Hi Dick! Just to followup on your as always interesting and instructional email.... I happened upon this 1933 article from a copy of Modern Mechanix showing a car AC system installed under the floor. It states it was the first Car AC. Interesting picts of a large 1920's style sedan. Perhaps an old Imperial??? Jeff http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/05/18/first-air-conditioned-auto/ First Air-Conditioned Auto With all windows sealed, and a stream of fresh, filtered air at just the right temperature entering through a special duct, the world?s first air-conditioned automobile recently made its debut in a successful test run on New York City streets. It demonstrated a remarkable new system that promises all-the-year-round driving comfort, regardless of summer heat or winter cold. Air is drawn into this system through a concealed inlet, filtered to remove dirt and dust, blown over coils that chill or warm it as required, and admitted through grills to the car?s interior. Cooling is effected by a refrigerating compressor beneath the floor boards, resembling that of an electric refrigerator, which takes its power from the car?s generator or may be run from a special battery. To heat the air, hot water is circulated through the coils from the car?s radiator. The air-conditioning equipment may be turned on or off at will from the instrument board or rear seat. Since the windows of the car are kept closed, outside noise is excluded. Any closed car, new or old, may have the air-conditioning system installed, according to the New York concern sponsoring the invention, which expects to manufacture it in the near future at a sufficiently moderate cost to permit its use even in low-priced cars. The makers foresee the car of the future provided with air conditioning as standard equipment. In that event many of the inconveniences encountered at present will be removed, along with a decrease in the danger of suffering carbon-monoxide poisoning. --- DickB@xxxxxxxxx wrote: > >>>Actually, I believe Packard was the first make to > offer factory airconditioning. It was an option on the 1941 > models > > Close! It was 1940, and the option cost about 1/3 > the cost of the car! > I?ve worked on those systems ? they worked fine, but > chilled the heck out of > the owner in the back seat ? the chauffer didn?t get > much benefit. The only > control is on the blower speed. To turn off the > refrigeration, you had to > take the belt off the compressor (no clutch). > > I believe that Chrysler did introduce Air > Conditioning, way back in the 20s, > but that was for buildings, not cars. > > They are now claiming in their current ads on TV > that they also invented or > first introduced power steering and power brakes ? > that is not true, as > Pierce Arrow and Packard had one or the other in > various models in the 30s. > > I really enjoy the current ad campaign, though, it > shows the 50s Imperials (mandatory content) in a very good light. > > Dick Benjamin ----------------- http://www.imperialclub.com ----------------- This message was sent to you by the Imperial Mailing List. Please reply to mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and your response will be shared with everyone. Private messages (and attachments) for the Administrators should be sent to iml.webmonster@xxxxxxxxx To UN-SUBSCRIBE, go to http://imperialclub.com/unsubscribe.htm