Question about air conditioning

[oskidunker1]

I had a 72 Z 36 years ago with air that worked great. I am considering buying one now but all the cars for sale do not seem to have Air. What happened? Was the system bad and thus removed?None of the cars on ebay now have air or if they do it is not working. Also I had Lime Green. Is that a hard color to find? i have not seen many.

[Arne]

Welcome, Mike.

Lime was only offered in '72 and '73. While there were plenty of that color sold during those two years, the color fell out of favor during the '80s and early '90s, and many formerly Lime cars have been repainted by now in non-original colors. So while I can't call it rare, finding a nice Lime 240Z is a bit hard.

Similar story with the A/C. Over the years, many owners removed broken A/C systems rather than pay to have them repaired. So functioning A/C is again not common. This one is easier to fix, however. Complete A/C kits are available brand new from several sources. These new kits are available for either R12 or R134A and use modern rotary compressors. So don't let lack of A/C stop you from buying an otherwise nice Z.

[psdenno]

AC was an aftermarket add-on for the early Zs. I added an ARA unit to my '71 in '72 and it worked well for years. Just this week I had a new AC system with all modern components installed on that same car. It's possible to find an AC system on a junked Z or there are several sources for the new kits. New AC systems run about $1,000 plus installation.

In 1972, I paid $325 for the AC unit and installation. This week I paid $650 for just the installation. Inflation!

Dennis