Best add on A/C kit for 77 280z??

[DC871F]

Honestly until I realized that Nostalgic offer the service for controls on the OE panel, was sold on Vintage, but now, I think Nostalgic will be the one, and all new parts.

[SteveJ]

1 hour ago, DC871F said:

Honestly until I realized that Nostalgic offer the service for controls on the OE panel, was sold on Vintage, but now, I think Nostalgic will be the one, and all new parts.

Document the process carefully. Take lots of photos. I'm curious, too. And let the people you work with at Nostalgic know that people are watching and interested in Datsun solutions.

[gwri8]

Coming to this party a little late,  but if you're interested in option 3,  I have some spare AC parts from a 77'.  I'll have to do a little digging, but I know I have magnet valves, copper line on the passenger side , a couple of condensers, interior faceplate, maybe the mechanicals, but I'm not too sure of the rest.  PM me if you are interested and I'll probe a little deeper .

[Oilking53]

well if you happen  to come to O town to see the mouse, give me a call. One last thing I thought of, does your wire harness support the AC as an option. I will see if I can get some video of mine this weekend, just the AC stuff that is.

thanks I’ll defiantly keep that in mind! My sister lives around Jacksonville so if I can make it out there I’ll hit you up! I’ll have to look to see if it does support A/C. Dumb question but what exactly would I be looking for . The car is 100% stock and never had a/c so I’m not sure if it would support it. A video would be great! Thank you!


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[gwri8]

If you don't have it already,  the 77' FSM (available here on CZC under downloads) has 77 pages about factory AC.  It will be great for referencing the parts you're looking for. For instance, the diagram on AC-29 shows the refrigeration lines and components in the engine bay.  AC-60 shows the AC components in the passenger compartment. The FSM is a must for everything else you will want to know about your car in detail.

edit to put a link in for the FSM.  https://www.classiczcars.com/files/category/13-280z/

Edited November 29, 2020 by gwri8

[Dave WM]

Video

Datsun 280z factory AC - YouTube

as you can see you should have a unused connector coming off the alternator wire harness. A close look a the FSM should show this I presume. It connect to the magnet switches. 

There is a harness that also turns on the compressor clutch, this one is a shared harness with the BCDD so you should find it where the BCDD plugs in. 

I did not touch on the fuse box, I have a separate fuse called AC but my guess is its just the same fuse that would be labled for the air box fan on non AC equipped cars. 

The evap has a linear type thermostat with a cap tube going to the fins, make sure this is mounted on the evap box.

there are add on kits designed for the 280z style, a bit simpler as they seem to be just an evap and a round T stat controller that would mount somewhere off the main panel (like the 240 kits). I presume you just set the panels to what ever you want that blows air thru the top vents and then engage the round knob controller. A bit cruder than the OE but prob works just fine. I the one I saw on ebay had a simple TVX (easy to get). You would still want to remove dash to install in place of the duct box from the heater box to the front panel. I assume it had no idle up, but that is not a big deal, you can just rev the engine up sitting at a light I suppose. Prob has its own relay for clutch engagement as it would not be incorp from the panel. Just something to watch out for, if you only wanted OE. 

 

 

I am not sure if the slide controls are different, I know the non AC does not have the "AC" label perhaps there is something diff in the vacuum switch, but I doubt it. The FSM goes in to a lot of detail on how to install AC as it was something done after the car was built. One thing to watch out for is if you are buying off ebay, there are NON factory AC add ons out there they do not funtion the same maybe thats a good thing, dont know, but just be aware of it. I recently saw a add on evap box that would fit where the factory evap box for a 280z goes, but it was def not a factory box, could tell by the construction AND it used a rotary thermostat switch. I bet it did not have any of the other stuff (magnet switches/idle up) but rather was just something you turn on (rotate the switch) and set the existing controls to vent. Maybe that is a good thing, I mean it would work and it is simple....for me I like OE since I prefer to be a survivor. 

I will post up some pics of what an OE evap and box looks like later.

 

 

Edited November 30, 2020 by Dave WM

[Dave WM]

here is the one I am thinking of non OE for a 280z, I kept some pics for when the ebay list goes away. You can see the standard TVX, and the simple thermostat controller. Has dual drain holes that I presume you plug one as there is only one exit hole in the 280z. This is about a s simple as it get, someone good at fabrication could prob make one along these lines out of sheet plastic and a plastic welder.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1975-1978-DATSUN-280Z-FAIRLADY-Z-AIR-CONDITIONING-AC-EVAPORATOR-AND-HOUSING/283752033766?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D225074%26meid%3Dcc86117503dc45adb46116c4aab794e7%26pid%3D100675%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D15%26mehot%3Dnone%26sd%3D164541840945%26itm%3D283752033766%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2380057%26brand%3DNissan&_trksid=p2380057.c100675.m4236&_trkparms=pageci%3A8c73dc55-3322-11eb-85ae-c6b4a0f0a2da|parentrq%3A19d11fcb1760aaecb06889e6ffd1c456|iid%3A1

Edited November 30, 2020 by Dave WM

[Dave WM]

here is a factory kit (also from ebay) note the thermostat on the bottom of the evap housing. Note the evap housing uses clips to hold it together (after market boxes useds screws). the Tstat uses a metal rod that connects to the "TEMP" slide lever to adjust the turn on point for the compressor, it cycles on and off to adjust how cold the air is (the non OE do the same) unlike modern cars that often employ a "blend door" to mix hot and cold air on and keep the compressor running all the time to adjust temp out of the vents.

Edited November 30, 2020 by Dave WM

[Oilking53]

Video

as you can see you should have a unused connector coming off the alternator wire harness. A close look a the FSM should show this I presume. It connect to the magnet switches. 
There is a harness that also turns on the compressor clutch, this one is a shared harness with the BCDD so you should find it where the BCDD plugs in. 
I did not touch on the fuse box, I have a separate fuse called AC but my guess is its just the same fuse that would be labled for the air box fan on non AC equipped cars. 
The evap has a linear type thermostat with a cap tube going to the fins, make sure this is mounted on the evap box.
there are add on kits designed for the 280z style, a bit simpler as they seem to be just an evap and a round T stat controller that would mount somewhere off the main panel (like the 240 kits). I presume you just set the panels to what ever you want that blows air thru the top vents and then engage the round knob controller. A bit cruder than the OE but prob works just fine. I the one I saw on ebay had a simple TVX (easy to get). You would still want to remove dash to install in place of the duct box from the heater box to the front panel. I assume it had no idle up, but that is not a big deal, you can just rev the engine up sitting at a light I suppose. Prob has its own relay for clutch engagement as it would not be incorp from the panel. Just something to watch out for, if you only wanted OE. 
 
 
I am not sure if the slide controls are different, I know the non AC does not have the "AC" label perhaps there is something diff in the vacuum switch, but I doubt it. The FSM goes in to a lot of detail on how to install AC as it was something done after the car was built. One thing to watch out for is if you are buying off ebay, there are NON factory AC add ons out there they do not funtion the same maybe thats a good thing, dont know, but just be aware of it. I recently saw a add on evap box that would fit where the factory evap box for a 280z goes, but it was def not a factory box, could tell by the construction AND it used a rotary thermostat switch. I bet it did not have any of the other stuff (magnet switches/idle up) but rather was just something you turn on (rotate the switch) and set the existing controls to vent. Maybe that is a good thing, I mean it would work and it is simple....for me I like OE since I prefer to be a survivor. 
I will post up some pics of what an OE evap and box looks like later.
 
 

Thank you so much Dave WM, that was a very good video outlining what all is needed and how it is installed now I’m trying to hunt it all down. I did take a look under the hood last night and it does appear to have all the connections and brackets for A/C so that’s good and I don’t think it would take to much effort to install everything if I went 100% factory. I did find this on eBay and it looks like most of what I need is there for the dash portion.


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[Oilking53]

here is a factory kit (also from ebay) note the thermostat on the bottom of the evap housing. Note the evap housing uses clips to hold it together (after market boxes useds screws). the Tstat uses a metal rod that connects to the "TEMP" slide lever to adjust the turn on point for the compressor, it cycles on and off to adjust how cold the air is (the non OE do the same) unlike modern cars that often employ a "blend door" to mix hot and cold air on and keep the compressor running all the time to adjust temp out of the vents.

I was also looking at those as well, it looks like that about what I’m going to end up paying for those parts. Do you think I would be able to have all factory dash components and updated under the hood. Like if I wanted to go R134A system, just wondering if they would play nice together or not. I’m pretty much learning about how all this A/C works and your help has been greatly appreciated!


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[Dave WM]

Yes I would suggest going all new under hood, that is the SD709 comp a PF condenser to fit the opening (looks like you can go a bit taller here over stock per my video) and a generic drier with the trinary switch. I good local AC shop maybe some help here unless you know someone in the biz that can aid.

The only down side to the in dash setup is the status of the evap and more importantly the expansion valve. If you go that route you should be prepared to have to replace those parts, I don't like the high prices folks are asking currently on ebay since they are selling untested. But it maybe the only way to go if you want OE.

as far as playing nice 134a "should" be ok but you really should flush the evap if you use the old one. the best way to do this is with a the expansion valve out of the way (not easy). since all the under hood stuff is new you should be ok there. lastly check with ac pros, but I think using an ester oil vs pag would be a way to go if you reuse the old evap, ester is compatible with both mineral and pag IIRC. IF you go with a new evap as well then pag is ok, prob the way to go since its more commonly used.

Personally I would go with all new under hood, look for a good deal on the under dash stuff and replace the evap with a brand new unit(unless you found someone that can actually attest the evap status as in I just pulled it and stored in a climate controlled (dry cool) area was working and has been leak tested. An open evap in a humid area with an untested TVX would be something I have issue with.

Its a LOT of work, without knowing this I would not want to take the dash apart. A good ac shop prob could test for leakage of the evap. I did some testing on the tvx on an old video, not sure it is fool proof but it does show if the tvx is at least responding to temp changes.

Again I would suggest consulting someone local with some AC experience to look over any work you do. You want barrier hoses, good fittings, for a leak free setup.

the barrier hoses are a R134a thing, smaller molecules or something like that. fittings get confusing, you will prob have o ring style on the compressor/condenser/drier and compression on the firewall for a stock evap.

[Dave WM]

here is me testing the tvx not sure if this is a fool proof test but should at least let you know if its completely bad. Sorry for he noise.