Has anyone fitted a Southern Rods Aircon system?

[Mike Rowe]

I think I have been a bit optimistic with fitting the big vents, the control unit and the double din audio deck in the console!  Whilst it might measure up as able to be fitted, with the drink holder in the bottom I don't think it will be workable.

I have not fitted the Evaporator yet, but in just holding it roughly in place, it goes a long way into the glovebox area and in fact in front of the glovebox hinge at the rear.  As the glovebox completely hangs off the hinge, I don't see how the glovebox can be refitted with the Evaporator in place.

Additionally, as the aircon hose outlets come off the top of the Evaporator vertically, the hose will not be able in the space available, to turn over horizontally to fit to vents in the console fascia, I don't think.  I also don't think Vintage Air list a 90 degree plastic coupling to allow for this either.

My thinking now, because of the glovebox and the console issues, is that I may put two of the smaller vents, same as used in the original removed HVAC controls either side of the steering wheel, into the front of the Glovebox lid in front of the passenger.  This will mean that the glovebox area behind the lid/door will be free for the Evaporator, and the two vents inserted in the glovebox lid will be easier to get the Evaporator hose to and will be more effective in cooling the passenger!  I have attached a photo of the glovebox lid/door unscrewed from the glove box, with one small vent sitting on there to show size.  There will be 2 in the final version, and I will photograph it once I have cut them in.  I will also need to work out how I can support the glovebox lid in place without the box itself being held at the rear by the hinge (which I have removed).

[Mike Rowe]

The construction of an Aircon system in my 2002 has so far been full of challenges.  The first has been in sourcing an appropriate Condenser.  Research on this forum has shown that others have fitted a 10inch x 18inch condenser.  However purchasing a parallel flow condenser of this size has proved impossible in Australia, and also in the USA.  If anyone has one they don't want, please let me know and I'll buy it.

So to get started I have purchased an old style 10x18.  It is a tight squeeze to get it in through the radiator opening, but once in it fits easily.  The next issue is getting a fan in front of it that is smaller enough to fit in yet blows enough cfm.  This is not as easy as it sounds.  A 14 inch fan won't fit and a 12 inch fan doesn't seem to exist that will blow 2000cfm.  So now we have a less efficient condenser and a less efficient fan which is not a great start.  The next problem was that we couldn't get the Sanden 508 compressor in with a front stabilizer bar in place, so we had to remove that altogether.  Then to fit the Hobie compressor mount on the motor, we had to take the front bolt out of the engine mount to block, as the bottom rear support of the compressor bracket needs to be supported of the same bolt.

After removing the engine mount bracket bolt, and offering up the compressor bracket, the engine had dropped which meant the bolt wouldn't go back in!!  Another hour redrilling the bracket hole and fitting shims behind the lower front bolt to block to level it out.  Then when we fitted the compressor to the bracket, the pully was 28mm too far rear to line up with the rear crank pulley!!!  I presume this is due to the engine running the M3 crank which sits further forward than the standard M10 crank??

So, the Hobie bracket has now gone to a fabricator to have a 28mm bush extension welded to the leading side to allow the compressor to be moved forward to line up the pulleys.  That is the end of a very long and frustrating day trying to set up the engine side of the airconditioning.  We haven't fitted a fan, fabricated any hoses, fitted the evaporator or any vents yet.  This is looking expensive in labor time for the Aircon man that is helping me fit this. 

[Mike Rowe]

Well, I have found a parallel flow 10x18 condenser (identified by a Forum member) in the US, and it is now on the way to me in Australia.  I have wasted a cheap old style 10x18 condenser, but the brackets we made to fit can be fitted to the new parallel flow when it arrives so still worth doing.

I also have the original Hobie bracket back from a fabricator who has added sleeves to support and throw the compressor 28mm further forward to align with the rear pulley on the crank.  This I think has been caused by the fitting of the M3 crank to my M10 engine.  At the same time, we added a spacer behind the front bottom bolt hole to level with the back bottom bolt hole which sits on top of the engine mount.  Hopefully when we bolt it all back up, we will be in proper alignment with the crank pulley.  We also removed some metal from the Hobie bracket to allow greater room for the hoses to connect to the Compressor outlets.

[Mike Rowe]

[Mike Rowe]

Above photos show electric heater tap and heater hose in and out through fire wall to Vintage Air Mini 11 aircon system.  I am still waiting for delivery of the 10x18 condenser from the US which was ordered on Aug 17 and still has not arrived over 3 weeks later.  In the mean time I have run the aircon wiring and controller and squeezed in the pipe ducting under the dash.  There is no adequate room for all this in reality.  Mounting the Evaporator under the dash is also extremely difficult.  A friend of mine came up with an innovative way to mount the Evaporator on Velcro straps attached to an alloy blanking plate I made to fill the hole in the firewall left by the removal of the original heater.  This meant that you didn't need to get to bolts behind the unit as supplied as mounting points.  Everything could be done from the front of the unit. A test of the idea worked, but I subsequently replaced the velcro straps with small cheap tie down straps which can pull down firmly from the front.  See photos of alloy blanking plate, covered in black foam and 3 tie down straps bolted on.  On the back of the plate is a foam seal against the firewall.  The 2 round holes on the rhs are for the heater hose pipes to and from the engine.

 

 

[TobyB]

Mike, your car looks so good,

I have to be 'that guy'-

 

go Vintage BMW and get some brass fittings to replace those plastic elbows.

PreModern BMW used a lot of plastic, and it's a constant failure point,

not to mention it just doesn't look so sexy.

 

And anyway, brass only causes cancer in California, so you'll be fine down in Oz.

 

t

 

[Mike Rowe]

8 hours ago, TobyB said:

Mike, your car looks so good,

I have to be 'that guy'-

go Vintage BMW and get some brass fittings to replace those plastic elbows.

t

 

Hi Toby, I couldn't find any brass elbows here when I was doing this, these were the only thing I found.  They are heavy duty, but I had thought when I sourced some brass ones I would replace them.  I was also thinking of painting them black in the mean time......

[Mike Rowe]

4 minutes ago, Mike Rowe said:

 

The car looks standard externally, although has adjustable suspension, uprated brakes etc, but under the bonnet departs from original fairly distinctively as you will see in the photos.  I have painted the tower bar black.  The interior has leather 135i front seats so car is not attempting to look original but hopefully tasteful.

[Mike Rowe]

Highnote 1  After days of drilling, cutting and filing, I have squeezed the air vents into the old heater control positions.  How did you go?

[Highnote1]

These are mine. 
 

 

[Mike Rowe]

16 minutes ago, Highnote1 said:

These are mine. 
 

 

Hi mate, yes I knew you had got yours in well.  You probably haven't got to it yet, but I was wondering if you had put the hoses from the Evaporator through on to the back of these vents yet?  once your dash is in and the Evaporator is in, there is very little room to slide the hose through and behind, and then you have to get the hose on the back of theses vents and clamp it on.  I'm trying to figure how to do that as you need to clamp the hose on top of the Evaporator and also clamp it on the back of the vent with a 2 way joiner in between to split to the two vents! The size of the hose won't allow it to come through these two previous heater control positions to clamp on the back of the vent and then push it back in.  The hose also is of poor quality and very thin and easily holes on things behind the dash I have found...

[Mike Rowe]

With the aid of a very good friend, this morning we fitted up the Evaporator properly and connected the air hoses to the back of the vents and the demisters.  This was a very difficult job that I could never have done on my own, but with one person pushing the vent mechanism into the hole, and the other person lying on the floor on the back, pulling the vent hose in behind the dash we managed to get the vents situated well into the dash locations previously used for the heater controls.  Likewise we ran and hooked up the demister hosing.  So now all the under dash work for the aircon is in place and I can get the Aircon man to come in and fit the fan, condenser and compressor and fab up the coolant hoses, safety switch and drier.

[Mike Rowe]

The Aircon is hooked up!  We worked without break from 1015am today through to 6pm tonight and fitted a SPAL 13 inch fan, the new condenser, the drier and safety switch, the compressor, the heater hoses and all the refrigerant hoses.  This required making various brackets and brainstorming solutions to attaching the condenser and the fan to the condenser.  We cut a hole from the cabin into the box section on the RHS similar to where the fuse box is on the LHS, and ran the refrig hoses through from the Evaporator out through the oval hole in the engine bay, along the RHS beneath the windscreen washer container to the compressor, and through another hole of the front radiator support panel to the drier and condenser.  It was not easy, but with expertise of the Aircon guy, the two of us prevailed.  During the fitting of everything we discovered that the radiator bottom outlet hits the compressor so I will have to get a fabricator to change the outlet from horizontal to a vertical 90.  Another change that no one has mentioned before.

[Highnote1]

How cold is it and how well does it blow!!

[Mike Rowe]

13 hours ago, Highnote1 said:

How cold is it and how well does it blow!!

Not operating yet, as I have to get the radiator bottom outlet changed to avoid the compressor