Hi all. I have a question regarding aftermarket a/c units for a Beaumont. I was wondering which units, chevelle or Lemans/Gto is a better fit for these cars. I'm hoping someone here has been down this road and can give me some helpful pointers. Thanks for your advise!
As posted a couple of weeks ago, I'm having cooling issues with my '66 Beaumont. Vintage Air installation, they cobbled together a kit with BBC underhood components, and the Tempest/Lemans/GTO control panel. Chose not to replace the instrument panel with a "factory a/c" one, to get the centre duct above the controls, just put the underdash plenum above the console, and two "eyeball" diffusers at each end of the dash. The install was pretty straightforward - "stock" installation on a BBC was on the driver side of the block, which makes for some extended piping, but everything fit fine. We had to improvise a bit to get the controls hooked up to the blend box; obviously, Vintage Air's were for a Chevelle.
It works fine. My problem is that the car is running hot. It's got a Cold Case 3-row aluminum rad with dual electric fans, and a high-flow water pump, but on warm days, with the a/c on, in stop and go traffic, it nudges the gauge up over 230F. We've verified the accuracy of the instrument, using an IR thermometer.
My friend has a same-year Chevelle 300, and put a Vintage Air kit on it, this summer. Chebby from stem to stern, of course, and he's seeing temps up 20F over what his carbureted 468 BBC was showing before the a/c went on. Same rad and fans now, as my car's, he rows a Tremec 5-speed, while mine has a 700R, so he's got a bit less heat to dissipate to begin with. Also, mine has EFI, which tends to run a bit leaner, producing more heat.
I'm adding a shroud that will block air from going up and over the radiator support, and a rubber spoiler to try to keep it from bleeding under the rad.
YEMV - we had a long, hot summer here, most every day 30+C, and some 35+. Even now, we're still expecting ~29C by mid-afternoon, so the air gets used more, and the load on the cooling system is greater, than would be the case in our Home and Native Land. Still, I'm disappointed that the condenser appears to be so restrictive - after all, Vintage Air are headquartered in San Anton', where they have ample opportunity to test their designs in extreme heat.
Old Air is another supplier that I've heard good things about, but can't report from personal experience on their offerings, nor Classic Air's.
