Rob's 1960 non AC 430 to AC Install

[YellowRose]

Rob's 1960 non AC 430 to AC Install

Thanks, John. I think he has enough room to get to the nut and loosen it. I will let him know what you said. He is not greatly into using a computer much, so I do a lot of the posting for him...

[Joe Johnston]

61 and later Thunderbirds with AC had a PS reservoir on the inner fender. Perhaps these parts could be used?

[YellowRose]

Rob's 1960 non AC 430 to AC Install

Thanks, Joe! I passed that on to Rob and the pic. John ~ jopizz, would this work on Rob's 430MEL engine, or is the PS reservoir for the 430 different? Here is what Joe said and the pic...

"Picture shows the remote reservoir and stock 63 AC compressor. May be a possibility for Rob as Ford used similar PS pumps for many years."

[jopizz]

It would definitely work as the pump is the same. The parts shouldn't be too hard to find used. However it's probably a lot of extra work considering how seldom the fluid would need to be checked.

John

[YellowRose]

Rob's 1960 non AC 430 to AC Install

Thanks, John! I passed that onto Rob, and he was already thinking about how he was going to handle that situation. I suggested that he try taking that nut off, and see if he can check his fluid level. If so, without it taking to much, he will probably just leave it a lone. If it is a problem, then he has something to really think through about it. As you said, it is probably not going to be to often that he will need to check it, and he is considering that also. Thanks for confirming that this looks like it would work if he wanted to go that route....

[OX1]

He can't use lid from post #16 of this thread?

[YellowRose]

Rob's 1960 non AC 430 to AC Install

Henry, he said there is about an inch or slightly less between the top of the reservoir and the bottom of the mounting bracket. It MIGHT fit in that gap right to the left of the bracket where you can see the top of the cover, but he would have to try it... I will send him the pic, and see if he wants to give it a shot... Here is that pic from post 16.

[YellowRose]

Rob took some pix of the space between the top of his PS reservoir and the AC mounting bracket. Here is what he had to say.

Hello Ray, Poor photos but I do have about one inch of space to take off the top so I think I am in good shape but I need to make sure that I can open, fill and shut it. Will do that this weekend. Best wishes, Rob."

Here are the pix...

[bird 60]

That looks tight. Why not move the compressor bracket closer to the center of the block, or make the bracket higher, providing there's space in between the hood. I believe mine is the same set up, or very similar, but I have loads of space. You can see pictures on Our Rides with mine.

Chris.....From OZ.

[YellowRose]

Rob's 1960 non AC 430 to AC Install

Hi Chris, thanks for that information. I took a look at that pic and I can see what you are saying. I am not sure if your AC is OEM or a CAA "Perfect Fit". In any case, his being a non-AC Tbird, I gather that by having to use that adapter mounting bracket I found for him, to mount to the CAA mounting bracket, that moved the whole system out further than what yours is. Or it might be because Rob has a 430MEL in the engine bay and you have a 352? I will send that picture to Rob, though and post it here also. What is your installation, OEM, or aftermarket, and if aftermarket, which company? Here is what Chris is speaking of...

[bird 60]

My Air con is O.E.M. The compressor is after market, & yes mine is a 352ci. However, you can tell when comparing the two, mine seats about 2" higher. Having said that, I don't know if it has anything to do with it being a 430ci block.

Chris.....From OZ.

[YellowRose]

Rob's 1960 non AC 430 to AC Install

Thanks, Chris. I thought that was probably an aftermarket compressor. To nice and shiny to be old! BTW, Rob says he is going to see if he can get his top off, and top of his fluid level while at it. He is asking what brand or type of fluid to put in it? He has no idea what is in it already...

[bird 60]

The same as the Automatic transmission oil.

Chris....From OZ.

[YellowRose]

Some time back, Rob and Don said they would put together an overview of what they experienced in working with, and installing the Classic Auto Air "Perfect Fit" aftermarket AC kit into Rob's '60 430MEL Squarebird. Don has provided me with his commentary on it, which I shared with Steve and CAA this morning. Steve said that he will certainly look into any shortcomings and see what can be done to fix those problem areas in the future. Here is what Don had to say.

A/C kit...how cool is that?

This summer I had the pleasure of working with Rob and Bea McLellan this past summer installing a air conditioning kit from Classic Cars.

The (CAA) Representative and square bird expert (Me, I gather!) was instrumental in accomplishing the task. We had many challenges ahead of us the biggest was to find a bracket for the compressor. Very few 430 engines came with A/C.

Although the kit was made for the chassis no hardware was included for the support of the hoses. At least half of the time spent was on making brackets and getting the correct screws.

The kit did not include wire connectors or tie straps.

The supporting bracket for the rear of the in-dash unit was too short.

All of the sheet metal screws were too short along with other wrong sized fasteners.

No switch was provided or even mentioned that would allow the AC compressor to be shut off independently of the blower motor.

The adapter collar for the defroster duct was the wrong size.

We had missing nuts for the heater hose pipes but had no trouble reporting to the kit company and having them sent to us.

The fan switch had to be modified and the instructions did not cover this.

As a professional auto technician working with "Add on kits" I would rate this on a scale of 1 to 10 as a 5.

I can speculate that over the years there have been changes due to suppliers that no longer make the fasteners and what was thought to be an suitable replacement was not vetted.

I hope this report helps not only manufacture of the kit but gives insight into the challenges faced by the installers.

Don Reid ASE Master and Volvo expert technician.

Steve agrees that the problem of incorrect size or length of parts, missing parts might have been caused by losing or changing parts providers over the years and they will certainly check into that, and other points brought up... Overall, I can tell you that Don and Rob are very pleased (last I heard) with the results of the install and the great cooling it is providing after test driving it several times. Rob has not had a really good opportunity to get the Bird out on a typical Texas hot day, because of the season, but he will be able to do so in a few more months. I think the expectation is that the AC Kit is going to do the trick and keep them nice and cool during the Dog Days of Texas heat!

[YellowRose]

Since we have several others who are working on doing an OEM AC to CAA "Perfect Fit" upgrade on their 352 or 430 Tbird, I thought I would put this information together for you. Below is a list of all the parts companies and especially salvage yards where you might find the parts you may need to do this conversion.

What to look for in the way of a mounting bracket to work with the Classic Auto Air "Perfect Fit" aftermarked AC kit.

1958-1960 Squarebird EDJ-2882-B Engine to York AC Compressor mounting bracket.

Or
1958-1960 Lincoln and perhaps beyond, XE-48002 Engine to York AC Compressor mounting bracket.

Possible Contacts. I found the XE-48002 mounting bracket in California at one of the major scrap yards, off a 1958 Lincoln 430 with AC on it.

From the Advertisements Forum... Some of these companies can tell you who may have what part they have in stock by providing them with the Ford Part #. The short listing at the top are companies I have used to locate parts nationwide. Their contact information is located in the Advertisements Forum. Some have the ability to search nationwide to see who might have that part in their inventory. So give them both Part #'s, EDJ-2882-B and XE-48002.

First try Car Part.com

https://www.car-part.com/

Key in Year, (if you do it right they will let you key in 1958-1960 for example). Ford Thunderbird or Lincoln, then USA (or Canada or Mexico). Since there is no listing for an York AC Mounting Bracket I searched under A/C Compressor, hoping they had a Tbird or a Lincoln with the compressor or the mounting bracket still attached to the engine... Here were two results of my search. You can search for Ford Tbird (or Lincoln and similar models), or for Tbirds only.
Year Part Model Description Part Grade Stock# US Price Dealer Info Dist mile
1960
A/C Compressor Assembly
Ford Thunderbird 4130 $Call Eagle Auto Parts USA-OH(Cleveland) Request_Quote 216-883-0500 Request_Insurance_Quote 1265
1958
A/C Compressor Assembly
Ford Thunderbird 5.8L A R-148 $75 Hidden Valley Auto Parts USA-AZ(Maricopa) E-mail 602-252-2122 / 520-568-2945 834

Other companies to check.
NOS Parts
NOS Only
Lincoln Parts
Lincoln/Mercury Old Parts Store
Mark II Parts
Obsolete & Classic Auto Parts

"Fuzz" Johnson Tbird Parts....
All Classic Ford Parts~Salvage
C & G Ford Parts
Christian Bros Ford~Obsolete Parts
Classic Auto Parts
Classic Cars Unlimited Auto Parts
Colorado Auto & Parts
CTC's Auto Ranch Inc.~Salvage
Desert Valley Auto Parts, Arizona~Salvage
Green Sales Co-Obsolete Ford, Lincoln, Mercury Parts
Hilltop Classics
Jim Wulf's Tbird Garage Parts Links
Jims Tbird Parts & Service
John Draxler ~ Thunderbird Ranch
John's Salvage Company
Klimesh Motor Sales~Obsolete Parts
Miller Obsolete Parts
Stefan's Thunder Cars&Parts-'58-76 Tbirds
Tison Motor Co. ~ Obsolete Parts