Purchase Rear A/C unit for 70's, 60's, 50's auto. Fits Ford, Chevy, Dodge, Benz, etc? in McAlester, Oklahoma, US, for US $150.00

Returns Accepted:ReturnsNotAccepted Part Brand:ARA Warranty:No Country of Manufacture:United States

This is a very rare item. It is an aftermarket automotive A/C unit that fits in the trunk of most cars built before the gas tanks were moved to that area. This would be mounted between the rear wheels and just under the parcel shelf in the trunk space that is over the rear axle. I have only seen one unit like this before and it was one I installed in a full sized 1967 Chevrolet when I once worked for ARA. That was 46 years ago when the factory was located in Arlington, Texas. Myself and three others were responsible for all in-house installations, and the one I installed was on a factory demo car.

These would really put out the cold air as they were so much more massive than the under dash units that were normally found on autos of that era. This one was pulled from a Mercedes 230S, a 1966, which most Mercedes fans will know is a W111 body. This would be the sort of thing you might find a Mercedes owner installing since, as I recall, a normal underdash unit was $260 dollars in 1967. This unit, with installation, was priced right at $800. The reason we installed one in a factory owned car was so we could demo the unit to customers during a live Texas summer. These units, like almost all ARA units, also came with a thermostat so you could control the temp. The small box with the long gray wire looking thing coming out if it on the top of the unit is the thermostat which is adjustable from the control panel.

Not only are the coils larger on these units but the blowers are as well. I could not pressure test the unit, but both blower motors come on and run well. The bottom pan is made to collect water and it is not rusted out. The switches both turn but I am not able to test them for function. The switches can be replaced; it is the chrome housing that bolts up under the dash that is the rare part and is impossible to duplicate.

Since the Mercedes W111 is what many would consider a mid-sized car of the day this should easily fit in the trunk space of a large car. The actual dimension of the unit, including a bit of space for the vent pipes to rise to the package tray level, is 48 inches. The depth is 12 inches (this includes room for the hoses to bend a bit) and the height is 10 inches. It might fit in a 46 inch space, but that would be tight.

This weighs 45 pounds. A normal underdash unit might weigh five pounds, so you can quickly see that this is a far larger unit than normal. Some of the weight is in the steel case this is built with. The vent pipes on the end are the only plastic items I can find.

We would install these as a stand alone unit, which is how this was installed, or in combo with an underdash unit, which is how the factory car was set-up. One compressor will run both, at least it did on our test cars.

This unit, unlike factory installed rear A/C from GM, Chrysler and Mercedes, pulls in air to cool ONLY from the car's interior. That is what that big rectangle is in the top of it: The air inlet. It was beyond our scope to do body work that involved installing rear outside air ducts. The air intake mounts under the speaker opening in the rear package shelf and a speaker cover was placed over the hole. Two holes were cut into the package shelf on either side of the car (in the same places you would install a pair of rear speakers) and the grills were inserted into the holes and then ducting pipes were used to move the air from the unit and into the interior of the car. The outlet grills were also covered with speaker grills or with plastic duct pipes that directed the air into the front of the car.

You would also have to fabricate a frame to hold the unit in place. The four mounting holes were placed where they were in order to drill holes into the steel package tray and then to bolt the unit in place. As much as this weighs it might be better to do this AND construct some sort of frame to hold it in place.

What is for sale is what you see: The unit, the switch housing and switches, the intake filter and the two outlet grills. There is also a thermostat that is built into the intake of the unit but can be removed to be replaced.

I do not have the wiring layout for this.

Shipping on this will be high since it is large and weighs 50 pounds when packed. If you are outside the US then contact me for a shipping quote before bidding. I am guessing freight on this would be at least $60, but then it would also depend on where you are. Therefore I am going to list shipping as $60, but you might want to figure it on your own. The cheapest way is fine with me, and if you live in North Texas I might be able to just deliver it.

Figure shipping on: Length 50", height 14", width 14", weight=50 pounds.

If you have any questions I will answer them to the best of my ability, but I don't have an tech info on this unit such as BTU's and none is listed on it. And if you have anything to share concerning this item I would be glad to hear about that as well.

Thanks for looking, and GOOD LUCK!

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Rear A/c Unit For 70's, 60's, 50's Auto. Fits Ford, Chevy, Dodge, Benz, Etc? on 2040-parts.com

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