, oh well... ). Regards, Lone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David K Posted July 4, 2002 Share Posted July 4, 2002 what are you guys talking about? resale value? i dont think he is gona sell his car anytime soon so thats not a problem. also when i removed my AC i freed up one extra ugly belt and about 80 pounds with everything out. I still have to take out all the AC stuff in the cabin. Hows that for weight savings? get rid of that AC, it sucks and it will stopp working completely in a while. also, when the AC is on, it takes more power from the motor to turn the compressor, which burns more gas and wastes engine power. Yank that SOB! if it smells, that typically means you got something growing down where water sits and it is blowing the smell of mold and spores into the cabin. you want that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomoHawk Posted July 4, 2002 Share Posted July 4, 2002 I agree with David. If you want to use A/C, leave it in the ZX and drive that. The 240 is 20+ years old now, so A/C takes away from the ''old car' image. It's like not having A/C in your '67 Mustang. You don't even expect it to be in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted July 4, 2002 Share Posted July 4, 2002 Hey guys, I didn't mean to start up a heated debate but I'm glad I did! Some of those things I never thought about so I'll try and address them all. As far as resale, I'm sure I'll already get cut on the amount of money I put into probably by about 30%, and I don't PLAN on selling it any time soon (or at all). However, what Lone says is totally true, those sort of things do come up unexpectedly. I've secured my finances for the duration of college so I know I'll be able to keep it until then. For the 25% of the time that it is hot around here (including now), I'm sure the chicks would dig it. I think I could probably suffice myself. Either way I'd have to clean it out, as I'm sure there are spores and whatnot and that's what I'm smelling. So either way, I'll have to take it off.. so I guess really the question is should I put it back on. I'm not really concerned with an image of any sort. Right now it makes an astute little daily driver that can semi-haul. The cruise control doesn't work (probably servo), and I don't use it in any other cars I drive anyway. The power steering works fine, it came with a power rack, and I haven't driven a manual ZX to compare. I think the benefits outweigh the defecits.. +less weight, probably 50-80 lbs +less crowded engine +no more "smell" +easier to make the swap +no hp losses due to belts -no a/c (duh ) -lesser resale value, unless re-equipped -lost some value as a "modern" car +the chicks may have to shed articles of clothing to stay cool Well I think I'll end up leaving it out. I can always put it back in if I keep the belts and everything. The car aught to rev a whole lot better, only powering water, oil, idler pump, and alternator. My question still remains about the heat/defrost. If I keep the in cabin vent/fans, and the heater core will I still be able to use these? Otherwise what would need to be done? Thanks for all the help guys! -980mak Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David K Posted July 4, 2002 Share Posted July 4, 2002 +the chicks may have to shed articles of clothing to stay cool that should be the first reason why you take the AC out. the oil pump is internal and it isnt driven by belt. the oil pump is driven by the same shaft the distributor is driven by. the shaft is driven by a gear on the crankshaft pulley. if you take all the ac stuff out, you can still keep your blower motor in. although you may want to take it out and clean it up and clean all the vents and passageways. that should get rid of the smell. but if you take out the blower motor, you have to take out the dash good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted July 5, 2002 Share Posted July 5, 2002 Old car image? What does that mean, I've been around since those cars were new (along with 60's mustangs and earlier) and they were available with air. Hell caddy had it back in the 50's, so I don't feel thats a valide argument either. Obviously Datsun was short sighted on A/C because it was offered in short order as a add on. (and a damn feeble attempt using a draw through evaporator) As far as he's not selling his car so thats not a problem, you may not believe this and frankly I don't care, but the truth is and I've lived it, nearly everyone here unless you have a private vault of money is one catastrophe from having to sell they're car. One major accident, a broken marriage, business gone wrong, having a kid, having the wife say it goes or I do (which to some is more important if she's all that) all of it ends this game of having all the toys in a heartbeat. Never assume your exempt from lifes bumps, if you are, you just havn't gotten to the fun part yet, buckle up, it can suck. The weight savings alone or 80 lbs will almost get you .1 in the quarter. If weight is such a big concern why start with a ZX to begin with? 400 lbs is .4 tenths, now were getting somewhere, if lightweight is your concern, get a 240 and lighten that some more. Respectfully, Lone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David K Posted July 5, 2002 Share Posted July 5, 2002 lone, i dont know what my car weighs, but it is probably as light as a 240z. My 280zx has everything either stripped put or things on the way out. my motor is just an l28 with su's. everything in the engine bay is gone. the interior is completly gone minus the door panels and the seats and the dash. the car is just basically a shell with seats and drivetrain. the reason it is stripped and torn apart is that im redoing everything one part at a time. I have stripped a few hundred pounds from the zx. now back to his 280zx. removing the ac will also make the apperance of the engine bay a bit more eye happy. I can also tell you when i removed the belt that drives the AC, before i removed the whole thing and the mounting plate under it, the engine would up lots faster. Now mack, if you wanna remove the AC, you should just go ahead and remove the cooling fan and install electric fans if you havent already. this will drastically improve the revs on your motor. do you have power steering? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomoHawk Posted July 15, 2002 Share Posted July 15, 2002 Can you at least take out or disconnect the wiring for the pump, etc? It might help in fixing some otherproblems by eliminating some wires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted July 15, 2002 Share Posted July 15, 2002 My Tomahawk Z project had an air conditioner that literally spit ice. I took it out which was a hard decision since you can actually fry in a converible in slow traffic on a hot August day in Oregon. Efficient but one ugly mess weighing a ton and snaking everywhere. I have too many problems with my limited brain power trying to incorporate a V8 without adapting an air conditioner to it. For a daily driver ZX, I would want an air conditioner for the few days in July and August but the macho car says "outta here". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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