Anyone put a Nipondenso/Sanyo AC Compressor on a Boxer ?

Seems like it would be a good upgrade. Keep the Ford unit in a box for when Boxers are a Bazillion bucks.
Keep cool in the meantime.

 

Sounds logical to me. Much better unit w/ new technology.

 

I have seen a Boxer that the owner had hollowed out the stock York piston compressor and put a rotary compressor of some type in the hollowed out housing...it looked completely stock yet provided much better cooling according to him...

 

If you buy a new stock compressor and increase the number of cooling fans (on a carbed bb) the system works. We have 1 cfm greater capacity compressors and they will cool a black interior car (and it looks stock). Take note that the system has to have a new drier and expansion valve, in other words rebuilt.

 

A lot of Porsche cars from this era used the York.
The hot set up was to switch to a rotary. Increased cooling and cut drag significantly = HP.
I am going to check into this.

 

All the Pantera's did the same thing. Works great and saves weight.

 

David, I asked James about exactly that when I last picked up the Boxer for..........yup, a/c issues. The brackets would have to be fabbed, but would make a slight difference in cooling. Not enough for sure to justify the effort. If someone wants to GuineaPig this one, those of us in temperate-climate-challenged Texas will be watching closely. Even with a White exterior, I won't bother taking her out if the temp reaches 85F, especially if the sun is shining - and I prefer hot over cold.

 

This sounds like a good idea! Keep us all informed , i would be interested as i am going through restoration and already gutting out my ignition box stuffing a MSD unit.

I like the idea of using the original compressor and stuffing a rotary unit inside if possible??
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I did this with my Pantera and now if I turn it all the way up it gets too cold!
Single best upgrade I made to the car.

 

The BBI's A/C uses the same Borletti design & layout as a 308 QV. As with most euro cars of it's day, A/C in an auto was designed with afterthought to satisfy a few sweaty Americans.
My thoughts are the air handling & distribution side of these systems are equally, if not more deficient than the refrigeration side.

After a few miles to allow the system to stabilize on a hot (90+ deg F) sunny day with humidity near saturated, and the A/C blower on high, my BBI & 308 will produce a consistent duct temperature of 59-60 deg F after the system stabilizes. Mid speed will be in the 50's and low speed in the 40's. That's a 30+ deg F minimum temperature differential. Plenty cold enough to create condensation to drain from the evaporator and leave a large puddle under the car. Both cars have been converted to R134A refrigerant.

The problem is like the 308, the BB's dash vents, and the weak CFM output evaporator blower are insufficient to deliver that 60 deg cool, dry air to the occupants without being preheated by the raked windshield. Having the windshield vents open make matters worse. These vents are in the worst possible place. It's an A/C not a defroster.


Here's what I found works the best without making difficult or expensive mod's. to your car.
1) First make sure the duct temperature is low enough to create condensation. Buy a duct temperature thermometer from any auto store and take some readings. If the temperature readings are high or rise at idle, the system requires service. When it is serviced, make sure the receiver-dryer is replaced, the expansion valve is not plugged, and the system is evacuated at 29+ in vacuum for at least 3 hours each side. Don't forget these are mid engine cars are fitted with long lengths of hose. The system must be 100% free of moisture in order to work correctly and the longer they are evacuated under high vacuum the more moisture will be boiled from the system.

2) For improved air distribution, shut those worthless windshield vents. I made a duplicate of the original transition duct for my 308 out of sheet aluminum and pop rivets (see photo) with a NACA style outlet. The duct has an internal diverter so half the air exits the directional dash vents and the rest exits through the NACA outlet. The NACA outlet is hidden out of sight on the bottom. There is a nice improvement in air delivery with this duct. The air is directed to the occupants where it's wanted. Try removing the directional outlets from your car's dash and see if it improves distribution. The stock directional vents create added static pressure on the discharge side of the blower and limit it's already undersize CFM flow.

3) The evaporator blower. (see photo) sounds like a turbo. I've heard 727's that are quieter. The blower wheels are only 3-1/2" in diameter so don't expect much in CFM compared to a modern A/C. Modern auto A/C systems use large diameter blower wheels and produce a high CFM with lower suction velocities so they are quieter.
You can add a relay to the evaporator blower which will make add a few RPM's but it doesn't add much CFM. There was a guy that added a evap blower to his 308 from a Porsche 928 but he never posted any pictures. In order to add a larger blower will take up foot wheel room, and or block access to the footwell relay panel.

Dave
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Thanks for the time and effort to share your findings.
A fellow at Norwoods said the same; Its not the compressor, its the distribution. Going to check out more on this front.