Air conditioner

[Sean Mulholland]

I am restoring my 1969 Avanti II (rqa0304) back to original for next years meet. It has a delco air conditioner which I want to change back to a york unit but I need to see what the mounting and brackets look like. Can anyone help me.

[WayneC]

I am restoring my 1969 Avanti II (rqa0304) back to original for next years meet. It has a delco air conditioner which I want to change back to a york unit but I need to see what the mounting and brackets look like. Can anyone help me.

I used to own a 69, which, if I recall correctly, had a Delco A/C compressor from new... are you certain

yours didn't begin it's life with a Delco? I sold that car to SBCA96's dad (SBCA96 posts frequently

on this forum), so he could verify my memory.

I also owned a 66 which did have the York, but I doubt that I have any old photos showing it (I'm away

from home this week, so I can't dig up old photos).

Have you checked with Dan Booth at Nostalgic Motors? He may have the brackets, or at least

know whether your car should have a Delco or York...

call him at 248-349-4884 monday to thursday 10-4:30 eastern time.

Edited September 5, 2007 by WayneC

[Sean Mulholland]

I used to own a 69, which, if I recall correctly, had a Delco A/C compressor from new... are you certain

yours didn't begin it's life with a Delco? I sold that car to SBCA96's dad (SBCA96 posts frequently

on this forum), so he could verify my memory.

I also owned a 66 which did have the York, but I doubt that I have any old photos showing it (I'm away

from home this week, so I can't dig up old photos).

Have you checked with Dan Booth at Nostalgic Motors? He may have the brackets, or at least

know whether your car should have a Delco or York...

call him at 248-349-4884 monday to thursday 10-4:30 eastern time.

[abasile]

I own a 1968 Avanti II, Serial # RQA0271. It came from the factory with the Frididaire GM compressor as well. This makes sense it is a 327 Corvette engine in my car. Yours may have the 350 Corvette engine.

Al B in NC

[Gunslinger]

My '70 came with the Corvette engine with the York compressor. I've seen early Avanti II promotional material which clearly shows the York compressor installed, but I can't think of ever seeing any promotional materials showing the GM compressor, at least not until maybe the 1980's.

I would think Avanti Motors would have standardized one a/c system to make assembly easier but it could possibly have been an availability issue...they installed whatever compressor they could source at the best price. Possibly when they would place an order for engines from GM, compressors were or weren't available for them. A small company like Avanti Motors didn't have a lot of buying power for such small lots of components so they bought whatever was available at the time.

I spent some time in automotive retail many years ago and often a supplier rep comes in with an overstock of a part and gives a great price if you buy a bunch. It's possible Avanti Motors could have obtained a stash of the GM compressors from somewhere at too good a price to turn down. When they were used up they went back to the York. It's possible but I tend to think they simply bought what was available at the best price at time the parts were needed.

[Sean Mulholland]

Thanks for the input. The reason I think mine had a York compressor is that the hoses have York flanges and makeshit copper tubing (plumbing fittings as adapters. My sister had a 70 and it had a york. It doesn't matter to me which compressor I use I just don't want to be gigged for the wrong one.

My '70 came with the Corvette engine with the York compressor. I've seen early Avanti II promotional material which clearly shows the York compressor installed, but I can't think of ever seeing any promotional materials showing the GM compressor, at least not until maybe the 1980's.

I would think Avanti Motors would have standardized one a/c system to make assembly easier but it could possibly have been an availability issue...they installed whatever compressor they could source at the best price. Possibly when they would place an order for engines from GM, compressors were or weren't available for them. A small company like Avanti Motors didn't have a lot of buying power for such small lots of components so they bought whatever was available at the time.

I spent some time in automotive retail many years ago and often a supplier rep comes in with an overstock of a part and gives a great price if you buy a bunch. It's possible Avanti Motors could have obtained a stash of the GM compressors from somewhere at too good a price to turn down. When they were used up they went back to the York. It's possible but I tend to think they simply bought what was available at the best price at time the parts were needed.

[abasile]

I have owned Avantis since the late 60's. I had my cars serviced at Nemeth Brothers in Irvington, NJ. They were one of the leading Studebaker and then Avanti II dealers In NJ. I was at the dealership a lot in those days and I can tell you that almost no two new Avanti II's were the same. I remember seeing both Delco (Frigidaire) and York compressors on these cars. Having owned Avantis with both the York and Delco unit, it is my personal opinion that the Delco unit was the better choice. It was more reliable and weighs a lot less. Here is a picture of the plumbing on my current 1968 Avanti II. If yours looks like mine it is stock. No judge should give you a hard time.

Keep in mind Newman & Altman were only making a hundred or so cars a year. That is why the plumbing looks home made -- IT WAS!!

I agree with Gunslinger. Avanti II used what they could get a good price on in small quantities. That is one of the reasons they made money.

Edited October 15, 2007 by abasile