Air conditioning

[<50miles]

Hello Everybody, By and large do people find their ac adequate in moderate climates? I live in Edmonton, Alberta and the hottest it gets in summer is around 35 Celsius. I worry of course because all of that beautiful glass. I could upgrade as per Blinklongs excellent write up but wonder if I should. In addition because it was a very expensive option were many cars equipped with it from the factor.

Thanks

 

[aearch]

ID LEAVE IT ALONE
THERE A MANY WRITEUPS ABOUT THE AC AND JUST AS MANY DIFFERENT WAYS TO DO IT
ITS A BIG AND TIMELY TASK TO DO IT RIGHT
ITS A PERSONAL PREFERENCE AND COMPLICATED TASK

THATS WHY ID LEAVE AS IS

 

[teahead]

Canada?

Ceramic window tint helps

 

[Arde]

Adding AC to my coupe? I wouldn't sweat it...

 

[bluecoupe30!]

Hey, Number 5, I went through this a few years ago. In Vancouver area, we get some hot and uncomfortable days. I don't know if Northern Alberta gets more, but the more I learned, the more I felt that doing other things to reduce heat into the cabin can make a huge impact. First is ensuring drain tubes are in place. Often missing. Especially the one RIGHT ABOVE THE EXHAUST MANIFOLD. This was so obvious, I mean later, that I could not wait to install my new drain tubes I got from LJI. I mean this is otherwise an approximately 4 cm opening that sucks hot air up and into the heater and into the cabin. Some have had great results with tinting the large greenhouse that is so beautiful on this car, but allows so much sun to enter, we get hot. Muffler heat shield, floor insulation and so on will certainly make your car more comfortable, even without installing a refrigeration unit, with '70s specs, into your car. Good luck, and let us know what you do, as well as results. Mike

 

[teahead]

Good idea. Some Dynamat (or hushmat, or whatever equiv), will help on noise, and heat reduction. Especially the versions specifically for heat thermal insulation.

 

[sfdon]

After measuring 145*F at the seat belt bracket inside the car crossing Texas in July I decided to make copies of the factory heat shield. We install them on cars that are driven in hot areas.

Engine bay:
Hood seals
Drain tubes

Exhaust:
Heat shield above down pipes
Heat shield above muffler

Interior:
Cascade vbx
Cascade heat shield

 

[sfdon]

“Hot tips”

 

[halboyles]

I decided to make copies of the factory heat shield.

Don, were these omitted from some e9s or just removed with an exhaust job and not replaced?

 

[sfdon]

I honestly don’t know. They seem to be installed on very original low mileage cars.

 

[Ohmess]

In addition to the heat shields Don recommends, consider also the heater core bypass modification: https://e9coupe.com/forum/threads/diy-heater-bypass-valve.10824/#post-70873

And, as noted, tinting the windows will help a lot, and also protects the interior from UV damage.

 

[bluecoupe30!]

I have tried the heater bypass a few years ago. In my case. I plugged the heater inlet and outlet, then added a hose that would follow nicely in a smooth curve to attach under the Weber carb nearest the firewall to complete the coolant path. So with the heater out of the system, all was fine except in certain months when I really missed having some heat. I mean it was all or nothing. Eventually reconnected everything.
This year, it was such a hot summer here, I disconnected the heater again, but I improved the hose routing. I found an AC Delco hose with a 180 degree bend that I could shorten. Then with some 1/2 inch copper pipe and couplings, I could fashion a nice tight fit, using the original, and still-in-place heater inlet/outlet hoses. They could bend a little bit to fit the Delco hose, and no kinks. Install was 10 minutes, and when I want to reconnect the heater later in the year, perhaps another 10 minutes job. (Plus the time spent mopping up coolant)
Actually, if some coolant can be drained from the tap at the bottom of the rad, before taking hoses off, you can minimize the mess.
Without the heater attached, I was amazed at how cool and comfortable my Coupe has become. Exceeded my expectations. Some photos :