factory a/c on my '80 DHC

[JamesH]

none of my other classic and collector cars have a/c and i wouldn't have put it on the '7 if it wasn't already there. mine has the factory option set-up, but unfortunately it doesn't work. the compressor is dead. as happens with car things..."while i am there"...i am going to upgrade the compressor to a more efficient Sanden-type. catch is, i will need to have new hoses made. the line that goes from the compressor to the firewall just WILL NOT (yet) come loose from the fitting that pokes through the firewall. i have a wrench on the square bit on the end of the hose and hooked under the steering column to keep from spinning whatever is on the other side of the 'wall and breaking...whatever is there. i am then using a crow-foot and socket wrench to go at the pipe fitting that joins the hose to the fitting. i assume that i have differing-metal-corrosion in the hose/pipe fittings and that is my problem. i dousing it with penetrating oil. anybody know something or some trick that would help here? thanks.

[Cobber]

A trick we use on uncooperative pipe unions is to hit them on each side of the nut with 2 hammers simultaneously, this causes the union nut to flex oval and break the stiction, they usually undo easily after this treatment.
How you get to hit it with 2 hammers in the location it is in, is the challenge!

[Hasbeen]

Can't help you with that, I fitted my air to a car which did not have it. I did buy the system from an import that went to full racing, but could not use much of it.

One tip if you are fitting a modern compressor, we machined the mounting bracket for the original back a bit. Can't remember how much now, but it brought the pulley of the modern compressor into the right line for the belt. Much easier than fabricating a new one.

We did use the under dash unit, refurbished, but in my climate, I don't put engine hot water through it. No heating needed here. This saved me about $600 on replacing the valve that controls it.

In Queensland Oz, I would rather drive a 1930s truck with air, than the latest super car with out it.

Hasbeen

[Clara]

Contact these guys: https://griffiths.com

They have a bracket that will mount new compressor onto the TR7's existing bracket.