Ok guys, I bought a parts donor 1972 E200 Club Wagon with a/c. Something I didn't see in Pintony's thread was the auxilary evaperator which is mounted underneath the bench seat. Anybody know what that is all about? It takes up some valuable floor space and I'm not sure what it does.

What if I used the stock Ford blower unit and interior pieces, but then used a modern donor vehicle for the rest of it? I'm not worried about keeping everything original. If I have to buy a bunch of new parts and I should buy a newer style compressor, what's the point of removing all the old stuff off the donor van?

I had a 1985 Nissan King Cab pick up that would freeze you out on the hottest days. I know it is much harder to cool a fullsize van, but that a/c unit wouldv'e done it! What kind of options to you think I have?

Thanks,
Chris

There may be some parts you can use off the 72, (like you mentioned,, the interior bits) but all the other stuff is going to have to be cleaned out before you can use the newer 134A stuff anyway. Also,, the r-12 and 134A systems work at different pressures. From what I've heard, if the old a/c pump isn't in primo condition, switching it over to work with 134A can put a lot more strain on the pump.
If it were me, I'd start by taking the a/c parts from a newer vehicle, and not worry about using any of the parts from the 72 unless something from the newer vehicle won't physically fit where you need it to be. I would think that you should be able to get new hoses made up pretty easy,,, if you needed to.

OK, Sounds like I'll use the interior stuff only, however, I don't know what the evaperator is and why this van has an auxiliary one mounted under the bench seat. The only reason I know it's an evaporator is because the manual says so (page 25, Comfort and Convenience Features). The manual also says this van has an auxiliary heater control (page 7, To Operate "Driving Controls"). WHAT ARE THESE THINGS???

Chris,

Doesn't the auxilary evaperator unit mount underneath the floor, behind the drivers seat, beneath the first bench seat? I've been thinking about building a stainless steel storage box that mounts in this area.

Vic

Vic,
Mine is located inside the van. It sits in the center of the van under the bench seat. It is exactly where my manual says it should be. What is that thing? When I turn the fan on, it sounds like the blower motor is in there.

Wow Chris,

I learn something new everyday. I thought the only AC system that came from the factory was under the floor. All of the dash units I've seen where dealer installed or an aftermarket company. I heard they had a heater box mounted behind the driver seat on top of the floor, but I've never seen one.

Could you mount the unit under the floor so you save floor space? But like you said, it might be easyer to go with a later model system.

Also, you can pull all of the brackets and pulley's. They make a bracket that mounts a late model compressor to the stock bracket for early Mustangs and the stock AC bracket maybe in the same location as the early Mustangs. Doing this you can upgrade to the r134.

Good luck,
Vic

Evaporator is the part that gets cold, think of it as a cold radiator. Blow air threw it and it comes out colder on the other side.

There are two heat exchangers in an AC system. The condensor, where heat from the AC refrigerant is transferred to air outside the cooled space, and the evaporator, where heat from the air inside the cooled space is transferred to the AC refrigerant. Both are termed based on the phase change of the refrigerant taking place in them.

An 'auxiliary' evaporator means an additional point of cooling the air is in place.

Ken

As Ken has stated the extra unit is there to help cool down the interior of the van faster and cover a larger area. As you well know the heaters in these vans has a hard enough time just keeping the two front seat areas warm let alone someone sitting all the way in the back. The A/C is no different and that is why you see newer van applications with rear heating and cooling systems. The extra unit you have is just a very early design of what they offer today to keep the rear passengers as comfortable as the guy driving. John

So, if I'm only interested in keeping the two front seats and the first bench area cool, I won't need the auxiliary evaperator?

Thanks guys,
Chris

Emievel: There's a "Sanden" pump and bracket system that is a direct bolt up to the 302 mid econos advertised on Ebay time and again. The price is very good. Its seems like you could mount the cooling unit/blower any place under the van that was more so fitting to your needs, and run ducting to the place from where you mounted it to the interior ducting; that I assume connects behind the drives seat wall on the floor pan. I know that you would want to put an insulative cover over the ducting if it turns out to be a longer run than the original location; this would prevent any added BTU losses.............. Greg

Chris, Heating and cooling the inside of your van is like heating and cooling your home. In your house the system has to be big enough to handle the square feet of living space you have. Unless your van has a wall or divider seperating the front from the back your system is going to try and cool the whole thing. If your equipment is not up to size to handle the whole inside of your van it will work harder, wear out faster, use more fuel and give you poor cooling and heating performance. You also have many doors and windows that can easily over power a system that is under sized when they are opened. Unless you can control or reduce the area you will be cooling and heating plan on having the extra evaporator and or heater core in the system to handle the needs. John