After-market A/C for 83 Chevy 4x4...

Probably cost you more than the truck is worth.

Hi!

Vintage Air, perhaps?

I've seen a lot of their systems installed in older cars...no idea if they offer one suitable for your truck or not.

You might also try to find a truck that had air conditioning added. I have seen a lot of late-70s Chevrolet trucks with aftermarket A/C added, although I never got close enough to see who made the equipment.

Another thought would be to find a parts truck that had factory A/C and take all the components from it for use on your truck. This isn't likely to be easy, and will probably require that you have a factory service manual so you can find and ID all the needed parts. Such a system will probably also require significant repairs to work again.

All points considered, it may be a better idea to find the same kind of truck with factory or aftermarket A/C already in place. Even if it needs repair, that would surely be easier and much less expensive than adding a whole system.

William

I'm sure there is. However it is likely to cost over a $1000 for just the parts and around that much in labor to have it installed.

How much do you care how it looks? If you don't care much about looks you could Kludge together an under dash unit from junkyard parts and a few new pieces for not too much money if you did the work yourself. I had two mid-70s Chevy trucks back when that had professional aftermarket units installed in them and neither of them cooled very well. IMHO, if you want AC you should get a vehicle with factory AC.

And the R-12?

Yes.

Buy Freeze-12 on Ebay or for $20 take the EPA test and then go buy r-12 anywhere fine freons are sold.

You make it sound so easy. Do you have any idea how long it has been since they stopped manufacturing R-12?

Maybe a decade? Regardless, do you have any idea of how much is still available for sale and that the price has been dropping. Go do a search on eBay for "R-12". There are dozens of ads with it for sale as well as the Freeze-12.

item 320152749056 is a case of 12 cans of R12 and price right now is just over $100 for the case.

End of manufacture 1995.

I know you think that $100 for 12 cans is a good deal. I don't. The point of the discussion was "doing it on the cheap."

I recall thinking $3 a can was high when 30 lbs was around $30. I still have a 30 pounder with about 28 pounds of virgin R-12 in it. If I sold it I could also get rid of my R-12 freezers (the only reason I'm keeping the stuff) and replace them with a single higher efficiency unit.

I think I will.

And oh yes, BTW, I took the course. I passed the test, I have the refrigeration license.

Not sure what your problem is but you seem determined to look for something to criticize in this thread and are grasping at straws now.

*You* said I made it sound so easy to use r12 and droned on about how it had not been manufactured in years implying the guy would have a very hard time even getting the stuff. I pointed out to you that it's available in quantity and reasonably priced on ebay. So now you are trying a different line about how you don't think it's reasonably priced. No one is asking you to buy it and besides...

Just how many cans do you think it will take to charge his system? If it's like most systems it will take around 2 cans which will wind up costing him perhaps $20 - $30 tops. Clearly that will still fall in the "doing it on the cheap" range. If he used the absolutely cheapest available refrigerant what do you think he's going to save, maybe $15????

That's terrific. Now if only you knew what you were talking about.....

Projection.

Not reasonably priced.

It isn't. And this all feeds back into my original contention days ago that he's apt to spend more on adding a/c to this

83 Chevy than the truck is worth.

No one is asking you to buy it and besides...

Oh dear, did anyone ask you to? Since you seem to think R-12 is so reasonably prices, are you willing to donate what he needs to this project?

So is he going to vacuum the system, or purge it? Where's that vacuum pump coming from? What's he paying for R-12 refrigeration oil? What's he going to use for washing out the old rancid oil that's likely to be in any used system that's been sitting around open to the atmosphere for a couple of decades? That's the first stage. Old used systems all fail in just a few ways, so it is likely any 1983 compressor will have to be torn down and rebuilt. Eventually they all leak at the shaft seal. Hoses develop leaks as well. The condenser coil picks up salt (in most of the US) and develops holes.

You make it sound so easy.

Usually someone who doesn't understand the problem(s), solutions are always easy, as it is in this case.

So you're the "expert" here? Good to know. The question that remains is, of course, how many systems have you actually built? It sounds as though you're like most folks who have maybe dumped a can into an already built and already dry system now and then. I've built them from components for decades, so hell yes, I do know what I'm talking about, for automotive and commercial systems.

Nice of you to make it sound so easy. Come back to discuss this after you actually have some real experiences.

Acquiring old parts that fit his truck is not a particularly good idea for the reasons I pointed out. Retrofit units generally (as other have mentioned) don't cool very well.

My recommendation is that he trade up to a truck that has a functioning a/c (if that's actually important to him) or forget about it. For the above average good mechanic an engine overhaul is less trouble than installing an a/c system on a truck where there isn't one, no matter how easy *you* make it sound.

blah blah blah. You are still trying to make a case that if he pays an extra $20 for freon it's the end of the world. As to what I've done AC wise, first project was to put a used AC system in a 60 falcon. Second was to put a used system in a 1953 Chevy pickup. Third was to replace part of an aftermarket system in a 76 blazer with a different aftermarket AND add a rear evap and blower to it AND change out the York compressor to a GM A-6 picked up from the junkyard. Most recent was to get the system in my 64 T-bird up and running with a USED York and Freeze 12 and a junkyard condenser from a mid 90's escort.

Well done.

Accurate assessment.

When and where did the OP mention price, cost, etc?

What does -your- perceived worth of this truck have to do with the OPs original question? Fuck, replacing an evaporator in anything over 4 years old in most cases exceeds the "worth" of the vehicle, yet, people do it every day.

Strawman.

One would hope so. BTW, to how many microns do you evacuate to and how do you measure for deep vacuum?

Any of a number of manufacturers, unless of course, you've bought everything up and there are no more to be had.

Is mineral oil unavailable, excessively expensive?

Where was it decided that used parts were the only option?

OEM new from NAPA $233.00

OP didn't ask about "easy."

Red herring.

Then why not answer the OPs question Mr. Ex-spurt?

Properly done, a retrofit would cool as well or better. Your lack of success is more than understandable.

Not what the OP asked.

At the Chevy dealership, it was considered a gravy job. At the Ford dealership, it was considered a gravy job.

Well, at least you live up to your name...

Thanks. Always a pleasure chatting.