Re: [FWDLK] Air Conditioners/Airtemp History

[cpollock@xxxxxxxx]

Hi All,
This is all I know about Airtemp.  Airtemp was Chrysler's air conditioning division and they made air conditioners for almost everything. They also made refrigerators and freezer along with refrigeration units under the "Kelvinator" brand name.  Anyone remember those?  I had an NOS 69 Charger owners packet that contained a brochure for Airtemp, showing all the things they offered and how to order them.  But Airtemp was also the brand name that all air conditioning units for Chrysler were put under.  On factory air cars a small "Air Conditioning by Airtemp" sticker appears on the rear of the quarter windows.  This was for all of the Chrysler cars.  This sticker ONLY appears on factory air cars, not dealer add cars.  I saw this same sticker all the way up to the 80's on my 1983 Dodge Rampage.  This is a quick junkyard way to see if the car you are looking at was equiped with air from the factory.  As for dealer installed air, they all hung under the dash.  I have never seen them!
 anywhere else, and that includes all of the various brands.  As for when and how Airtemp came to be and their eventual demise, I don't know.  I would speculate they were sold off in the early 80's as part of the federal restructuring of Chrysler Corp.  But the above is all I really know about the subject.

That's just my 2 pennies.
Chargin'Charles--->>>
>
> From: Mike Sealey <mopar2ya@xxxxxxxxx>
> Date: 2001/05/08 Tue AM 12:29:52 EDT
> To: L-FORWARDLOOK@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: [FWDLK] Air Conditioners/Airtemp History
>
> --- David VanHouten <dlvh@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> > 4wrdlkrs,
> >
> > I was sent this e-mail, but am not very familiar
> > with after market Air Conditioners.
>
> "Airtemp" was Chrysler's air-conditioning division,
> and they used the Airtemp name on both home/business
> units and car units until Chrysler sold the Airtemp
> division to Fedders in the late '70s or early '80s. In
> addition to dealer-installed underdash units, Airtemp
> made or designed factory AC units for MoPar vehicles
> from about '53-'54 on, although I don't think Plymouth
> got this until '55 or so, and the earlier the rarer.
> (BTW, the former Airtemp plant in Bowling Green KY is
> now GM's Corvette plant...)
>
> > Can anyone help this fellow out?
> >
> > The message was as follows:
> >
> > "DAVE,
> >
> > I AM LOOKING FOR INFO ON 1960 FURY AIR CONDITIONERS,
> > CALLED AIRTEMP I BELIEVE.  I HAVE A 61 FURY WITH
> > THIS ON IT, AND HAVE A PERSON WHO WANTS TO INSTALL
> > IT ON HIS 60 WAGON.  DO YOU KNOW IF THESE ARE THE
> > SAME STYLE UNIT FOR BOTH YRS.
>
> A big question here is whether the Airtemp unit is
> indash (usually factory) or underdash (dealer
> installed).
>
> The underdash unit interchanges over a number of model
> years, and since it was dealer installed originally
> it's as close to an easy installation as these things
> get (IMO "easy" is a relative phrase)... As with the
> indash model (see below) hang onto all parts no matter
> how sorry they look, you never know when you'll need
> them for comparison...
>
> The indash unit is *probably* the same from '60 to '61
> except for the external control buttons and temp
> switch. Going from a '61 to a '60, you might be able
> to get away with just changing the buttons, but IIRC
> they won't be labeled properly unless you get a set
> from a '60 with AC. I believe this control unit is
> similar to that used on Chryslers & Imperials from
> this era, in which the heat control lever pulls out to
> actuate the fan.
>
> This is just the '61 to '60 part of this swap. You'll
> also need the ducting from the donor car and the
> pop-up defroster pods, plus all the under-the-hood
> stuff, and there's a lot of that. Pretty sure the AC
> car uses a different heater core, and I know it'd have
> a bigger radiator. Toss absolutely nothing out, no
> matter how nasty, as you may need it for comparison
> purposes if something needs replacing, which something
> probably will. And I haven't even gotten on R12 vs.
> R134, a question I'll leav to the experts...
>
> I might do this swap in the middle of a full resto,
> assuming I could find all the parts first, but I'd be
> reluctant to do it on a
> golly-gee-let's-throw-this-sucker-in-there basis.
>
> =====
> Mike Sealey, San Francisco CA
> '57 Plymouth Sport Suburban
>
> __________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Yahoo! Auctions - buy the things you want at great prices
> http://auctions.yahoo.com/
>