MONDIAL T 3.4 A/C UPGRADE

You might try this company. I seem to recall positive comments about their a/c upgrade unit:

https://retroair.com/ferrariairconditioning.html

 

I've found that the unit usually blows quite cold, but as you mention a more powerful fan might help. But that's not the real problem. All air is blown out three little vents in the dash, which are just above waist level, and angled downward rather than up and without any side vents. Without side venting of the air it will never get the cabin comfortable. With the rake of the windshield over the drivers body your basically in a greenhouse. I had clear UV film installed on the windshield which helps some, but not enough to over come the lack of air flow from the a/c. Also, with the radiator at the front the air cooling the engine coolant while driving is forced into the cabin at the foot wells and adds to the problem. It's just not plumbed or sealed properly to cool the passenger compartment.

 

My 87 also has a 2 vents under the dash that blow toward each footwell, though not with much force. You don't have to worry about frostbite or anything, bit its better than nothing. Not sure if the later T's had the same vents or not.

 

If I remember correctly, the blue areas in these pics connect to each other. The red signifies the outlets. Look under the dash right above where your shins would be during driving for the lower outlets, they may have flapper valves as well.


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Thankfully the previous owners of my '85 QV Cabrio kept the AC maintained and charged with R-12. It blows ice cold. My car also has the kit installed that changes the angle of the center vents so they blow more straight out rather than down. I believe that kit is from the f-chat member "ronfrohock". When my teenage daughter goes along for a ride she gets cold and I angle the three center vents toward the driver's side. A little bit of air does come out of the two small round vents at each side of the dash. Also there must be a little bit of air aimed at the floor because my daughter says her feet are cold when she's wearing sandals. I think the system is just powerful enough to keep the car cool in the 80's and lower 90's when it has been in the garage prior to taking it out for a drive. If it were sitting out in the sun for hours I don't believe it would cool very quickly with the black cabrio top. But I leave and return to the garage, and it's fine for an hour or so drive. I usually end up dialing the fan speed down a little, and a quirk with my fan speed dial is that it sometimes only works on high.

 

Yes I was making kits and I could again. The kit did two things:
First, it changed the direction of the center vent allowing the air to be directed toward your midsection and I also provide new foam that would replace the disintegrated foam that exists in all Mondials at this point. Replacing the foam made a huge difference as prior to replacement, most of the air from the fan got lost behind the dash.


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I don’t get much air out of the 2 circular vents on the upper dash. Do you know if that’s normal or is that something I could improve?

 

If I could get half the air from the center vent to the circular side dash vents it would make the car much more comfortable, as that gets so much more heat from the sun even with the windows tinted than the center console. So basically my right arm and side is freezing and my left arm and left side (exterior next to the door) is sweltering with no air flow.

There's got to be a better way !

 

Add some ducted fans to the upper dash vents? In-line or under-mount. Might need to slow down the speed a bit, otherwise they'll be too noisy


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Funny, that’s exactly what I was picturing in my head to solve this issue. Would need to wire it to the same fan rheostat somehow.

 

Add one to the center tunnel for the rear vents as well? But if there's a way to upgrade the internal squirrel-cage motor then you might not need any aux. motors. Fix the ducting leaks as well.


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Here's an overview of the Mondial t HVAC System. Attached as a pdf as well (larger view).




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Thanks Wade

 

FWIW, I don't get much air out of the dash top vents either. Get a wedge kit from Ron, makes a huge difference.

I just got my side windows tinted as dark as the law allows, 20% I think. Made a longer drive than usual last week and the AC (R-12, fully charged) couldn't keep up with the Florida sun beaming in my little greenhouse. That seems to have helped a lot, but if the next long drive is still warmer than optimal, I will get the clear UV barrier put on the windshield as well.

R-12 works much better than 134, keep it if you can.

Another thing to note: The factory manual says to check the AC pressure at 2500 RPM, not at idle like most cars. My AC tech was surprised to hear this and last year we charged it at idle, OK but not great. I checked my manual before we serviced it this year and noticed the 2500 RPM spec. At full pressure at 2500 I am getting about 43 degree F air out of the center vents, not bad.
Alden

 

Part of the reason we have poor airflow from the center vent is the foam that Ferrari used dries up and turns to dust over time. The result is most of the heated or chilled air gets lost behind the dash, never making it through the vent.

I learned this when I was unhappy with the volume of air coming from the center vent and went on to investigate why. Then I decided to reproduce the foam and make the wedge.


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