1966 A100 Slant 6, 225 -- Can this be retrofitted with A/C?

[JeremyE]

Yes, I know I am going to take some Sh*t for asking, but it is a requirement if the wife is going to let me sell our camper, and outfit this ride with a conversion.

Van is in great condition.

So hit me with the laughs, info, or anything else!

Thank you!

[Jims68]

How about a unit from http://www.vintageair.com/ ?? and by the way, to the site!!

[JeremyE]

THanks. I checked with that company, and they do not have an out of the box solution. Going to keep digging.

[vanman2]

any luck with finding A/C for your A100 i want to do the same thing to my 1965 Dodge A100 panel van it gets hot here in good old south Florida ~~

[Reed]

Yes, it is possible to put AC in your A100/A108, but you will need to get creative. A few years back I spoke with a gentleman who is a slant six afficionado and a retired automotive HVAC tech and he told about how back in the early 70s he installed AC in an A100 that would get so cold inside the van would sweat on a hot humid day.

The hard part will be the bracketry for the compressor, mounting the condenser, and getting enough airflow through the condenser and radiator to keep the van cool.

Inside the van you can mount an underdash evaporator unit. They are available fairly cheap these days: https://www.ebay.com/itm/UNIVERSAL-UNDE ... 1438.l2649

Then you need the brakcets for the compressor. I strongly recommend you get a compressor bracket setup for a later Sanden-style compressor. These came on 80s era Dodge vans and were even available on a slant six. If you search enough you can still find the brackets for the slant six powered Dodge vans. The van brackets tuck the compressor closer to the engine and have a greater chance of fitting in an A100 doghouse. The 80s van bracketry also work with power steering, so you should be able to use the factory driver's side alternator mount found on the earlier A100s.

Once you have the evaporator and compressor sorted, then you need the hoses and condenser. The best deal I have found is Bouchillon firewall-forward kits: https://bouchillonperformance.com/ac_condenser_kits Get the biggest condenser that will fit on your van, you have a lot of cubic feet to cool.

Mounting the condenser will be tricky. You can try and fit it in with th eradiator, but you would definitely need the belly pan to help direct airflow over the rad and condenser, and it is highly adviseable to install an electric pusher fan to increase airflow. Alternatively you could mount the condenser under the van with electric fans to draw air across it and some kind of mesh shield to protect it from road debris.

You will need to have the equipment to fabricat ehte hoses, i.e. the correct crimping tool, but adding AC is definitely doable.

Good luck and post pictures!

[MJRODKUSTOM]

There is an owner who posted these pictures on the Dodge A100 and Fargo Van Club. There is no direct kit from Vintage Air but you can buy separate components from them. If I find the link I'll copy and paste it here. This guy had it installed in his A100 truck, although he had it installed on a 360. It will come down to custom brackets, pulleys and maybe a modification to the doghouse.

[Jims68]

COOL!