A/C + ENVIRONMENTAL

This picture is actually taken after the lines were connected to the evaporator. A little manipulation and they fit the dual Dewitts radiator without much effort. The Dewitts C5 High Performance radiator was a nice improvement and it didn't take much to make it work. Guys either TIG weld tabs or you can fabricate clamping brackets made from aluminum extruded angle riveted back to back as shown in the cooling section. The Tabs are on the forward GTM frame cross member. They sit approximately 1/8th inches forward of the radiator. The fabricated brackets are easily adaptable over a short distance and provide plenty of rigidity or strength for holding the radiator in place. The condenser is installed into the Dewitts tabs until the assembly is fully seated. An additional "U" channel riveted to an aluminum plate holds the condensor coil in it's seated position while also interfacing the tab on the GTM forward cross member tab. Two on the outside for the radiator and one in the center for the condenser...works great.

This shows the basic position of the evaporator assembly. It really doesn't have much to move once manuevered into position. Notice the tab fabricated from aluminum angle. This seems to work better than the steel tab that comes with the kit. For that one to work, it must be bent or joggled to fit around the backside of the vertical frame tube. I'm assuming the aluminum bracket will not interfere with something later. The bracket can also be seen two pictures below. Even without it, the unit fits snugly and is held by the forward steel angle bolted to the intermediate cross member.

The line connections are covered by the Vintage Air instructions and are straight forward. You need to make sure you can get a wrench on the fittings and that the lines are not hitting the frame. FFR says you can drop the unit so that the angle resides on the lower portion of the frame....about an inch lower. This would not work and it was not necessary on this car. There simply isn't enough movement available to accomodate accessibility, fit of the unit in this area and the installation of the forward duct and blower unit.

This shows the system components. The dryer was mounted using a stock Corvette bracket modified with an additional channel that allowed the unit to be placed on the frame without falling off. As the hose routing was adjusted, the unit could be slid left and right but remained in place. When hose routing was complete, I drilled the hole through the mount and frame. Although the bolt holds it in place, the added angle spreads the load and supports the weight and prevents the unit from spinning if the bolt is loose.