Upgrading A/C and Radiator While I'm In There | FerrariChat

Upgrading A/C and Radiator While I'm In There

Discussion in '308/328' started by Ferraridoc, Oct 20, 2019.

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  1. Ferraridoc

    Ferraridoc F1 World Champ
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    #1 Ferraridoc, Oct 20, 2019
    Actually this started as a job to do the stone chips on the spoiler, but when I took it off, I had great access to the front of the car.
    After discussions with various FChatters and one or two experts I decided to upgrade the a/c by putting a more efficient condenser on, and better radiator fans. Unfortunately (as always happens with me), I've gone down the rabbit hole and turned it into a saga.
    I haven't been diligent in my photo taking, but I'll post what I've got to date and try and keep up as the project continues.
     
  2. Ferraridoc

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    #2 Ferraridoc, Oct 20, 2019
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  3. Ferraridoc

    Ferraridoc F1 World Champ
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    #3 Ferraridoc, Oct 20, 2019
  4. Ferraridoc

    Ferraridoc F1 World Champ
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    #4 Ferraridoc, Oct 20, 2019
  5. Ferraridoc

    Ferraridoc F1 World Champ
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    #5 Ferraridoc, Oct 20, 2019
  6. Ferraridoc

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    #6 Ferraridoc, Oct 20, 2019
  7. Ferraridoc

    Ferraridoc F1 World Champ
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    #7 Ferraridoc, Oct 20, 2019
  8. Ferraridoc

    Ferraridoc F1 World Champ
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    #8 Ferraridoc, Oct 21, 2019
    Tilting the radiator forward would mean removing the top brackets, the bottom saddles, and the fan brackets. This gave me pause. When I bought the QV, I knew it would never be a concours car, and it needed a bit of work. So, over the years, as various things needed doing, I had no hesitation in making subtle changes to improve things a bit. All this resto-modding followed two tenets: everything had to remain looking standard (mods invisible), and everything was reversible (no cut wires, etc. Anyway, after a few beers and a serious amount of wafflearseing, I decided to cross the Rubicon.
     
  9. Ferraridoc

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    #9 Ferraridoc, Oct 21, 2019
  10. Ferraridoc

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    #10 Ferraridoc, Oct 21, 2019
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  11. Dr Tommy Cosgrove

    Dr Tommy Cosgrove Three Time F1 World Champ
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    #11 Dr Tommy Cosgrove, Oct 21, 2019
    I love these threads
     
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  12. Ferraridoc

    Ferraridoc F1 World Champ
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    #12 Ferraridoc, Oct 21, 2019
  13. Gizzi

    Gizzi F1 Veteran
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    #13 Gizzi, Oct 21, 2019
    I love the Super Cheap Auto box!


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  14. Ferraridoc

    Ferraridoc F1 World Champ
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    #14 Ferraridoc, Oct 21, 2019
    Sorry, I can't orient the pic properly - perhaps the mods could please rotate it 90 degrees CCW?
    Anyway, you get the idea. I noted that they had planned to mount the fans on straps running across to core. I measured it at about 15% blocked air flow, which played havoc with my OCD, so I deleted the mounts - I will have smaller brackets made to my design.
    Next, I spent hours trawling the interweb to find a parallel flow condenser that fits the core dimensions snugly. Found one. Sorry, no pics, but they all look the same.
     
  15. Ferraridoc

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    #15 Ferraridoc, Oct 21, 2019
    I waste nothing
     
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  16. Ferraridoc

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    #16 Ferraridoc, Oct 21, 2019
    So now I'm waiting for the radiator and condenser to be delivered, have the welding guy lined up (one of my patients, who's a genius fabricator), and I'm thinking, "Just how far can I push this?" I looked at replacing the a/c compressor with an electric one, which would neatly tuck in next to the battery, but after reading Tony Andrews' excellent thread, and doing a few thermodynamics calculations, (and whiling away about 100 hours), decided it wouldn't be up to the task.
    So I turned my attention to the evaporator....
     
  17. kcabpilot

    kcabpilot Formula 3

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    #17 kcabpilot, Oct 22, 2019
    I considered this exact same thing when I replaced my radiator but decided it was going to be too much of a modification and deviate from my “nothing that can’t be easily undone” creed. Still, I knew that if I had the balls it could be done so I’m glued to your channel now to see how it all turns out.
     
  18. Ferraridoc

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    #18 Ferraridoc, Oct 22, 2019
    Yes, it's a bit scary, but I'll push on!
     
  19. Dr Tommy Cosgrove

    Dr Tommy Cosgrove Three Time F1 World Champ
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    #19 Dr Tommy Cosgrove, Oct 22, 2019
    My plan with mine is to eventually get a used spare tire well (Rutlands, perhaps), cut it in the front, reglass and paint it to look factory. I have a temp spare and it can be tilted up and back giving room in the front to do this, thereby providing room for to "proper" shrouded puller fans.

    This should greatly improve my inherent QV run hot issues in the deep south summer traffic and provide more help with the (or a better) a/c condenser. If it doesn't work I can just go back to factory specs.
     
  20. Ferraridoc

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    #20 Ferraridoc, Oct 22, 2019
    To be honest, I think a parallel flow condenser and modern fans, even in pusher configuration, will solve the problem. This has crept into the realm of indulging a fantasy :rolleyes:
     
  21. Ferraridoc

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    #21 Ferraridoc, Oct 22, 2019
    Anyway, the evaporator... A few years ago, I pulled out the dashboard and the evaporator to fix a few niggling problems. One of the big problems with the a/c on these cars is lack of air flow. There's a big oval foam seal around the three dash vents that had turned to powder, so a/c air could just escape underneath - that was replaced. Where the main outlet from the evaporator goes up to the dash vent is some sort of membrane seal, which had perished, allowing hot air into the cabin - I made up a soft foam gasket to seal that. I removed the radio/vent panel and remade one (out of a cornflakes packet, but that's another story) to raise the vents higher than my left knee (and allow fitment of a pop-up 7" screen radio). I removed the evaporator, pulled it apart, and cleaned it. It was too big a job for me at the time to put bigger blower fans on, but I did fashion a 2" outlet off the side of the housing to run a duct somewhere at a later date. The biggest air flow improvement I did was to mount a relay on the high speed circuit, giving full voltage to the motor - big increase. I later charged the system with a propane based refrigerant, which gave much colder vent temps.
    All these changes made a huge improvement, but the system still struggles on a hot day - and it gets bloody hot here. Hence the current project. Now the hard part - finding some pictures...
     
  22. Ferraridoc

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    #22 Ferraridoc, Oct 22, 2019
  23. Dr Tommy Cosgrove

    Dr Tommy Cosgrove Three Time F1 World Champ
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    #23 Dr Tommy Cosgrove, Oct 22, 2019
    What fantasy?
     
  24. ferrariowner

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    #24 ferrariowner, Oct 22, 2019
    I have noticed some cars temp gauge changes when you turn on the headlights. That's a sure sign that the gauge circuit design has an issue/. My EFI temp is always much steadier than the factory gauge. Something to consider.
     
  25. Ferraridoc

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    #25 Ferraridoc, Oct 22, 2019
    Last edited: Oct 22, 2019
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