Date:         Tue, 3 Apr 2001 19:09:26 -0700
Reply-To:     Steve Arbaugh <sneakers@OZ.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Steve Arbaugh <sneakers@OZ.NET>
Subject:      Re: Odd AC contraption
In-Reply-To:  <3ACA1590.89FBA0CE@bomb-proof.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Drew:

I had this arrangement on the '78 I had while in school, so while the
vehicle is different, the results, I think, are pretty much comparable. This
a/c arrangement was great for the front seats. Lotsa cold air, good air
flow, blows from the top and sinks down to the floor. Very nice. The rear
passengers are mostly toast (no, not literally). The middle seat will get
some cool air from the rear vents, but the rear is outta luck unless the
fans are cranked on hi, then it's too noisy to even think. The fans are
right behind your head, so it is noisy, and the view to the rear is somewhat
restricted (ah, but that may be a bay window thing, not a vanagon thing).

Issues with this system were long hose runs from the engine to the
evaporator and condenser. The evaporator was on the small size, so the
vehicle never got cool, but the cool air blowing on you masked that. The
placement of the part of the unit behind the front seats that goes across
the van prevented me from putting the seatback where I wanted: lean it back
to be really comfy and my head was about 2 inches into the unit, so it was a
compromise for comfort there.

The last thing, which is definitely a bay window thing, was the condenser
was mounted under the floor behind the front axle. There were two honkin'
big fans that cooled the condenser, but they blew the hot air from the
condenser up onto the floor, which got very warm. Musta been them germans
and their brat-n-beer lunches...

Steve
'85 westy
kent, wa

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM]On Behalf Of
Drew Bedford
Sent: Tuesday, April 03, 2001 11:25 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Odd AC contraption

I was trolling around at my local wrecker and happened on a Vanagon with
an AC system over the driver's seat area. The hoses ran from the engine
area under the van, then up the passenger's-side pillar just forward of
the sliding door. The temperature controls and vents were all situated
up on the ceiling. It looked to be about an '83 or '84 van. Has anyone
seen this before? I obviously haven't, but was wondering if I could
transplant this into my 83.5. I'd be happy to sacrifice my headliner for
some cool in the summer. Pros, cons, experiences?
TIA,
Drew Bedford
83.5 Westy
Park City, Utah