i used a black plastic ball from a cheby truck and mounted it behind the pass. fender splash guard... ......
That's what I had in mind too. The first thing I do when I get to Jackson will be to raid Pull-A-Part for everything that Comet has, plus a vac canister, and go looking for a bigger condenser.
And lastly, don't get too discouraged if you don't drive back home with the a/c working. What you are undertaking here is a pretty major job, especially since you have to put both cars back together. I'm not saying it can't be done, just that I don't think that I could do it in a week. But then again, I am a litle too old to be busting my butt under the dash of a car, especially if it is being done outdoors...with no a/c !!! I've talked with a company that installs the VintageAir a/c systems and for about $1500-$1800 they will do the entire job, all I have to do is bring em the car. That's a lot of money but when you figure everything you need to buy (if you don't have any of the parts needed) and all of the labor involved...losing a weeks vacation or more, that price starts sounding pretty good.
well most of the swap will be easy.... i had to pull the whole system to find my vacuum leaks. the hard part would be the dash... i didnt have to pull that. good luck
So as of today this whole big scheme is under way. I have seen the donor car, and it's in really good shape! I see signs of extensive AC work having been done, and it's only a couple of years old. It has a big new aftermarket condenser, new receiver/dryer, hoses, R134a fittings... About the only AC components under the hood that don't look new are the compressor itself and the expansion valve, which I have already bought. Inside I didn't get very deep yet, but the vents are in good shape, the controls move freely, it's all very encouraging. Just two little things bothered me, and they aren't that major. One, before it was wrecked and parked it "threw the belt." Now that could mean it just popped off - it happens - or, it could mean the compressor seized. I haven't checked that yet. If so, then I need a new compressor and I'm not really freaking out about that. The other thing is the system doesn't currently have any pressure. That of course means a leak somewhere, a hole in the evaporator core, something horrible... Or, it just means after sitting for a long time, a slow leak led to an empty system. That happens too. I'll be replacing any o-rings I find, so maybe it will be alright. Or maybe I'll find a busted heater core put water all over the evaporator core and rusted a hole in it. Don't know, just don't know... For now, I have to complete my end of the bargain - install a transmission in a '94 Celica. Let me just tell you folks this right now; if anybody ever asks you to do this, run. Do not walk, do not look back. I hope I never have to drop a transmission in a FWD car again in my life. Current status... Today we obtained the transmission, set up our work area, (ON DIRT! ) and I've disconnected pretty much everything. The starter's off, converter bolts, (six of them?!?) dipstick tube, electrical connections, linkage, cooler lines, the #@%&ing CV shafts... The engine is supported in a homemade cradle, the trans is on a proper trans jack, and now we just have to pull the three mounts and the rest of the bellhousing bolts to drop it. We'll have that done tomorrow (Wednesday) and hopefully the new transmission installed by dawn Thursday morning. (We've opted to work vampire hours due to the upper 90's temps and good ol' Mississippi humidity.) Thursday evening the AC conversion begins.
Got started again last night on the Celica, finished up about 10am this morning. Glad that's over with! The plan was to start pulling AC parts tonight, but we need daylight to get started because the donor car is off in the woods in an un-steerable state. We need to get all the junk out from around it, move it forward a few feet and spray all the wasps out of it. I think we both slept longer than we should have, and it took the guy longer than he expected to secure a 12v spotlight, so long story short we're starting in the morning. The heat will be brutal. I may not get a tech article out of this in the next few days, but I think there will be a story...
Today we pulled the donor Maverick out of the woods, and since we had daylight this time, I took a few pics. Tonight we'll be tearing this sucker down...
Some pics of our work area... Yeah, this is where we swapped the transmission. I probably have been more filthy at the end of an automotive project, but I don't know when.
Engine compartment shots... I have some cleaning and painting to do, but overall the AC components are in really nice condition. Before this car was customized by a high school kid it was "grandma fresh" and you can tell the AC was recently gone through and done right. It has a very nice condenser, and I think that's an aftermarket receiver/dryer too. (Not that I had sense enough to include that in the pic...)
Looks like at least the work area has a stove, ac and pleanty of urinal space . So you gonna get the brackets and all, right? Those bumper moldings look decent.
Unfortunately it's not a full-on parts car yet... It needs a tie rod, front bumper and brackets, fender, grille, valence, headlight bucket, that piece of sheet metal behind the bumper whose name currently escapes me, a severe cleaning, and that's about it. The car's almost rust-free and can definitely be resuscitated. Dude just doesn't care very much about AC and needed his Celica back on the road.
