1971 Avanti air condition imorovement

[Dave Carter]

I have had the car for 15 years. My factory a  /c has never made the car very cold. How  do I greatly improve it?

[ronmanfredi]

Are you getting cold air out of the vents but the cars interior isn't cooling down OR is the air not cold coming out of the vents?

[mfg]

Truth is ‘63-‘85 Avanti air conditioning systems really can’t compare with newer vehicles A/C.., mainly because of  (I believe) the lack of adjustable vents built into the upper dashboard.

[Adam DeRosa]

We'll nee some more information before offering suggestions.

1. What's the current condition of the AC system? Are the compressor, condenser, hoses, evaporator, etc in good shape? Is the system charged properly? 

2. Have you taken steps to minimize outside heat from entering the cabin? Are all engine compartment grommets and seals in place? Are the footwell fresh air and heater doors closing properly? Is the heater control water valve closing properly? 

[Jim S]

I have sealed every single opening (in my 72) from the engine compartment and placed Dynamat under the carpet. And yet my interior gets very hot (even in cold weather). I’m at a loss as to how to keep it cool inside. AC would not help in my car no matter how well it worked. 

[Mel]

I remember reading one very early review of the Avanti.  The author stated the car did not have A/C but he could keep the temperature tolerable on the southern California highway by closing the front windows, opening the front foot vents, the center air vent with the temp control off, and the rear seat side vents.  Haven't tried it, but may.

[mfg]

16 minutes ago, Mel said:

I remember reading one very early review of the Avanti.  The author stated the car did not have A/C but he could keep the temperature tolerable on the southern California highway by closing the front windows, opening the front foot vents, the center air vent with the temp control off, and the rear seat side vents.  Haven't tried it, but may.

I think that author worked in the Studebaker PR department!!!

[ronmanfredi]

18 hours ago, Jim S said:

I have sealed every single opening (in my 72) from the engine compartment and placed Dynamat under the carpet. And yet my interior gets very hot (even in cold weather). I’m at a loss as to how to keep it cool inside. AC would not help in my car no matter how well it worked. 

I'm building a 63 R2 with a new exhaust and A/C.  I've also added heat protection material similar to Dyna mat on the entire floor, firewall and upper panel under the dash (I had the dash out for replacement).  The console has been covered inside and out also. There is still a lot of heat coming through the "dyna mat" area of the floor above the exhaust system. Once the engine is at full operating temperature and running at a fast idle, the metal skin of the material becomes hot enough that you don't want to touch if very long.  The problem areas are the front and rear footwell areas plus under the front seat.  This is about a 15" wide area off of the console sides that are causing the problems.  The console area is not radiating heat at this time.  The problem is the average heat of 1200-1800 degrees coming off of the exhaust is easily penetrating the thin fiberglass floor.  The solution is to either reduce the heat off of the exhaust or add another layer of heat reducing mat on the inside or underside of the floor.  As a test, I added a second layer in a section of the floor to see what happens.  Heat is reduced with that second layer, but still there. 

Full exhaust pipe wraps are not an option for several reasons.  A company called Heat Shield Products offers a wrap that covers about 80% of an exhaust pipe and muffler, but leaves about an inch of the underside of the pipes exposed to prevent pipe cracking and any moisture caused corrosion.  While not cheap, I'm willing to invest the money to get the heat under control.  The other option is to add a heat barrier underneath the floor to reflect the heat away from the floor, which I'm looking at as an option.  We will see how it goes.

[Jim S]

Great information, thank you1