Well,
It took months and several trips to the A/C shop, but I finally got the A/C working on the 300K. If no extremely small
leaks come up over time it should be good to go.
The system has a rebuilt, by me, new compressor. Only the block and the heads are used old items. All the guts are NOS.
I even purchased the correct size ball hone from Brush Research to give it a good cross hatch for the new rings. The evaporator valve is new as is the condenser, a crossflow unit. I used the E-Z Clip system for the hoses, thanks to the tip from a fellow 300
member on that, the E-Z Clip system and hoses worked out well.
I have the dash torn up for working on stuff and putting in a new dash pad, rebuilding the wiper motor and the like. I
also ditched the Renco heater control valve and used the Vintage Air electric unit. The valve now sits in the engine bay and if it leaks my carpet will not get stained. It is also a lot easier to replace.
Only the lower left (Drivers side bottom) A/C discharge vent hooked up to the plenum right now, but the discharge temperature
is 41F at high idle after 30 minutes of sitting on the driveway. Albeit with San Francisco ambient temperature of 66-70.
What a PITA the entire thing was. In the end it “took” 3.25 gallons of R12. Given the change in the condenser that is
close enough to the book specification of 3.2 to 3.6. At $130 per a gallon…
The one thing I can tell you is that the new condenser allows for significantly more airflow through it and the radiator
than the factory unit. You can feel the difference at idle.
Thanks again to everyone who chimed in on ideas on this.
James
