Volvo 240 Classic Auto AC Retrofit |
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UPDATED: February 13, 2019 CONTACT |
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INTRODUCTION![]() Getting satisfactory AC in an early 240 can be a real challenge. I sincerely believe these cars were not really designed for great cooling in warm weather. Older 240s ( pre-1991) with AC were just not up to the task. |
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Later 240 Air Conditioning Info |
![]() For those on you looking to convert an earlier 240 using later AC, here are some useful discussion threads: http://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=322912 http://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=330298 More general information about 240 AC systems can be found in the next section below. |
DURACOOL (Hydrocarbon Refrigerant) In 2012 gave up on propane and moved to Duracool R12 replacement http://www.duracool.com/. It seemed to be more consistent than propane and freeze ups were eliminated. I tried a number of different thermal expansion valves and a LARGE number of different expansion valve settings for my 240. I got pretty good cooling on the highway, but I still found problems at idle (although it seemed a little better). I kept experimenting over the years with many different expansion valves and a huge variety of different adjustment settings on those valves. Things never got any better and I remained unsatisfied in my AC. Aftermarket AC Systems Over the years, whenever I would come across custom hot rods at car shows with custom retrofitted AC systems from Classic Auto Air or Vintage Air, I became very interested in the results and I would interrogate the owners about how well they worked. I'm a SKEPTIC by nature and I remember the old JC Whitney catalogs many years ago, which had cheap looking under-dash AC systems. JC Whitney did not have a reputation for high quality stuff and I never actually tried any of their AC systems. So my past skepticism tended to polute any confidence I might develop in aftermarket AC systems. The answers I got, however, from every one of those hot rod owners about their Classic Auto Air or Vintage Air systems were very positive. So after Michael Yount successfully installed his system in his 240 (below), I paid attention and started seriously re-considering.
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CLASSIC AUTO
AIR
First came Michal Yount's 240 Installation This is what began my conversion from skepticism to a belief that real 240 AC was possible.
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![]() Try not to be confused when you browse Classic Auto Air's webpage. They also show setups using CABLE controls, but they fail to explain very well why they show both setups. Basically the cable controls they offer are designed for classic cars where the owner wants to retain the original look of vintage cable controls. |
MY 1984 240
INSTALLATION (2017)
Dynamat Installation Came First Three different Dynamat products are used below: Dynamat Extreme, Dynapad and Dynaliner. I began this installation in the summer of 2017. Before working on the AC, I decided this would be a good time to gut the interior and cover as much as possible with sound deadening material. I had been planning this part for a while and I had bought some Dynamat a year earlier. My 242 was pretty loud inside when driving. You didn't really notice it much until you drove a newer, much more quiet car. It made conversation difficult and listening to a radio pretty useless. This was my first experience with Dynamat, however I have used cheaper alternatives in past years.
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Classic
Auto Air Installation in my 242 Introduction of the Steet Rod Cooler III
Classic Auto Air's
webpage and catalog is mainly focused on
tailored kits for vintage domestic cars and a
some vintage foreign cars. There is a small page
on universal
AC kits, but I thought it was sadly
light on real usable info for someone seriously
looking at this as a full custom
installation. They could improve things by
adding more info about full custom or
non-standard installations. You have to
hunt through different places in their pages to
find useful info. I hope they begin adding more
photos, explanations and general info for custom
stuff.
These custom units can be found by clicking on their Universal AC Systems link. Aside from the awesome information I got from Michael Yount, I learned the most by reading the Classic Auto Air's installation instructions (where the illustration diagram above came from). They have a PDF file found at the bottom of the webpage for the Street Rod Cooler III.
There were not many
photos of this unit in their site, so I have
included some detailed photos here.
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![]() If you're wondering what a Parallel Flow Condenser is, it's basically a newer and better design than the original condensers our 240s came with. They are reported to be about 30% more efficient than the old type my car came with. |
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![]() I cut a rigid piece of plastic to the precise shape of the hole. It helps to make this piece out of cardboard first. Then after you have the size just right, transfer that shape to the plastic (or metal or whatever material you decide to use). Then I applied a generous bead of 3M black Super Weatherstrip Adhesive around the edge and installed it. I further sealed the opening with Dynamat. Those two brackets are the original sheet metal brackets that used to hold the Volvo factory heater/AC box. As Michael did, I used those brackets for the top mounts for the new AC box. |
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DUCT
WORKINGS
![]() <<< They sent 4 of these and they came in handy. Strangely, these are NOT shown in their catalog. They are similar to PN 2-2028-4 in their catalog. The adapters I got were listed on my invoice as PN 0069-4. Cost was $12.50 each. SIZE: I measured them as 5 1/8 x 2 x 2 5/8 inches with an oval tube inlet. |
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![]() <<< I did not use these. Michael Yount said he used some DIFFERENT defrost vents supplied by Classic Auto Air: Classic Auto Air PN 2-1053 and 2-1054. These are shown in the catalog pic above. He attached them under his dash using screws through the dash top. I decided to go a different route using the original 240 defrost vents that you'll see below. |
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Assembling New
AC Hoses
Classic Auto Air has a selection of refrigerant hose parts, however their catalog did not have all the fittings I needed. I ordered the below hose parts from coldhose.com. A part inventory list with part numbers is listed below CLICK HERE. C R I M P I N G C R I M P I N G C R I M P I N G For hose fitting assembly, I already had an AC fitting crimper. It's an expensive hydraulic type I bought years ago when I began doing my own AC work. It can cost over $500 now. Since there is now a less expensive option for DIY AC mechanics, I recommend the Mastercool 71550 manual hose crimper. It can be mounted to a vise or a bench and best of all it's only around $150. Or you can go to a hose shop for your hoses. If you do that you can expect to pay quite a bit, so buying your own tools makes sense to me if you might be doing this more than once in a lifetime.
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Hose Parts
Inventory
This list covers all AC hoses. All fittings are aluminum. Below items were ordered from coldhose.com.
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![]() I made the covers by forming some 1/32 inch gray PVC plastic sheet from McMaster Carr: https://www.mcmaster.com/#8748K21. I then painted them black and added labels. That PVC sheeting may be formed easily with some heat from a hair drier or heat gun and is easily trimmed with scissors. If you try this, make a cover out of cardboard first so you have a good template. ![]() |
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Charging with
Refrigerant Classic Auto Air has some specific instructions for charging a Street Rod Cooler III.
Air conditioning systems don't like air. Air doesn't harm the system, but it's a lousy refrigerant, so you need to get it out of the system. Air conditioning systems don't like moisture either. Moisture attacks metal parts and will eventually cause the compressor valves and rings to fail. That's the main reason systems sometimes get vacuumed for hours and hours. It's not the air so much as the water vapor that needs to be removed.
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![]() <<< Can #2 took about 20 minutes. Here are the final pressure readings after installing just under 24 ounces. R134a Low: 27 PSI. High: 270 PSI. |
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Observations
and
Results
The air turbine in
this new AC unit is smaller than those in
original Volvo 240 air boxes. That
was easy to see since the new unit is more compact
than the Volvo box. So I expected the airflow on
HIGH setting would not be as powerfull as the
original unit and I was right. I can't offer
a more precise quantification. If
this is a dealbreaker for you, then you should
keep your original system.
VENT TEMPERATURE PERFORMANCE WITH R134a I spent a couple weeks testing with R134a. With R134a I was getting IDLE vent temps of 50 degrees Fahrenheit with an ambient temp of 90 degrees. Running at highway speeds did bring the vent temps down a few degrees to as low as 46 degrees. This did offer reasonably comfortable driving, but it was NOT making me smile. I decided I spent too much money to not get a smile out of this!
Duracool is advertised to be 35% to 40% more efficient than R134a (it's similar to the efficiency of R12). It produces significantly lower head pressures than R134a. R134a pressures seen for this installation: 27 PSI low, 270 PSI high. Duracool pressures: 14 PSI low, 125 PSI high. LESS DURACOOL IS REQUIRED COMPARED TO R134a (or R12a). 24 ounces of R134a was required for this setup. The Duracool equivalent is 10 ounces. Yes, 10 ounces. Here's a chart below showing exact conversions (also found in the Duracool site FAQ section). ![]()
Here an information video from Duracool. (3:41 length) MY VENT TEMPERATURE PERFORMANCE WITH DURACOOL TEST RESULTS: Updated Summer 2018 Testing was done at idle and on the road. ![]() When summer 2018 came along, I did more testing with ambient temperatures of more than 100º F. Vent temperature at idle in my garage was 46º F. Since 46º F felt pretty good with that kind of outside temperature, I was curious about my wife's new Subaru Forester. So I tested the Subaru AT IDLE with the same 100º F plus outside temperature. It recorded a vent temperature of 43º F. The old 240 wasn't too far behind that. ROAD TESTING: While road testing the Volvo at 55 mph, I saw a low vent temperature of 31-32º F with an outside temperature of 105º F. NET TEMPERATURE DROPS: So it appears my vent temperature drop below ambient is around 53º-55º F at idle and around 68º-74º F degrees at 55 mph. This is awesome cooling compared to before! Yes, this makes me smile. |
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