John92LT1

My '79 has survived 4 years of high school at the hands of my children (2 years with my daughter after she got her license, and then 2 with her younger brother), and now that they will both be off to college, it is mine again, and time to have some fun! In addition to the big items (new motor w/much more power, rebuilt trans, new cooling system, etc.), I need to replace the heater core. Yeah, that was one of those things the kids had to live with... The guys at my shop have suggested that instead of doing all the work to replace the stock heater core & still having the marginal 35+ year old A/C system, I should upgrade to Vintage Air. The cost isn't bad, and that would be an easy decision if I had a pre-78, where the kit fits perfectly & discretely, but there are a couple of "issues" with this in later C3, and I can't decide if it is worth living with those. For the record, I live on the TX Gulf Coast, so this driver needs some A/C to be useful over half the year by me & my 70+ year old father, who I plan to share it with.

Anyway, the costs/issues with the vintage air in this are:
- different control plate. I am trying to confirm the sizes, but the look is different from stock. Here is a link to their options:
http://www.vintageair.com/2015%20Cat...talog%2045.pdf

- Since the new system sits entirely inside the firewall, I would lose most/all the glove compartment. Geee, where will I put my cassette tapes?

So what do you think? I know from others in the area that these kits provide incredible cooling, even with all the glass & glass tops on the C3, but I don't know about these issues. If you are wondering, the car is a driver, not a show car. It has a non-stock motor, so it is never going to be that collectible.

John

minitech

Definitely do that compared to trying to make the old air work. Not perfect drop in like 76 and earlier, need the control panel but worth it.

wendellp601

John - You've obliviously thought this out and done your research.
I'm looking into doing the same thing in my 1977, which will also require the control you linked.

One of the forum vendors is running a sale right now.
Here's a link to his thread.
You may want to contact him and get a quote for your "custom" system.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...al-1250-a.html

Rotonda

John,

Two comments:
1) I've put a Vintage Air system into my 77, including the 3 **** VA controls, and I did a write up on it. Do a search. (At the time, I learned that the ***** would not work with the controller in the 68-76 kit. This may have changed, but suggest you discuss with VA before buying anything.)
2) Another forum contains many threads by 'autowiz'. He is a professional mechanic working at a Florida east coast shop that that specializes in Vintage Air installs in 78-82 vettes. His posts & photos will help you with your project. PM me for the name of the forum he is on.

rastafford3164

Obviously, do what makes you happy. My situation is similar to yours, not original Motor, a/c was not reinstalled before I bought the car so I had done some research on adding it back. I am still a few years away from the teardown, but decided I didn't want the control issue. Don't remember the cost comparison (I keep all those notes in a big notebook), but there is an outfit, I think it was classic auto air maybe, that has a kit to refit the old a/c with new components and the smaller Sanders compressor with the newer freon since our years had the a/c anyway and use the original controls. Good luck with your decision.

C3 4ME

for me having to use the control panel shown would be a deal breaker, but that's just my opinion. I finally got the factory AC working in my 79 last summer, but have not had the car out on a really hot day to see how it really works. In the few times I've used the AC, is seems that more air flow would be better, and i know there's an upgrade many have done to a C4 fan, so I may look into that. I also did the heater core myself during the winter of '15. It's not hard to do, just time consuming, and I found an excellent write up here on the forum.

John92LT1

Thanks all for the info and input. Opinions, info, options, etc.- that is exactly what I hoped for! I did a forum search before, but obviously had it over-constrained, using "79". I'll check again.

I know that I could replace the core myself- I did that long ago in a 1981, but (warning- lame excuses ahead...), I have missed "auto repair season" in my gulf coast garage (TOO HOT/HUMID!), and my work schedule of 6-7 days/wk doesn't allow the time right now- for working on the car OR driving it!

Richard Daugird

I'm on the Gulf Coast as well, but I have A/C in my garage! It's a must have for me, I hate the heat. Best thousand dollars I ever spent.