1957 Pontiac a/c question

[CBGSTYLES]

Hi everyone I’m wondering by chance if anyone would know if In 1957,  Pontiac had a a/c system ? 
Under dash unit ?

 

thanks chris

[Marty Roth]

Yes,

Factory A/C was an available option for the 1957 Pontiac.

I am not certain as to the configuration.

[Fleek]

They had the normal GM ac setup with round air outlets in the dash and compressor under the hood. If I remember correctly this is the setup used on GM cars from 1955 forward. 

[TexRiv_63]

I think Pontiac was one of the first to have in-dash A/C, like in 1953.

[CarlLaFong]

7 hours ago, Fleek said:

They had the normal GM ac setup with round air outlets in the dash and compressor under the hood. If I remember correctly this is the setup used on GM cars from 1955 forward. 

Which cars did not have the compressor under the hood??

[bryankazmer]

exactly. the difference was the location of the evaporator

[CBGSTYLES]

Was it available for convertibles too?

[padgett]

"Which cars did not have the compressor under the hood?" Corvair.

"Was it available for convertibles too? " GM would sell a "C60" on nearly every car. In fact one of the giveaways of something special was "N/A with C60". I could not order it with my '78 Sunbird witch required a large deposit for the dealer to order in south Florida.

[Pfeil]

On 7/5/2020 at 9:19 AM, TexRiv_63 said:

I think Pontiac was one of the first to have in-dash A/C, like in 1953.

Harrison Radiator Division and Pontiac Division of GM pioneered a A/C fully integrated under the hood and under dash A/C for sale on the 1954 Pontiac. 1954 Pontiac's went on sale in Dec 1953.

The integrated system above became available on 1955 Chevrolet, 1955 Oldsmobile,1956 Buick,1957 Cadillac G.M. cars following the one year exclusivity rule which gives the pioneering division the first year exclusivity of a feature or engineering innovation.  

Edited July 6, 2020 by Pfeil
Charles Coker's precise years of when other divisions got their new types of A/C. (see edit history)

[CBGSTYLES]

So was a/c available in convertibles ?

[51dyno]

Back then you could pick items and not a package deal when ordering from the factory. 

[Pfeil]

14 hours ago, CBGSTYLES said:

So was a/c available in convertibles ?

That I don't know, But I would assume it was available, However I contacted Charles Coker to add comment here. Charles is the Pontiac Oakland Club International Tech advisor for those years cars.

[PONTIAC1953]

On 7/5/2020 at 11:19 AM, TexRiv_63 said:

I think Pontiac was one of the first to have in-dash A/C, like in 1953.

the first pontiacs to have air conditioning was the 1954 model, and pontiac received the first 10 a/c systems from the harrison division in december of 1953, beating the 1954 nash a/c by 6 months.

[PONTIAC1953]

On 7/4/2020 at 6:42 PM, CBGSTYLES said:

Hi everyone I’m wondering by chance if anyone would know if In 1957,  Pontiac had a a/c system ? 
Under dash unit ?

 

thanks chris

there were aftermarket under dash a/c systems available, but the pontiac cool pack dealer installed under dash a/c came out later, i had a 1960 bonneville coupe with the cool pack a/c.

[PONTIAC1953]

15 hours ago, Pfeil said:

Harrison Radiator Division and Pontiac Division of GM pioneered a A/C fully integrated under the hood and under dash A/C for sale on the 1954 Pontiac. 1954 Pontiac's went on sale in Dec 1953.

The integrated system above became available on Chevrolet, Oldsmobile, Buick, Cadillac G.M. cars following the one year exclusivity rule which gives the pioneering division the first year exclusivity of a feature or engineering innovation.  

oldsmobile in 1955, buick in 1956, and cadillac not until 1957 followed the 1954 pontiac factory up front - in dash air conditioning, chevy - who like pontiac never had the rear trunk a/c, got their up front in dash factory a/c in 1955.

[PONTIAC1953]

57 minutes ago, Pfeil said:

That I don't know, But I would assume it was available, However I contacted Charles Coker to add comment here. Charles is the Pontiac Oakland Club International Tech advisor for those years cars.

i am the 1953 pontiac technical advisor for poci, i have installed most of the 1954 pontiac factory a/c in the dash of my 1953 pontiac chieftain custom catalina, to have a 1955 pontiac 287 V8 that came with it's factory A5 compressor as the car's engine, the 1954 pontiac a/c freon lines will be connected with the 1955 buick rear factory a/c evaporator/blower motors assembly that will be mounted in the trunk of my 1953 custom catalina, the buick system has it's own separate controls that are mounted under dash, so either controls will engage the A5 compressor, i'll be able to operate the front a/c, the rear a/c, or run both at the same time. 

[PONTIAC1953]

[CBGSTYLES]

So do the 57 Pontiac convertible 

came with A/C?

[PONTIAC1953]

Just now, CBGSTYLES said:

So do the 57 Pontiac convertible 

came with A/C?

yes they did

[CBGSTYLES]

Was it a under the dash unit?

or in the dash ?

 

thanks 

[Pfeil]

1 hour ago, CBGSTYLES said:

Was it a under the dash unit?

or in the dash ?

 

thanks 

The units since the first Pontiac A/C units are under the hood and dash. The inside of the car part has components like vents, and control switches, the inside firewall part has blower heater case. so the answer to your question is in the dash and behind the dash attached to the inner firewall just like most cars today. 

 

Charles also let me know that only the eight cylinder StarChief had the A/C option for 1954 model year.

 

Below is the dash image of a 54 star Chief with factory A/C;

UNDER THE HOODu

UNDER THE HOOD BELOW,

THE WHOLE SYSTEM BELOW

Edited July 6, 2020 by Pfeil (see edit history)

[CBGSTYLES]

Ty

[PONTIAC1953]

On 7/4/2020 at 6:42 PM, CBGSTYLES said:

Hi everyone I’m wondering by chance if anyone would know if In 1957,  Pontiac had a a/c system ? 
Under dash unit ?

 

thanks chris

here is how the factory 1957 pontiac air conditioning looks like.

[CBGSTYLES]

Thank you so much 

very helpful 

thanks 

[Pfeil]

[PONTIAC1953]

one thing about the 1954 & 1955 pontiac a/c, is that the driver can forget to turn on the blower fan after they have turned on the a/c compressor, doing this would cause the a/c system to freeze up, the blower switch had it's own power source, the off/low/high blower switch was changed in 1956 to having just low/high, and the engaging of the compressor then allowed the blower fan switch to receive power.

[John_Mereness]

On 7/5/2020 at 9:28 PM, CBGSTYLES said:

So was a/c available in convertibles ?

I have even seen some "factory" trunk mounted units in Convertibles in earlier year cars before they did in-dash air - my guess is if someone wanted A/C bad enough and had a dealer friend the dealer figured out how to get them A/C on their order. 

[PONTIAC1953]

11 minutes ago, John_Mereness said:

I have even seen some "factory" trunk mounted units in Convertibles in earlier year cars before they did in-dash air - my guess is if someone wanted A/C bad enough and had a dealer friend the dealer figured out how to get them A/C on their order. 

yes, not a regular production option, but a special order item that someone was very well connected or very wealthy, i believe the very first custom installation of a air conditioning fitted and mounted in the trunk area, was a 1927 or 1929 cadillac that a wealthy business man had it done down in houston texas. 

[Barry Tippett]

would anyone have a picture of the 57 dash with the original holes cut and the vents not installed

[John348]

This has been a great and informative thread,

very interesting stuff

[C Carl]

Agree totally,  John. There are those rugged individuals who couldn’t, (or “could” as current colloquialism prescribes), “care less” about A/C. I have to admit to wimpism regarding my thermal preferences. I have spent quite a few cruising miles in hot, humid locations with a ferocious sun directly overhead. Top goes up, A/C comes on, and so I cruise until sunset time calls for the scenic enhancement which going topless provides. Quite a few talented and creative cruisers go through a catalog of gyrations in order to equip their old cars with a retrofitted A/C system. My friend Sonny Wisner, the Northwests greatest Cadillac hotrodder, drove his recently completed 514 cu in Studillac , (you all remember that one, right ? Remember the six gold plated 45 mm Weber sidedrafts perched atop that mill he built ?), down to Reno to participate in them hot nights. First thing he did when he got back to cool Seattle, was to install the neglected A/C in the snakey black thing. Learned him up good : REAL GOOD !     -   CC