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Veteran
Posts: 122
Location: Murray Bridge, South Australia | Does anybody know if air con for a 58 Desoto is available retro, refurbished or new? mine has no air at all but as we are doing a ground up frame off resto and will be driving it in summer ( and OZ gets real hot for 4 months of the year ) I think fitting one in during resto will be easier. |
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Expert 5K+
Posts: 8443
   
Location: Perth Australia | No, not really
At a guess, your in Australia (Put it in your profile, it can help)
So, depending on your build (LHD or RHD) you might be able to use vintage air if you sacrifice your glove box, otherwise a knee freezer can be installed.
Next is compressor mounting and drive pullies to suit your engine, the plumbing and a condenser ect is easy
I am an auto elec and I put A/C into my dodge and I can tell you, these mopars (actually, most of this period cars) give you no room up behind the dash
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Expert 5K+
Posts: 6498
Location: Newark, Texas (Fort Worth) | There are a couple old crusty desotos on craigslist right now and would bet one of them has full air for cheap! Check the ebay etc, section and scroll down for 1957-1959 desotos, Marc.
here is one and caprock in Lubbock maybe able to help you achieve your dreams.
http://www.forwardlook.net/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=64602&...
Edited by mstrug 2017-02-17 7:22 PM
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Veteran
Posts: 122
Location: Murray Bridge, South Australia | Thanks I have updated my profile. The car is LHD and I would be prepared to lose the glove box. |
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Expert 5K+
Posts: 8443
Location: Perth Australia | Look who sells vintage air (its a brand name) in SA and have a talk to them, but apart from factory air, nothing is just going to bolt in
Being in SA, putting an aircon in will require drilling and grinding and stuff, you sure your going to have the electricity for that?  :)
My brother lived in Murray Bridge for a while
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Location: North Australia | Hello Bob.
I have begun installing AC in my Imperial. This has turned into a long term project as I cant bring myself to pull the car interior apart again. Been enjoying using the car too much.
My solution to the very limited under dash space is to use a trunk mount system from vintage air. Lots of room in the boot!
Look at item 49 in the catalog, lots of other good info here for you too.
http://www.vintageair.com/catalog2016.asp
I have mounted all the hardware on the engine. Some stuff you might want to start sourcing are, 7 blade fan, fan clutch (you can use a new XJ 6 Jag unit), radiator fan shroud, 4 groove crank pulley (dual belts to drive the compressor and alternator) .
I went for an alternator (70 A I think) due to the extra power required for the AC system. I mounted the AC compressor where the original generator was mounted, and the chrysler alternator on top of the engine. On factory equipped AC cars the radiator top outlet position is different, but I made mine work (using a V8 HQ Holden bottom radiator hose).
Let me know if you want more info or pics of what I did. I think I kept the templates for the alternator mounts I made, and I have pics of mounting hardware I fabricated .
You have started a hell of a journey restoring a 58 DeSoto, but the reward at the end will be worth it.
Sounds to me like you are approaching the job right, thinking about the mods you want, and what you need to do during assembly now.
Steve.
Edited by 60 Imp 2017-02-18 6:42 PM
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Veteran
Posts: 122
Location: Murray Bridge, South Australia | I spent some time with James in Melbourne who after doing car his gave me a lot of tips, ( James originally brought this car in from the US) I also ring him on minor pull down info. I figure decide what I want, see if it can be done and plan for it all so when it comes to reconstruction all is ready. However I really do not want to change the car too much from original as the car did not have the air option. I will bide my time and if a complete original air system comes up I will relook at it. In the mean time I need to complete tear down, have all body parts dipped and all paint, filler and rust removed, then have about a year of panel replacement where the rust was and boy has she got some rust! Its mainly in the rockers in and out, doglegs, in front of doors where the fenders (guards) bolt to, some floor pans ( someone has just cut some sheet and simply riveted it in place) and the trunk (boot). I expect to spend about AU$70K on the project so it will take time. I have purchased a lot of gear from around the world for it and have pretty much spares of everything, at the moment the current biggest cost is having all the chrome redone and that will be about AU$7K. The rotisserie is ready when it comes back from dipping. Good thing I will retire in 4 years cause that's about when it will be ready to enjoy, might look at a caravan retro project for it and travel OZ. |
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Veteran
Posts: 122
Location: Murray Bridge, South Australia | The trunk system looks the part for me I would still like a couple of outlets up front, will have to work on that.
Bob |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 520
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado | I would try to put the 57/58 system in the car if at all possible. 59 was different and had a totally different firewall and push button controls. so it wouldn't bolt in. You can get the system from any 57/58 mopar, the only make specific parts are the bezel for the heater control, the actual slide control and heating/cooling switch is the same on all cars. The blower for the a/c system is bigger and 3 speeds vs 2, and the dash switch is make specific. The model 901 and 902 will interchange. So you can mix and match 57/58 parts to make a working system.
Edited by Chrispy 2017-05-03 12:26 AM
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Veteran
Posts: 122
Location: Murray Bridge, South Australia | Well its been 2017 since we put this string up and now we at the air and RHD install/conversion point. Got a RHD dash from Danny and we are starting on that in the next couple of weeks, if anyone knows of a 57/58 mopar being parted out or has a complete system please let me know. Well not retired yet and the chrome was $25K every bit done but also included other parts for regalv, zinc etc. Just got a 4bbl intake and 4BBl carb to go on the 361 as well. Hope to have this done soon, its a lot slower than I expected but it will be a beauty! |
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Expert 5K+
Posts: 8443
Location: Perth Australia | The LHD A/C wont fit if your going RHD, none of the heater will. The steering column will exit through the heater area
I am doing this at the moment, very slowly, but its getting done
Making the shape in the firewall for the pedal box was an interesting challenge
Edited by ttotired 2024-01-28 3:48 PM
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 plymouth30723.jpg (93KB - 25 downloads)
Steering10.jpg (106KB - 28 downloads)
rhd dash28122022.jpg (108KB - 22 downloads)
steering9.jpg (74KB - 23 downloads)
steering8.jpg (76KB - 28 downloads)
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Location: The Mile High City | Could start with something like this: 58 New Yorker |
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Location: The Mile High City | Did someone here buy that New Yorker? |
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Does anyone do 58 Desoto Air Con
