Put a Vintage a/c kit on the '66 Beau over the winter. I worked with their tech representative, and they assembled a hybrid kit with the Pontiac Tempest/GTO "head" end (controls in dash), with the Chevelle BBC spec for everything else. It went in pretty smoothly, the only fabrication was getting the wires from the controls to the blend box correct in length.
BUT, the old girl just WON'T cool, now. Have put in a Cold Case high-capacity radiator with thermostatically-controlled electric fans
..and a high-flow 8-blade aluminum water pump, advertised with 35% higher capacity than the stock piece. It's running 220F+ on country roads, at moderate (50-60 mph) speeds. At lights, it gets scary.
I was going to send it back to the dynotuner, thinking maybe it's leaned out too much, but then, my buddy put Vintage a/c on his '66 Chevelle 300, with a carbureted 454 and a five-speed Tremec, and HIS operating temps jumped 20F, whether the a/c is on, or not.
We're talking with the manufacturer, and suspect it's air flow restriction through their condenser that's the root of the problem, but would appreciate any thoughts the veterans on this board might have. Mine's a mild BBC, Holley Sniper EFI, put about 220 to the rear wheels after the dyno tuning. Not exactly a pavement ripper. 700R, turns about 2100 rpm at 60 mph, so the engine is barely loafing on a two lane cruise.
There will be undoubtedly a few responses. Mine is a bit of a step back and think about what has changed and how to approach a solution.
By adding the condenser coil to the front of the car you've added an additional air restriction to or through the radiator. Air will find another way to move out from behind the grille. I've never owned a pre-67 A body but suspect it has the same huge opening between the bumper and rad support as the 69, 70 and 72 GTO i've had over the years. For better air flow through the rad while driving the easy escape route for the air should be eliminated. For a cheap experiment, use some heavy card board and close off the openings and go for a spin on the road.
For the fan portion of the equation, it is for idle and slow speed operation. Again it's probably an air flow issue caused by the additional restriction of the condenser. For the fan to properly pull air through the rad there should be a shroud and most factory GM fans should have about 3/4" clearance and be 1/3 of the blade depth into the shroud to work as designed.
Yeah, that's kinda where we're at. There aren't many openings in the radiator support that would let ram air "bleed" past the cutout for the radiator (and, now, condenser).
The replacement cooling package has a fully-shrouded, thermostatically-controlled set of electric fans:
What about adding a dam or rubber spoiler under the rad cradle. Look at 70s cars for what I,m talking about. Directs air upwards into the rad instead of underneath.
Good idea. And, we're looking at sealing off the gap between the top of the grill and the rad support, as well. I mean, obviously, plumbing and installing a radiator on the roof, in series with the one in the original hole, would solve the problem, but that kinda ruins the cosmetics!
Is the condenser tight up to the rad face? If yes, maybe pulling it forward away a couple of inches might allow a better balance of air to reach the restricted section of rad. And still allow adequate flow through the condenser.
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65 Laurentian post, 67 Grande Parisienne 4 door HT.
