By Randy Irwin

1950 CHEVROLET – “ECKLER’S EARLY CHEVY”VINTAGE AIR GEN IV INSTALLATION

Randy Irwin - Technical WriterRandy has been involved in the Chevy

parts business for over 30 years. He is a wiz-ard at creating, making and modifying customparts for Chevys.

Air conditioning, you’ve got to have it! If you live in a state where is getshotter than 80 degrees during the summer the first thing you hit when youjump in that car is the A/C. In the following article we will install a newGEN IV Air Conditioning System into a 1950 Chevy Fleetliner. Workingwith Vintage Air we have developed the most complete A/C kit for the1949 to 1954 cars. Our kits will include the new GEN IV all electronicservo evaporator unit, the A/C hoses and fittings, a Sanden compressorwith mounting bracket, a condenser kit with mounting brackets and areceiver dryer.

Parts Needed:851001 Vintage Air GEN VI Air Conditioning System 211-21 Chrome Double Groove Crankshaft Pulley 211-19 Chrome Double Groove Water Pump Pulley 18-509 5/8” Heater Hose With 90-Degree End 18-510 5/8” Molded Heater Hose

Tools Needed: 7/16” WrenchPhilips ScrewdriverViseHammerDrill With 1/4” Drill BitCutoff Wheel

Time Frame: 20 hours

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Photo #3a & 3b: Next we will remove the original heater andcontrol panel. The heater control panel is held to the bottomlip of the dashboard with two 1/4” nuts.

Photo #2a &2b: To gainaccess behindthe dash wewill remove thepanels andspeaker grillefrom thedashboard.The panels andspeaker grilleare held to thedashboard withscrews alongthe bottom lipof thedashboard.

With the screws removed the panels and grille will slidestraight down away from the dashboard. The top of the panelsand speaker grille slip under the dashboard trim and have noretaining clips. The glove box door is held to the glove boxhinges with four machine screws.

Photo #1: First thingto do is to disconnectthe battery. Alwaysdisconnect thenegative cable first.

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Photo #8: Position the evaporator unit so that the two floorheater outlets on the front side of the evaporator unit arecentered over the transmission hump. Once we started toinstall the empty evaporator unit up behind the dashboard wefound that the rear Vintage Air bracket will not work for thisapplication so we removed it.

Photo #5a & 5b: The heater box is held tothe firewall with nuts and bolts. Remove allthe mounting hardware and heaterassembly can be removed from the car.When we pulled the heater box down thismud dabber fell out of the defroster duct, wonder how long itsbeen there.

Photo #7a & 7b: Theempty evaporator unithas all the samemounting locations asthe loaded evaporatorunit. We installed thesupplied brackets fromVintage Air to the frontand rear of theevaporator unit.

Photo #4: The heater valveis held to the firewall withthree Philips head screws.On our 1950 Fleetlinerthere were no heater hosesconnected to the valve, sothere must have been apast problem with the valveor core.

Photo #9: Next we foundthat the GEN IV evaporatorunit would not fit betweenthe firewall and the lower lipof the dashboard on our1950 Chevy. Talking with thepeople at Vintage Air wefound that the lower lip ofthe dashboard on a 1949 and1950 Chevy would need to be trimmed about 1” to allow theGEN IV evaporator unit to fit up behind the dashboard. Thislittle extra work will be well worth it to have the best airconditioning system on the market installed in our 1950 Chevy.We trimmed off 1” of the lower lip of the dashboard fromunder the right hand glove box door hinge to the left handside of the dash tray panel.

Photo #6: Eckler’sEarly Chevy VintageAir unit includes adummy emptyevaporator unit formocking up purposes.You can bang thisempty unit around allyou want and have noworries aboutdamaging anything.

Photo #10: We raisedthe evaporator unit sothat the seam betweenthe upper and lowercase was even with thelower lip of thedashboard. This left usplenty of room

between the top of the evaporator unit and the passenger sidewiper transmission and linkage.

Photo #11: With theevaporator unit in place weused the front bracket as atemplate and drilled threemounting hole andanchored the unit to thefirewall.

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Photo #13a & 13b & 13c:Two heater hose fittingsare supplied to connectthe rubber heater hosesto the heater core.Lubricate the suppliedO-rings and install thefittings onto the heatercore. Next remove thefront mounting bracket from the empty evaporator unit andinstall it onto the assembled evaporator unit.

Photo #12: Using our viseand a hammer we made asimple elbow bracket out of16 gage steel to anchor theback side of the evaporatorunit to the bottom lip of thedash board. With the bracketpainted black it will almostdisappear. With the emptyunit mocked up we areready to install the real unit.

Photo #15: Wehave removed theblower for now.This will gain useaccess to theheater hoseconnections withthe evaporator unitinstalled.

Photo #14: The evaporatorunit is sent with theexpansion valve facingdown and forward. Theway we have decided toroute our hose from theexpansion valve we willneed the valve to be facingstraight up. Remove the

insulation tape from the valve connection and using twowrenches loosen the connection and reposition the valve. Wewill re-tape the connection with the same insulation tape afterrunning a vacuum just before charging the system.

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Photo #16a & 16b: The heater hose fittings fall dead center ofthe original hole in the firewall for the fresh air vent. The upperheater hose fitting is just above the hole.

Photo #17: Our fresh airhole in the firewall wasblocked off with a piece ofaluminum. We will use thepiece of aluminum to anchorthe bulk head fittings for theA/C hoses and for the passthrough for the heater hoses.

Photo #18a & 18b & 18c:The GEN IV kit includes a#6 and #10 bulk headfittings. These fittings workgreat and look super cleanwhen passing a hose fromthe one side of the firewallto the other.

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Photo #20a & 20b & 20c: Forthe upper heater hose fromthe heater we will use #18-509, this hose will connectfrom the heater core to theheater valve in the engine

compartment. For the lower heater hose we will use #18-510,this hose will connect from the heater core to the water pump.

Photo #21: The A/C fittingswill need to be crimpedonto the A/C hoses with acrimping tool, most autoparts stores have this tool.Make sure the fittings areoriented properly so thatwhen the hoses areinstalled for the final time they are not in a bind.

Photo #19a & 19b: We have cut the #6 and #10 hoses tolength for the under the dash hoses. Make sure the hoses arenot kinked when installed and are clear of any moving partsunder the dash like the wiper transmissions and linkage. Forthe smaller #6 hose we are using the #6 bulk head fitting atthe firewall and a 90-degree fitting at the expansion valve. Forthe larger #10 hose we are using the #10 bulk head fitting atthe firewall and a straight fitting at the evaporator unit.

Photo #23: Our projectcar has the alternatorand power steeringpump mounted on thedrives side of theengine. The alternatoris driven off the firstgroove of the waterpump and crankshaft.The power steering

pump is driven off the third groove of the crankshaft. We willhave to install a double groove water pump and crankshaftpulley to drive the A/C compressor.

Photo #22a & 22b: Next install the supplied grommets in theholes for the heater hoses and install the two heater hoses andA/C hoses. Make sure to lubricate and install the O-rings on theA/C fittings.

Photo #24a & 24b & 24c &24d: The third groove pulleyis separate from the single groove crank pulley. This is howChevrolet achieved three grooves on the crankshaft for a shortwater pump, small block engine. We will add the third groovepulley to our double groove chrome crankshaft pulley #211-21to create 3 grooves on the crank shaft.

Photo #25: We haveinstalled our #211-19double groove pulley onthe water pump.

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Photo #26a & 26b & 26c: TheA/C compressor bracket boltsto the engine using the uppertwo water pump bolts andthe front intake manifoldbolts. It is not necessary tohave cylinder heads withaccessory holes.

Photo #27a & 27b: The compressor is held to the bracket withtwo 3/8” bolts and has an adjusting rod for adjusting the fan belt.

Photo #28: With the A/Ccompressor mounted wecan connect the heaterhoses. The lower heaterhose from the heatercore will connect to thewater pump.

Photo#29a &29b & 29c:The upperheater hose from the heatercore will connect to theheater control valve and thevalve to the intake manifold.When installing the heatercontrol valve make sure thearrow on the valve is facingthe heater core.

Photo #31a & 31b: Thesmaller A/C from the firewall

uses the supplied #6 straight O-ring fitting at the firewall and a45-degree fitting at the receiver dryer. An inline schrader valveis installed in this line for the low pressure cycling switch.

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Photo #30a & 30b: The larger A/C hose from the firewall usesthe supplied #10 straight O-ring fitting at the firewall and thesupplied #10 130-degree fitting with the charging port at theA/C compressor. Once again cut the supplied hose to length,orient the fittings appropriately and have the fittings crimpedonto the hose.

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Photo #32: The receiver dryer canbe installed anywhere inline on thesmaller A/C hose between thefirewall and condenser. The arrowon the receiver dryer will point tothe firewall.

Photo #33a & 33b: The A/Ccondenser mounts in front ofthe radiator. We have removedthe hood latch support,disconnected the wires at thejunction block on the righthand side of the car and cutthe spot welds loose on thewire conduit to gain access to the front of the radiator.

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Photo #34a & 34b & 34c:The condenser kit includesfour universal brackets.The brackets attach to thetabs on the left and rightside of the condenser and to the radiator core support.

Photo #35a & 35b & 35c: Thereceiver dryer mounts inlineon the smaller liquid line fromthe evaporator core under thedashboard to the smaller fittingon the condenser. With thefresh air vent system no longerbeing used we are going to

hide the receiver behind the fresh air baffle on the passengerside of the car. We made a short line with 90-degree fittings oneach end to connect the receiver dryer to the condenser.

Photo #37a & 37b: We built a couple simple brackets andwelded them to the ends of the wire conduit. This spaced theconduit out to clear the A/C condenser. The wires could havebeen rerouted but the conduit has an early 50’s look that wewant to keep.

Photo #36a & 36b: The larger fitting on the condenserconnects to the smaller fitting on the A/C compressor. We alsorouted this hose through the fresh air baffle.

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Photo #40a & 40b & 40c: Asingle A/C vent will mount tothe bottom of the dashboard ineach corner and a dual vent inthe center. The vents are heldto the bottom of the dashboardwith self tapping screws. Connect the vents to the evaporatorcore using the supplied duct hose and make sure to zip tie thehoses to the vents and evaporator core.

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Photo #38a & 38b: The two ducts on the rear of the evaporatorcore are for the ducts for the defroster. Using the supplied 2”duct hose connect the defroster ducts to the evaporator. It’salways a good idea the secure the duct hose in place with a ziptie. Remember when routing the duct hose to keep clear ofany moving parts under the dashboard.

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Photo #39: The four ductson the driver’s side of theevaporator are for the A/Cvents.

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Photo #43: There is a graywire with a female spadeconnector. This wire will beused later to program thecomputer.

Photo #46: We connectedthe red wire to the largestud on the starter wherethe battery cable connects.

Photo #45: The red, green,white and blue wires will needto be routed into the enginecompartment. The green wirefrom the main harness andwhite wire that is connected tothe ground under thedashboard will connect to theheater control valve.

Photo #41a & 41b: The main wiring harness will plug into theGEN IV computer and will connect to a 12-volt source, ground,the blower motor, ignition switch, the heater valve and the lowpressure cycling switch.

Photo #42a & 42b: The jack with the red and white wire willplug into the jack from the blower motor. The violet wire willconnect to a “key on” power source from the ignition switch.

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Photo #47a & 47b: The blue wire from the main harness willconnect to one of the terminals on the low pressure cyclingswitch using the supplied female spade connector. Using theleftover blue wire and the supplied connectors, connect theother terminal on the low pressure cycling switch to the wirefrom the A/C compressor.

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Photo #48a & 48b & 48c & 48d: We are installing the GEN IVSystem #851003 which includes the remote switch panel.There are three control switches used in the GEN IV System,one switch controls the fan speed, one for the temperatureand one for the air supply location (floor, dash or defrost). Theswitches can be mounted in several locations. You can drillholes in the dashboard and mount them anywhere you like;they can be mounted in the center of the center air duct or inthe supplied switch panel. Our customer has asked us to usethe switch panel and mount it to the left of the center air duct;this will be easy to reach while driving down the road.

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Photo #44a & 44b: The white 10” white wire is supplied with afemale spade connector on one end and a round lug on theother end. This wire will connect to a good body ground and toone of the terminals on the heater valve. There is a white wirein the main harness that also connects to a good body ground.

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Photo #49: The GEN IV System#851004 includes the VintageAir Upgrade switch panel. Thispanel is made of billetaluminum and can be mountedanywhere there is a flat surface.The knobs are illuminatedwhich is a great feature.

Photo #50: With the panelmounted route the wiringharness over to the GEN IVcomputer and plug the jackinto the GEN IV computer.Make sure the wiring is clear ofany moving parts under thedashboard.

Photo #51: Next wrap the largefitting on the evaporator corewith the supplied press tape.We did this last to keep thesticky off our fingers.

Photo #52: A drain tube issupplied that will attach to thenipple on the bottom of theevaporator unit and drain thecondensation from theevaporator unit to the outsideof the car.

Photo #53a & 53b: Rightbefore we charged the systemwe installed the receiver dryer. With the receiver dryer installedthe A/C shop ran a vacuum on the system for about 30 minuetsand then filled the system with R134 freeon. With our systemcharged, at an ideal in the shop we had 56 degrees blowing outof the A/C vents, 40-45 lbs. on the low side and right at 200 lbs.on the high side.

Photo #54a & 54b & 54c: Withthe hug evaporator unit behindthe dashboard the left handglove box door hinge hits theunit when you try to close thedoor. A simple modification tothe hinge and we can now close the door. The door will onlyopen about one third of the way, now we have a glove boxdelete.

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Photo #56: The speaker grille and panel just to the right of theignition switch installed with no modifications. Now enjoy the super cool A/C and the super hot heater.Good luck.

Photo #55a & 55b: We also had to modify the ashtray. Weattached the sides of the ashtray to the ashtray guide with two#6 sheet metal screws that cut off the excess of the ashtray.

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