AC & Heater stripped...

[egilone]

The AC and Heater box has been stripped from a recently acquired
'72 El Cam.. any suggestions on best way to get back to warm/cool...

Thanx for any suggestions..

Regards, E.G. (egil) Ross
Apple Valley, CA.
egilone@juno.com.

[mnunn]

Previous owner did exactly the same thing to my 70. He lived in SoCal, where it might have made some sense. It makes no sense here in Rhode Island!!

My options:
Do without and drive only on pleasant days - (Since mine's a weekend playtoy that I don't drive in Winter on salty roads, this works for all but the warmest summer days when I sweat like a pig in the summer traffic)

Hunt for an original HVAC setup off a similar A-body car (costs about $300 and up around here, if you can find one. Then add to that the cost of dealing with R-12 freon, and replacing any bad/leaky parts. Even after all that you've still got an ugly old system with hoses running all over and taking up a bunch of firewall space. Not to mention if you have a BBC, the minimal clearance for the pass side valve cover.

Option 3- Buy an aftermarket system (R134a?) for $1200 or more. It's neater inside and out and some use the car's original vents. Not sure how much noisier or more/less efficient they are than stock. This is the option I'll pursue for my 70 when I get the money.

Hope it helps.