Thread: Classic Air?

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What are your opinions of classic air? I am building sort of a resto mod and definitely want a/c. I just wanted to know what people thought before spending the money.

Welcome to Club Hot Rod. I have worked with Vintage Air and have compared them against others and to be honest they all appear very similiar. About the only real difference between many A/C systems is the switch plate and optional vents etc, the basic systems are all the same, the blower/airhandler/evaporator; compressors; driers; condensors etc are made by different suppliers and repackaged under a proprietary name and that leaves only the accessories (billet difusers, control panels etc).

Originally Posted by ojh

Welcome to Club Hot Rod. I have worked with Vintage Air and have compared them against others and to be honest they all appear very similiar. About the only real difference between many A/C systems is the switch plate and optional vents etc, the basic systems are all the same, the blower/airhandler/evaporator; compressors; driers; condensors etc are made by different suppliers and repackaged under a proprietary name and that leaves only the accessories (billet difusers, control panels etc).

Be sure you have the room for everything under the dash.

I've only used the Vintage Air system and can speak mostly about that - and they are good. There is a size that will fit almost any under the dash or if crowded with other gadgets. They also have one that will fit in the trunk. Without knowing what you are building don't know your size restrictions, but mine was a Vintage Air Gen ll Compact and was installed out of sight in a '30-'31 with a 5.5" recessed firewall along with a fair amount of reinforcing steel - that is until I decided having a/c in a roadster wasn't worth it. While it ended up totally assembled and all hoses run, it was never charged. Below are a couple of photos.

Vintage - they do have a very good reputation, parts if needed are immediately shipped and they have a good customer service. The other companies - several have gone for various reasons, mostly the economy.


Under dash

Under dash

Just before disassemby for paint

How about a slightly biased opinion... I do some illustration work for Classic, and have compared both systems side by side. There is a fit and finish difference between the two (classic is nicer, albeit most parts you don't see after installation), Classic's system has a greater cooling capacity (due to simple increases in capacity)... and... this is the big one, take a Vintage evap case apart and look the route the air has to take - strange engineering design, 40% of their airflow hits a wall and then has to mix back in at a 75% angle against the flow of the other air.

I guess with your biased opinion you neither look at reliability nor service - which, I can assure you that the Vintage Air has. Pretty in a hidden device doesn't count which is what you seem to be preaching. And yes, I did take my Vintage apart and quite frankly, you are full of it, Mr spammer, with your description of the air path and fit and finish