Chat with other Triumph Spitfire Mk I-IV, 1500 and GT6 owners
It's 84 degrees here this morning with 70% humidity already. I'm wondering if anyone has installed a/c in their Spitfire. If so who is the manufacturer and how much did it cost? A MGB with a/c is looking mighty good right now! :)o
All Spits (Except the GT6) come with air conditioning.
In the manual you'll find a section entitled "Removing the top".
Just follow the instructions and you'll be Cooooollllll.(:P)
i was gonna reccomend the 2-50 air conditioning.................. 2 windows and 50 miles per hour....
you could check vintage air...they may have something you could "modify" to make work.
check this link for "universal apps"
http://www.vintageair.com/Universalapps1.asp
I can only imagine how much power an a/c compressor would rob from an already under powered engine. You may get a/c, but you probably would have to enjoy it in a parking lot because you wouldn't move!
I ran across a MGB in a salvage yard once with A/C on it. It was an aftermarket hachet job. Those were bare bones sports cars....drop the top and let 'er rip !!
What about modifications to the footwell to include a vent system with a little door like on some earlier MOPAR cars that lets in fresh air?? This at 65 MPH feels pretty decent running up the leg of your shorts.. :)
Floor vents are a great idea! I am going to look into fabricating something. Of course, I will wait until it is actually running and road worthy!
I had a Plymouth Duster with those fresh air boxes. They worked great! I've wondered how that might work on the Spitfire. If someone comes up with a plan, I'd be interested.
Hey Loren go to swampy.net they have portable evaporative 12 volt coolers that use a small ice chest.
Swamp coolers dump humidity into the air. Cold and damp? Not me, but I live in Minnesota and it is only terribly hot a week or two the entire summer.
The fresh air idea is going to require some type of intake scoop on the front of the car -- could totally be doable behind the plastic grill by the horns.. just have to find a plastic scoop and some flex tubing that would make it back to the firewall... hrm.... Now to find a welder and someone with a metal brake.. :)
-Casey
in another car i had ('68 pontiac custom S) i picked up some shop vac parts....the hose and the 9" long x 3" wide basic floor end. (go out and look at yours....looks just like an air scoop doesn't it???....)
I contact cemented the hose to the end, cut two flat pieces of metal and screwed them on either end of the floor attachment hanging off the edge to use as mounting points.
mounted that behind the grill just inside the headlights and ran the hose up the side of the frame...used a hole saw on the firewall and a small dryer vent on the inside of the car pointing down from under the dash...sealed it with caulk....
keep in mind that this car was rusted halfway up the fenders and doors and the vent fan had quit working and i had less than no money....i got all the parts during one of those trash pick up days in my hometown...(this was about 20 some years ago)
but i am sure you could rig a similar system on the spit.
looking at mine i would say you could mount it to the back side of the grille next to the horn, then punch a hole in the forward splash appron, then run it along the top of the splash apron (outboard side) above the suspension bits. this would give you some good places so secure it as well. then punch it throught the firewall/footwell.
just sharing some of my previous shade tree engineering... lol.
thanks for all the input! There is a Spitfire owner in Texas that is putting a/c in his. Sounds like quite a challange and expensive. We'll keep busy doing other stuff. I though about the hose thingy like in race cars, but I hate to cut a hole in a perfectly good firewall!
Loren,
I have air conditioned my 79 Spitfire which I bought new. I fashioned a compressor and GM alternator bracket from parts which I cut with a plasma torch and welded up. They are mounted at the left front. The water pump and A/C compressor are driven by one belt and the alternator is driven by a belt from the original smog pump pulley. I installed a radiator from an earlier model Spitfire so that I could fit an adequately sized condenser.
The evaporator/heater/defroster is a single unit which is fitted where the heater used to be, believe it or not. Provision for A/C registers necessitated redoing the instrument panel. Right now the panel is machine turned 1/8" aluminum but the plan is to replace it with a walnut panel.
All the parts are from Vintage Air in San Antonio.
I drive the car to work each day. The temperature here in south Texas has been 100+ for several weeks and the system performs quite well. I have kept the hard top on the car; it probably won't do nearly as well with the soft top.
Charles
Hello Loren, I have a system I bought for under $500.00 and I'll adapt to my 69 spitfire is so easy, so you can do it yourself, only you have to remove the heater system. Mine is an air conditioner system only but I think you can use an AC/Heater system only if you need heater for cold weather. I can send you the pic of the evaporator beside the heater.
http://www.triumphexperience.com/phorum/read.php?8,703726,703726#msg-703726
Here is another thread from a few days back with more great information regarding installing an AC system.
I'm contemplating doing the same out here in Malaysia. Any chance you could put up some pics of the interior post installing the air-conditioning
Old school AC systems took a lot of power to run.
Fuel economy requirements have resulted in smaller, lighter, and more efficient systems.
Find and repurpose a salvaged system from a recent model with similar sized engine, 1.6L are common enough.
