Air conditioning unit instalation

[Jonathan]

I have a navy '73 CSi USA coupe (sunroof and 5 sp. manual conversion) that is almost finished restoration into top condition. I also bought a green '73 CS rust bucket donor car with excellent interior for spare parts. Here's the issue: The donor car has a perfect OEM air conditioning unit and my good car does not. Should I install the air conditioning unit or not??? I've heard from many people that the air conditioners never worked well even when new. I've also read on some blogs that these air con. units water outflow contributed to rust in the floor pans.

What are some thought??

-Jonathan
'73 CSi
'73 CS
'97 528i (with 300K miles!)

 

[Malc]

Johnathan,
Some points to ponder...
1... Where do you live, moderate climate, extreme climate?
2... The "old" unit can be upgraded with better compressors etc, to make it more efficient, this has been discussed before.
3... It's a lot of work to install correctly.
4... Yes the drainage wasn't that clever, but care in installation with well thought out drains etc will reduce the dreaded rust problem.
5... Its the condition of the unit reasonable or will there be components that need replacing?

Personally the need for A/C is not an issue, I live in Scotland, but you have to weigh up in your own mind if you really want it and concider the work that is involved.
Malc

 

[Jonathan]

Air con.

Thanks for the info., Malc. I live in Philadelphia so it's a Northern climate. I'm inclined to agree with you that air con. is not essential especially considering the cost of instalation and potential water flow problems...

Jonathan

 

[84E24]

Rust bucket

Jonathan, pm me about your rust bucket.

Thanks, Steve

 

[jmackro]

Johnathan: Are you saying that your '73 US delivery coupe came without ANY air conditioning? Somehow, I had believed that all US cars had A/C. Or, are you saying that the CSI has non-functional A/C, and you want to swap in the components from the donor?

Adding A/C to a car not originally equipped sounds like a big job to me, but admittedly I have never attempted it. One plus: your donor will provide not only the components, but also show you where holes and brackets need to be located.

Actually, the A/C in my '70 2800CS works pretty darn well, even with the stock reciprocating compressor. And, I live in a very sunny (though not super hot) climate. My coupe was practically un-usable in the summer before I got the A/C working.

I did drill a hole into the plastic heater/AC box, and routed a 3/8" OD plastic hose to carry away the condensate. Dunno how it was supposed to drain - perhaps the original drain became clogged - but the plastic box used to fill up with water until it was deep enough to slosh out onto the carpets when going around turns! Not good.