Date:         Fri, 25 Oct 2002 15:08:37 -0400
Reply-To:     The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Subject:      Re: AC adapter bracket for 82 Vanagon question
In-Reply-To:  <132.1614dccb.2aeadf18@aol.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

> Hello Ron:
> I have a question about your bracket that adapts rotary AC
> compressors for use with Vanagons that used the old York
> square compressors. Will this work for any rotary
> compressor that came out of a waterboxer based Vanagon?
> There is an 87 rotary compressor on ebay that is reasonably
>  priced and I was wondering if it would fit?
> What other modifications if any would be needed to
>  retrofit the rotary compressor and the new bracket?


My adapter kit is designed to use a Sanden SD508 (found on Vanagons thru
1985, as well as on many VW cars), not the 709 used in the '87 Vanagon. Not
that a 709 couldn't be used, but I don't know if anyone's tried it.  It is a
bit larger (as I recall) and somewhat less common than the rather generic
SD508 that the kit was designed for.

Basically this kit consists of brackets and hose adapters that are
specifically designed for mounting a modern rotary style A/C compressor
(SD508) to a type 4 ('73  thru '83 Bus/Vanagon) engine.  This compressor is
more efficient than the original York compressor, so it puts less of a
strain on the engine.  Since the A/C in aircooled Busses and Vanagons was
dealer-installed, no two were exactly the same. Therefore, even though the
major parts are included, some fabrication will almost certainly be
required, and exactly what you have to do may vary from one van to the next.
You may find that your existing hoses do not have push-on style connectors,
which means you may have to have a garage install push-on connectors onto
your existing hoses (or run new ones). You may find that you need to add an
extension for a hose or reroute it slightly. You will certainly have to
modify the engine tin slightly to make a good seal around the new
compressor, since it is a different shape.

As another alternative, I do sell original replacement York compressors - so
if all you need is a working compressor, you can just pop one of these in
without much hassle (but with no improvement over the original design).

Part numbers and prices:
Compressor Adapter/Mount Kit (for van with 1.7-2.0 liter aircooled engine):
# 2554  $79.95
Compressor for above (new, with clutch):   # SD508  $299.95
York Compressors (w/o clutch):   '71-78 Bus (most) # R210L $269.95  '78-83
(most) # SC209RM  $229.95

- Ron Salmon
  The Bus Depot, Inc.
  (215) 234-VWVW
  www.busdepot.com

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