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Vintage Air


barbom143

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I have known Jack Chisenhall for more years than I will admit. I am meeting with him this week to tour his plant and talk to him about a system to cool my LS1 project. If there is enough interest I will also talk to him about developing a bolt on system for Z's.

 

Let me know what you think.

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Do it! Suggest to him that he become a member of this site. I'll bet he could do a bunch of business here if he is willing to be available to answer questions. If he could put together some basic 'here's what you need for an LS1 system' order pages (like JTR has for other stuff) he'll make a bunch of friends here.

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I want my A/C to freeze my butt off. It gets fairly hot here and the warm season is extended. I almost never use a heater because there's seldom a need to. Can you ask him what butt-freezing systems he has?

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I've met and chatted with him a few times in the past and have mentioned the possibility of a kit for the S30 early Zeds. "not enough interest" was what I always heard and He's probably right. When you consider that they make kits for 55-57 chevy, vintage camaro and mustangs you have to look at the popularity of those cars and how much money they can fetch when they are sold. simply put there are not enough Z people that can justify spending 1,500$ on an AC system when they only payed 2K for the car. I think that the value of our cars has been increasing lately, and is only going to go up, BUT its going to be a while before the new wave of owners come into the scene with money to spend.

 

that said, I was planning on buying a universal super cooler from them in the future when summer hits again, but if they are going to develop a full bolt in kit for our cars then I would certainly wait. One things thats nice about the Z cars is all the room under the dash so I don't think it would take too much R&D to make it work.

 

anywho, does he still have that amazing '53 stude? That car gets me every time I see it, does John still have that '59 el camino?

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on some cars like z's you have to goto thier catalog and buy pieces to make your own kit.a new style compressor would use less engine hp.i am lucky the stock 77 a/c works in my car -but i had to put an evaporator core in it when i got it.stock 77 a/c is on a 1982 turbo motor.you can run r134 through old compressor if you flush the old r12 oil out.

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Yes he still has the 53 Stud.

 

Like Mike, I want a system that will WORK. I have a pretty nice 78 2+2 I am taking some trim parts off of for my LS1 project. Its A/C blows really cold air out the center vents, really cold if your hand is in front of the vent. Anywhere else it is marginal at best. I don't need fan speed control or the hot/cold lever. Its turn it on high and accept whatever temp it can reduce the passenger compartment to. I want to be able to turn the fan off of high so I can hear something else while driving.

 

As far as expecting Jack to answer our questions on line, I think he is too busy for that, Maybe if there was enough business coming our way he could get someone in the company. So far 191 viewings and only 4 or 5 people who are interested would indicate there isn't enough interest. What I am hoping is that when he sees how much room there is uinder the dash, he will realize all that has to be done is fabricate a piece to take the refrierant from the evaporator to the fire wall and a couple of brackets. With this I think there are a couple of his generic units that would quickly (if there is such a thing as quickly when working on a Z) bolt in and be ready to go.

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barbom143... I think you're right-on. However, I imagine that he'd be interested even with only a half dozen units sold. Once he fabricates the pieces for one, the ensuing five are easy. More than likely, he'll fabricate enough parts for 20 units and store what he doesn't sell immediately. Then he can advertise a ready-made bolt-on Z-car A/C kit on his website. Since time is the primary enemy when it comes to making $$$, his per unit cost is then minimized.

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Thats true if all gen 1 Z's are the same configuration under the dash. I have no idea. If there are enough minor changes that it would have to be engineered several times, then the equation changes. I was in business for myself for seven years and one of the things I learned is your business is either growing or dieing, there is nothing in between. Someday all the 55-57 Chevys and Mustangs are going to be junked or have air conditioning.

 

Also, one post said people are not wlling to put a $1500 system in a $2000 car. I am working on my Z because I love the car. The fact that it was cheap was a bonus.

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I think the S30's are all of near enough design that someone can design a universal system. I could be wrong though. Anyone know:confused:

 

People will spend wads of money on things they really like and want. Besides, many completely stock Z-cars are worth $6-10K. Others have hybrid Z's worth even more than that. Consider, if you will, the one that sold on ebay this week for more than $14K. Many of these have body kits which add overall value. Anything is worth exactly what someone is willing to pay for it. When one considers that the value of these cars is only going to go up, then adding a $1500 A/C is of less concern:?

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I really don't see much need for a kit; the GEN II mini fits easily. As far as the compressor goes, that is something everyone is going to have to deal with based on their engine choices.

 

For all you guys that want Vintage Air, just do it! There are a few people on this site that have already done it with good results.

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Well here is another who would buy.

Yes he still has the 53 Stud.

 

Like Mike, I want a system that will WORK. I have a pretty nice 78 2+2 I am taking some trim parts off of for my LS1 project. Its A/C blows really cold air out the center vents, really cold if your hand is in front of the vent. Anywhere else it is marginal at best. I don't need fan speed control or the hot/cold lever. Its turn it on high and accept whatever temp it can reduce the passenger compartment to. I want to be able to turn the fan off of high so I can hear something else while driving.

 

As far as expecting Jack to answer our questions on line, I think he is too busy for that, Maybe if there was enough business coming our way he could get someone in the company. So far 191 viewings and only 4 or 5 people who are interested would indicate there isn't enough interest. What I am hoping is that when he sees how much room there is uinder the dash, he will realize all that has to be done is fabricate a piece to take the refrierant from the evaporator to the fire wall and a couple of brackets. With this I think there are a couple of his generic units that would quickly (if there is such a thing as quickly when working on a Z) bolt in and be ready to go.

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