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1977-82 Vintage Air

13K views 68 replies 12 participants last post by  autowiz 
#1 ·
so vintage air only makes kits for up to 1976. i have done maybe ~5 77-82 installs. the differences are in how the hoses attach to the vents and the control head. a universal 3 knob must be used. here is a before and after of control head...




i will look for other pictures i may have of install...
 
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#43 ·
I believe xqizt quotes you the cost to buy the kit. I actually believe it sells for 1300-1500 and I think we install them for around 2200+(depending on accessories) total. but I will verify at work tomorrow. and by accessories, I mean we always recommend making certain supporting upgrades to go with the vintage air kit. for example we like to suggest a large all aluminum radiator, such as a dewitts, and either one electric fan in front of the mech fan or 2 electric fans and dump the mech fan and shroud altogether. this works well with the vintage air trinary switch that is an ac pressure switch that operates both the compressor and a fan based off of a/c high side pressure. Unfortunately these items don't come in the vintage air kits, but we are a corvette specialty shop and also a licensed vintage air dealer, we have installed so many of these kits in c2 and c3 corvettes, we just know what works best. we also like to build an electrical center with fuse block, circuit breaker, and relays, for the underhood area. I have a thread on that here: http://www.digitalcorvettes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=242193
 
#42 ·
It's between $1000 and $1500. You can get "creative" and rig it to your factory controls or just get the universal knobs the sell and be done with it.
 
#44 ·
Yea. Thats just to buy the kit. I never know what labor costs are because I try to do most work myself. I just like working on these cars, although you'd never know sometimes by the words that come out of my mouth.
 
#46 ·
I know this is an old thread, but I'm new here and find this thread to be just what I was looking for.
Today my Vintage Air system was delivered, complete with the electronic controls and trinary switch. I plan on starting the install within the next few days.
Autowiz, this question is for you.
Does the firewall heat shield interfere, or need to be modified in any way to clear the a/c box?

The Instructions that I downloaded from the VA web site seems
pretty straight forward, but in the event I have a brain fart, can I call on your expertise?
Thanks......BTW, great site!!!
 
#48 ·
Hey Autowiz,
Thanks for the quick reply. But please forgive my ignorance.
Do you use the Dynomat Extreme for the firewall? Do you use any Dynoliner over it? Do you cover the entire firewall including behind the new evaporator?
From what I've read about the VA system so far, I'm under the impression that the ducts are a pretty tight fit under the dash, especially behind the radio. By replacing the old firewall insulation witch is a pretty thick piece of crap, and replacing it with Dynomat, does it help any in the duct fitting issues, or am I making more out of it than I should be?

Yesterday I removed my old heater box and the evaporator/blower motor box from the engine compartment. To say it was a PITA, is an understatement. I'm sure glad I don't have to put them back in.
I will be starting the install of the VA evaporator later in the week, but first have to help my son swap out his transmission with a new RPM level V trans in his C5.

Thanks again for your expertise.
 
#49 ·
In this thread are some pictures of the rpm transmission in my c5:
http://www.digitalcorvettes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=265177
It is awesome. The cage/brace for the diff is a nice piece, too.


The factory insulation and its placement really has no impact on the ductwork or it's routing. Usually I will remove the factory insulation just to create more room where the stepper motors sit on top of the air box, and to better be able to fish wires through the firewall. Honestly we just prefer dynamat to the original thick heavy juke padding that eats up interior space..





You will find that the tight places are between the air box and dash pieces. really just for the center vents. Just remember the hoses can be crushed and deformed and still flow well. Past that the instructions that come with the kit are well thought out. they even show you specific routing for the new ductwork.
 
#50 ·
As they say "A picture is worth a thousand words."
Thanks.

It must be nice to have a lift to remove the rear suspension, we are doing it on the ground, jacked up and on jack stands. But we have done it before, and we're at the point now where the old tranny and differential are on the transmission jack and ready to come out.

We pulled our 3.15 diff and installed the 3.42 z06 diff when we did the heads, cam, headers, and the Yank SS 3200 torque converter. Unfortunately, when we put it all back together, we had no 2cd or 4th gear, hence the new RPM trans. Makes me scratch my head as to why, since we had all gears before all the power upgrades. And, yes the computer was set for the 3.42 gears.

Hopefully we will have it all back together in the next day or two. Then we can get it on the dyno to fine tune.
Then I can start the install on my ac.
Thanks again....The Old Guy From NJ
 
#52 ·
Hey Autowiz, so far it's been pretty smooth sailing with this ac install.
I'll be ready to put my interior back together soon, and have a few questions.
The instructions that came with the evaporator kit is for 74-76 corvette, mine is a 78 and the dash is different on the 78, do I still need to cut out the lower corner of the dash as per template supplied? what is the best way to do that so I don't cut through to the front?
In one of your earlier posts you have a picture of the electronic controls in the place where the oe controls were. Where did you get that mounting plate? It fits perfectly. I sure would like to get one, as it makes a nice, clean install and would save me time trying to fabricate something.
Thanks again, your advice, your posts, and your pictures, have been a tremendous help on this project.
 
#60 ·
i'm trying to take them to monster jam next weekend. The filaments come in many different types of plastic. I have printed everything thus far with pla. there is also abs, and a bunch of other types of filament. You get a 2.2lb spool and it lets you make a bunch of things. If you are serious about this then here is an extremely similar ad to the printer I bought:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Geeetech-Ne...959385?hash=item35f653e2d9:g:JkYAAOSwB4NW1BR1

I am familiar with the electronics. I did my homework before I selected my printer. this specific printer has a good control board(GT2560) and the latest generation or at least one of the latest generation extruders(MK8). This specific printer I have found detailed online assembly instructions I can share with you. I strongly recommend you start with a kit so you will have a working model to build parts for your bigger better printer if that is the route you so choose to take.
 
#61 ·
Hey Autowiz, looks like I need some more advice.
Are you using the new defroster center duct that comes in the kit? And how do you attach it? Looks like I have to drill holes in my dash pad to install this. The hose connection would face the drivers side while the picture of the install shows it facing passenger side. Also looks like it would interfere with the clips that hold the dash in.
Also, what is the trick to fitting the duct hoses onto the ducts. Seems like the hoses are about 1/4 inch too small. How can you stretch them without tearing them? (Ask me how I know they'll tear.)
Just got off the phone with VA, they were no help. Told me the kit wasn't made for a 78.

Your posts on digital printing are amazing :cheers:
 
#63 ·
the solution for the hoses is so easy and simple it is crazy. the hose doesn't go over the factory vent. It pushes inside it. That's it. make sure it pushes in far enough that it wont push back out. And that's all there is to that.

The defrost duct is a different thing, however. I do not recommend messing with or drilling the dashboard. I have been installing these vintage air kits for 6 years now. And in the earlier kits I installed they made you modify your defrost duct to accept the vintage air hose. The piece they gave for this is attached to the whole defrost duct that now comes in the kit. It also came with templates and instructions to cut your defroster duct in a way to allow this piece to be attached. Basically I like to cut the bottom off the defrost duct they send and attach it to the factory defrost duct just above where the mounting holes are. For this to happen you will cut 3 sides of your factory defroster duct right at or just above where the mounting tabs are. And leave the whole length of the back wall of your defrost duct in tact. then the piece you cut off the new duct will attach to it with rivets or however you choose with hose mounting facing down.
 
#64 ·
Text Font Line art Illustration

Hey Autowiz, The hose goes inside the duct. Who would have thunk it. But so simple, that I'm embarrassed for not figuring it out.
As for the defroster duct. I've attached a copy of the parts list that came with my kit. Number 5 is the duct they sent me. Is this the one I cut and slice into the oem duct? I know they have changed the ducts in recent times and I just want to make sure we are on the same page.
Thanks again for your help.
 
#65 ·
yes sir. you will see that number 5 is actually 2 pieces attached to each other. The bottom piece is what you want to harvest and attach to your factory defrost duct. Also there is some custom work required for the center vents to make piece number 4 attacth to the 78-82 stuff. patience and thinking out a solution vs. trying to rush to an end will pay off here. I will make a center vent piece next maybe
 
#69 ·
My best advise in your position is to top off that edlebrock intake with an edlebrock carb. Enjoy the fast acting electric choke. get an edlebrock idle up solenoid and enjoy your car.

Otherwise holley has an idle up solenoid for their carbs and quadrajet does, too. Just maybe not in the aftermarket world or on the shelf at your local parts store, But later quadrajets used an idle up solenoid in the late 70's and early 80's just before fuel injection came about. I don't know if such a part will just bolt right up to your older quadrajet or if you would need a newer quadrajet.
 
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