VA or Classic Auto Air...what to buy

[viperman]

Hi Everyone,

Getting ready for my winter AC project. The car is a 69 camaro convertible BB. Looking for the best system..Cooling capacity and ease of installation...THis is not a show car, so hiding lines is not a concern and it seems the CA setup eliminates having to remove the fender etc...

Looking for feedback on which way to go...Cost differences are really insignificant, not a factor. Here in PA, if I can get delivery by XMas, I have the winter to do the install...Both systems seem available in 8-10 weeks..so lead time is not a factor..

Thanks,
JR

[Tsaints1115]

There's also RestoMod Air which I just installed in my wagon. Really well made stuff.

[viperman]

Thanks, another option....Looking for feedback, positive and neg.

JR

[dhutton]

I have installed 20+ VA systems. Never an issue. Ryan the VP of engineering is active on this site and is responsive and helpful.

Don

[Tsaints1115]

Thanks, another option....Looking for feedback, positive and neg.

JR

Well Classic Auto Air is the parent company of Restomod Air. CAA is more the stock appearing systems while RA leans towards the more custom look although they do have a selection of stock appearing setups for some select cars.

Vintage Air has been around for a long time, I installed a system in a 71 Camaro in '97. It was a well made system and worked fine. When it was time for me to look at putting a/c in my wagon VA was the first place I looked. I know they have made upgrades to their products through the years but the first thing I saw was their controls had the same designs as back in '97. Sure they can stick with what works but it also stood out to me as "dated". Their vent choices are limited also and didn't fit what I was looking for.
That said, I'm NOT saying that VA still doesn't make a fine product but it didn't "fit" the look I was after. It may be exactly what you want.

[oleyeller]

I have one of each, and they both work just fine. No problems with either one, customer service at CAA is great, but mostly by phone where VA has a huge dealership network so stuff is available local depending on where you are. CAA has shipped stuff to me in a couple of days.... Both are great units. IMO

[65 drop top]

I’m happy with my VA system, it works like it should.

[cpd004]

There's also RestoMod Air which I just installed in my wagon. Really well made stuff.

Agree here! The quality difference between VA and RestoMod Air is definitely different. I needed a specific size condenser that I wasn't able to get from VA. I decided to give RA a try and couldn't believe how much better theirs was compared to the cheap chinese VA unit. The VA one was painted, not perfectly square and did not lay flat if you laid it on a table. It was warped. An earlier system in another car was not quite as bad other than the paint. It also did not lay completely flat. The RA unit was powder coated, not warped and looked perfect. The unit looked much better made overall.

A buddy has an RA system in his truck, but it's still in the build process so I'm not sure how it will work. I don't recall him saying anything about issues during install.

[sheck44]

Ive had a few issues with the VA systems, bad connections caused me some infuriating scenarios ... VA didn't believe me until we pulled it apart and showed them

Switched to Restomod Air for my next build and as stated above ... they're stuff makes VA look CHEAP

Cheers
Steve