A/C, MSA, Courtesy Nissan, Vintange Air, other?

[landmizzle]

Hi all,

I'm considering getting an A/C unit for my '72 240Z and wanted to get some input on which unit to buy. My car came from the factory with no A/C and currently has nothing A/C related installed on it.

If you were starting from scratch, what unit would you buy. I'm pretty sure I don't want to go the factory A/C route as that unit is not very effecient. I believe the MSA and Courtesy Nissan units may be the same brand but, I'm not sure. Vintange Air and Classic Air are very popular with the Mustang and Muscle car crowd but they don't make a unit specifically for the Z. They do have generic kits that "might" work.

What would you buy? Has anyone had experience with the above listed (or others) units?

I believe many people have done 280Z(X) swaps and been satisfied but, I really don't want to go that route as I want to have brand new components all around.

Best Regards,

Landmizzle '71 and '72 240Z

[ROOPZ]

Hey Landmizzle,

I do not have any experience with installing aftermarket air in a 280Z but I am installing the vintage air in my 73 camaro (hey! I love all cars, but not so much the new rice burners ). It is one of their universal fit series. If you are good at fabbing up brackets (simple brackets at that) then you will have no problem. Just measure the area you have to work with under your dash and see which system they have that fits into those dimensions. They have a catalog that lists each system and its dimensions. If you do not have it then measure your area and let me know, I will look it up for you. Dont forget to leave room for other items that fit in the dash. Since I am still in the install phase I cannot comment on the effectiveness of the system but I have heard nothing but good things about the vintage air systems and I would not hesitate to install it in my 280Z. Best of luck,

ROOPZ

[MikeW]

As far as I know the 72's didn't come with any factory air. Mine (which I removed years ago) was a dealer installed option with a big Borg Warner compressor. I'll probably go with the complete kit just because it's easy. $700 or so for the Courtesy or MSA kit (they're probably the same kit) doesn't seem at all unreasonable. I've paid more than that to get AC repaired in more modern cars (i.e., a new compressor, etc.)