Hoping to fit the Restomod Air Haymaker II in by 69 Firebird

[Nativefx]

Well I decided I wanted to try out the Restomod Air unit instead of either the Vintage Air or CAA system. Most of this was the much nicer options for the controls and vents, but also I'm hoping that if I can fit the Haymaker II unit it will give me the best AC performance. The problem is making sure I can get it to fit in my 69 Firebird. Otherwise i will have to look at the smaller unit they offer. The guys from Restomod said they were able to get this unit in a 68 camaro, but it was a tight fit. Fingers crossed!!!

https://www.pro-touring.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=103539&stc=1

[cwylie]

Any pictures of the unit?

[Nativefx]

I haven't even unboxed it yet, if you can believe that! I'll open it up today and take some pics to post.

[Nativefx]

A few pictures of the unit.


Unpackaging:
103553

Mounting Bracket:
103554

Top of Unit:
103555
103556


Other pics:
103557
103558

[Jimmy Sean]

I thought the Restomod Air and CAA where one in the same company or at least that CAA supplies Restomod air the units. Anyway it looks nice and I'll be watching as I'll be going down this same road in the near future.

[Nativefx]

I believe CAA and Restomod are "related" but they operate independantly. This is my first project and aftermarket AC unit so I don't have anything to compare too, but so far this looks like a great product. I haven't decided on a controller or vents for my project yet, so once i have a better idea on the dash I'm going with I'll pick up those from Restomod and am excited about that as they look great!

[CampbellshotrodsAZ]

Curious to see how it works out. I like the electronic controls. I'm going to be doing this to a 67 Camaro soon, and would like to find the least visible unit possible. I've done and seen too many units that are way too exposed under the RH side of the dash. I'd like to minimize this, but I'll probably have to end up building a cover either way I'm guessing.

[dontlifttoshift]

I guess it's a 1,000 bucks because the box it ships in is so cool.

[KUL FIR CHICK N]

Restomod and CAA are the same company. Same personnel, same building, same evaporators, same booth at SEMA. There's only one thing different between Restomod and CAA.

[Jimmy Sean]

Restomod and CAA are the same company. Same personnel, same building, same evaporators, same booth at SEMA. There's only one thing different between Restomod and CAA.

And that would be? I ask because I plan on ordering an aftermarket A/C system early next month.

[Jimmy Sean]

double post

[davidk68]

Hey guys and gals, I know this is an old post but I am about to purchase an A/C system for my 68 Camaro and really like a lot of the Restomod Air stuff (controller and vents specifically) but I am somewhat skeptical of fitting the Haymaker II in the car. I've done a lot of searches but haven't seen this specific question. I'm curious to know how many 1st gen F-bodies use the RA system. My car is completely disassembled and I will be smoothing the firewall.

OP - did you do this and do you have any pics??

Thanks,
David

[Jimmy Sean]

I installed the Street Rod III from Classic Auto Air into my 1969 Firebird. Also have a smooth firewall.

[LonghornJPS]

I am interested in any information on the fit of the Haymaker as well. I have a 67 Camaro. Restomod website says it will fit, but interested in hearing from customers that actually installed it in the first generation Camaros, and if they have any thoughts or advice.

[BlackHD]

In for the info as well. thanks

[davidk68]

Guys, after a lot of additional measuring for the Haymaker II I just don't see how it will fit without dropping it down way below the dash. So I talked to Restomod about the Vapir III unit and ordered a mock-up box and I think this is gonna work. It still hangs down more than I wanted but not any more than the VA Gen IV installs I have seen. DSE has some good pics on their website of a VA evaporator install on Dave Tuckers 69 Camaro. Tim at Restomod has been a lot of help. I will have to do some fab work to bring the unit off the firewall and towards the dash but I'm good with that. From what I've seen VA mounts to the cowl also.

David

[chuckd71]

What control knobs are you going to use? I just got my new ones in today and they are by far the beefiest knobs I've seen. My last knobs were just little knobs on stalks, but these are something else entirely. Pretty neat stuff.
If you stick with the Haymaker you might be able to just fab up a cover for it, might be easier than moving a lot of stuff. Guess it depends how low it hangs. It fits pretty well in my Chevelle but I still think I might cover it just for something to do.
168798

[73GA]

I've been researching the Restomod systems over the last few weeks, and was looking online for some solid feedback from buyers, and then I found this thread. This thread seems to have gone quiet so I'd like to ask that of those who did buy from Restomod to please give their feedback on the install, fitment, and final performance? Are you pleased with your purchases or in hindsight, would you have done things differently?

I received a quote from Tim, (thanks Tim!), for the Haymaker system, which upon some preliminary under dash measuring on my 73 Pontiac Grand Am, (73-77 A-body), looks like it would be a tight fit. Like the look of the Haymaker and what appear to be quality components, but I think it's output is greater than what I need, so I'm also considering the Vapir 3 as another option due to the reduced dimensions.

Any help here guys is greatly appreciated.

[joeko23]

I installed the haymaker in my 69 Camaro. I think it fits pretty well. It’s definitely not a bolt in situation. I used their bracket and cut it in half to get the unit away from the firewall. You can see a pic of the unit installed on page 3 of my build. As far as the condenser and evaporator those are specific to the camaro so they fit like a glove to the core support and their pre bent hard lines also fit really nice with room to spare with RS headlights. I’m not that far in the build process to turn on the unit but I went with restomod air only because I can control it via an app. Let me know if you have more questions.

[slimjim]

I'm also looking the Vapir 3 but still waiting on the APP to work properly and still waiting to learn if it can be controlled from an apple CarPlay headunit

[73GA]

I installed the haymaker in my 69 Camaro. I think it fits pretty well. It’s definitely not a bolt in situation. I used their bracket and cut it in half to get the unit away from the firewall. You can see a pic of the unit installed on page 3 of my build. As far as the condenser and evaporator those are specific to the camaro so they fit like a glove to the core support and their pre bent hard lines also fit really nice with room to spare with RS headlights. I’m not that far in the build process to turn on the unit but I went with restomod air only because I can control it via an app. Let me know if you have more questions.

Thanks so much for the feedback Joeko. I just started to read your build thread after looking at the pic on page 3, and all I can say is outstanding work! I don't want to trouble you at all, but did you take any other pics of your Restomod AC install and what you had to do to make it fit? Was there additional cutting of the firewall and/or new filler panels you had to fab? Was the glovebox space completely taken up by the AC unit? How did you find the routing of the ducting? Did you have to buy additional tubing or substitute anything supplied in the kit with pieces from other suppliers? Are you using their app alone to control the unit or are you also hardwiring into one of their in-dash panels? Apologies for all of the questions, but buying one of these units would be a "luxury" acquisition for me, and if it's going to require a massive re-engineering to make it fit I might just settle for rolling my windows down. Thanks again for any help!

[joeko23]

]Here are additional pic of what I did. They supply you with the U shaped bracket. They say your supposed to connect it to one side (the side that’s bent) this bracket is for a flat firewall. The Camaro firewall is not that flat especially in the area where the tranny tunnel meets the firewall. So I cut the bracket in half and put it on both sides.

175720
I also trimmed that piece (circled in red) because it was hitting the upper cowl. With the unit level, I have about 3” between the top of the unit and upper cowl. The unit is 11” wide with the bracket so you can measure how much room you have with a stock dash.

175721
The unit sits 12” from the floor(not sure why the image is flipped upside down?). Because I’m using the Mercedes dash, the unit is completely hidden behind the Mercedes dash. It also does not interfere with the Mercedes glove box. There’s actually a pretty decent size gap between the ac unit and the back of the dash which should allow for plenty of room for the ducting and wiring. I welded in the bolts (provided) to the firewall for attachment of the unit.
175722

As far as the evaporator and condenser, they specifically sent me that for a 69 Camaro, the hard lines come prebent and fit really well. No mods needed to be made for that.

I haven’t powered up the unit yet so I can’t say anything about that. I will not have any AC/heat controls in the dash. I will control the unit via an iPad that will be mounted in the dash. I will not have any physical controls. It will work through their Bluetooth app. The only reason why I chose the restomod air unit is because they have an app. There are plenty of other options out there (cheaper options) for AC units. I chose the restomod unit ONLY because of the app.

[73GA]

]Here are additional pic of what I did. They supply you with the U shaped bracket. They say your supposed to connect it to one side (the side that’s bent) this bracket is for a flat firewall. The Camaro firewall is not that flat especially in the area where the tranny tunnel meets the firewall. So I cut the bracket in half and put it on both sides.

175720
I also trimmed that piece (circled in red) because it was hitting the upper cowl. With the unit level, I have about 3” between the top of the unit and upper cowl. The unit is 11” wide with the bracket so you can measure how much room you have with a stock dash.

175721
The unit sits 12” from the floor(not sure why the image is flipped upside down?). Because I’m using the Mercedes dash, the unit is completely hidden behind the Mercedes dash. It also does not interfere with the Mercedes glove box. There’s actually a pretty decent size gap between the ac unit and the back of the dash which should allow for plenty of room for the ducting and wiring. I welded in the bolts (provided) to the firewall for attachment of the unit.
175722

As far as the evaporator and condenser, they specifically sent me that for a 69 Camaro, the hard lines come prebent and fit really well. No mods needed to be made for that.

I haven’t powered up the unit yet so I can’t say anything about that. I will not have any AC/heat controls in the dash. I will control the unit via an iPad that will be mounted in the dash. I will not have any physical controls. It will work through their Bluetooth app. The only reason why I chose the restomod air unit is because they have an app. There are plenty of other options out there (cheaper options) for AC units. I chose the restomod unit ONLY because of the app.

Hey Joe, thanks so much for this info. I'll do some more measuring on my under dash area and see if I have the same depth to play with. Funny, at first I thought running the unit via the app was a bit "gimmicky" but now I see the wisdom of it and now think it's the way to go. It would be awesome if you could keep us up to speed on your progress with the unit, and now with the routing of the tubing, which I'm super interested in. Any other comments or updates, even if they're brief, are appreciated.

Thanks again.

[gto406]

Neat looking setup - when you unboxed it - the unit looked amazingly similar to my ‘close to factory fit’ ‘69 Firebird A/C kit from CAA.

The CAA has a similar hole down on the p-side firewall and the unit does drop below the dash (kind of sits a bit into passenger foot-well but doesn’t protrude past the lower inside edge of the dash - under the glove box.

177419

[73GA]

Neat looking setup - when you unboxed it - the unit looked amazingly similar to my ‘close to factory fit’ ‘69 Firebird A/C kit from CAA.

The CAA has a similar hole down on the p-side firewall and the unit does drop below the dash (kind of sits a bit into passenger foot-well but doesn’t protrude past the lower inside edge of the dash - under the glove box.

177419

Hey gto406, any updates on your CAA AC install? I'd be interested in your impressions on fit, quality, and if you've had a chance to test it running. Thanks!

[gto406]

Hey gto406, any updates on your CAA AC install? I'd be interested in your impressions on fit, quality, and if you've had a chance to test it running. Thanks!

Hi 73GA!

Sorry for the delayed reply. Couple issues w/CAA on the 69 included:
- cover for heater-core/blower plate didn’t fit but when I called CAA they shipped me one no cost - crappy side-effect: template cut-out wrong so had to weld back in some sheet metal
- fit was not a problem but it is tight under the dash - not a lot of room on these 1st gens
- NPD sold me an older kit (guessing) so I was forced to purchase the correct compressor bracket to work w/my oem setup/pulleys
- last straw was vents (my 69 was an orig AC car) but the a/c pulled out (it was a drag car)
- CAA don’t sell center vents - I had to buy my vents / bezels for top/center dash from Vintage Air

I think I should have gone Vintage. Have only just finished the car so haven’t tried out the a/c or heat yet!

Hope that helps!

[redbull396]

Bumping this thread, as I am getting ready to tackle AC in my 67 camaro. The Haymaker has 4 AC vents, my car is a non AC car, where are yall locating all 4 vents? Obviously, 2 can go in dash where original placement was, but curious about the other two?

[joeko23]

It actually has 8 vents. 2 for heat, 2 for defrost, 4 for AC. I mounted 2 on left and right side of dash and 2 in the center.

[redbull396]

It actually has 8 vents. 2 for heat, 2 for defrost, 4 for AC. I mounted 2 on left and right side of dash and 2 in the center.

Thanks for chiming in. Sick build!! I will be not be using a custom dash like yours tho. Might have to fab something underneath the middle to mount?

[Chevy Kid]

Bumping this thread, as I am getting ready to tackle AC in my 67 camaro. The Haymaker has 4 AC vents, my car is a non AC car, where are yall locating all 4 vents? Obviously, 2 can go in dash where original placement was, but curious about the other two?


Vintage Air sells the original style center vent for a 67 with the correct 2 port adapter on the backside. Same for the side dash vents.