Add on Air conditioning

[Guest sintid58]

any suggestions. I really want to put A/C in my 1958 Buick special. It is a low mileage car that runs very well and I drove it to the BDE national meet this year. I would like to use this car for going to tours and nationals. It is not and probably never will be a show car as it is a very plain car with a three speed transmission and I have no plans to restore it at this time. I am thinking about going to a local shop that does add on a/c and having them put on a standard add on air. I have priced classic a/c and others and they seem very expensive just to hide it in a car like this.

[Guest]

you could do that, problem is a shop wont have the compressor brackets for that engine. Ive wanted to order an AC from Old Air or Classic Air but they dont make the brackets & until they do its no sale cuz without them youre dead in the water

[Bill Stoneberg]

Try Vintage Air out of San Antonio Texas.<P>They make a good product.<P>Bill

[Guest sintid58]

I know that you could get a/c on all the cars Buick put 364 engines in. Cant you get used brakets for the compressors and make them over to work

[capgage]

Your best bet for this car is to find a 58 that has aftermarket add-on air and take the parts from it. The aftermarket add-on's I am familiar with (not the factory add-on) will usually have a large squarish piston-type(not the round "rotary" type) compressor which is more readily rebuilt than the rotary type, which is good. If you can find a car with this type of add-on, there will hopefully be all the pulleys and brackets too. This type of setup runs on a belt that does not touch the water pump. There will be two idler pulleys, each with a bracket, an extra pulley that goes on your harmonic balancer, and of course the compressor pulley which may be a double groove even though you only use one. Also, there will probably be some kind of spacer to move the fan out an inch or two. <P>This aftermarket add-on is much more common than the factory add-on (which I am not as familiar with, but I think it's much like the factory built-in).<P>I have been trying to get an A/C setup together for my 58 for years. I definitely recommend the add-on approach for a four-door sedan. <P>Don't be tempted to get the factory A/C components from another year like 57 or 59, because the brackets and pulley setups are almost completely different even though they may all be on a 364. If you do convert to the 57 or 59 style however, make sure you get ALL the pulleys (balancer & water pump), ALL the brackets (generator, AC, power steering), and the components. I know the generator sits on a bracket for 58 and hangs on one for 59, so they have a different orientation. <P>For 59 there is a dual belt set that runs around the generator/compressor/water pump/balancer. This is on the two grooves closest to the engine. The power steering has its own belt that goes on the third groove and runs around the ps pump/water pump/balancer. <P>But for 58, the inside groove is for the generator/water pump/balancer, the next one is for the ps pump/water pump/balancer, and the next two are a dual belt set for the compressor/water pump/balancer.<P>I think that 57 is similar to 58, but with all different brackets and definitely a different compressor. The compressor is the same for 58 on up to 62 or so.<P>Hope this helps - I know its alot of info, but I thought you could use it since I have spent years sorting it out. Unfortunately I cannot part with any of the 58 and 59 stuff I have collected, because all the parts I have are spoken for between the two 58's I have, and until I get it all together I do not know what will be left over. <P>I do a set of 57 A/C brakets which I think is short one piece, if you are interested.<P>Mark

[YellowLark]

The add-on units generally come as a package, with everything designed around the compressor. The problem with original 364 brackets is that while they fit the engine, they probably won't come close to fitting the new compressor. Compressors made today appear much fatter than those from 40 years ago.<P>So, you've got to find a package that offers brackets for your engine.

[Guest]

How much would it take to have a welding shop fabricate this bracket? I have never priced such a thing but it is an idea!<P>Duane

[The Old Guy]

Classic Auto Air in Tampa has a package that includes a Sanden Compressor ,a thin condenser and an evaporator unit that mounts in the trunk. They have universal mounts that can be adapted to almost any motor ,so I would check with them. I have one of these units in my 57 ,and I love it!!