Which aftermarket AC, Vintage or Classic?

[TheJDMan]

I see tons of posts concering Vintage Air, but I also see a lot of posts about Classic Auto Air. Which system is better or does it not make much difference?

[GeoffP]

I did a Vintage Air system install on my 68 this past summer. It's a very involved install but it sure does turn out nice and having A/C in the Georgia heat is NICE.

[tommycomfort]

We've done two Vintage Air installs and are incredibly satisfied with both. Another important decision maker is their support of the Pro-Touring events that we enjoy so much.

[Todd in Vancouver]

I've been reading about the install information on the VA system and will going with one in my car. It seems to be the most common and is a reasonable price so why go in a different direction from what's known to be a good product that gets the job done?

[Blue Oval Man]

Neither system uses fresh air for defrost/ac like an oem setup, correct? Or have they gone to that kind of a system?
David.

[Twentyover]

Currently, no aftermarket in-dash system system is designed to use outside air

[Classic Nova & Performance]

Greg is correct, none of the aftermarket systems use outside air. I am most familiar with the Vintage Air systems as we sell and install them. Vintage Air has been the leader(IMO) in aftermarket for years and continues to build new applications and refine their products. They have been a great company to deal with and offer excellent customer service & dealer support. We will be installing a Vintage Air system in our "Crossroads Nova Project" which will see plenty of road time.
We did install a Classic Air system that a customer purchased and brought to us to install. Didn't have any issues with the system.

If you have any questions feel free to contact me & I'll do what I can to answer your questions.

Also, as Tom said, they/Jack are avid car guys & very supportive of our hobby!!

[hiflyr]

I am writing this as a car owner not dealer. I have VA gen IV in my 68 Camaro Conv and have never been too happy with the cooling capacity of the unit. It will cool the car on a 80 to 85 degree day but that is about it. It is cold at the vent but does not move enough air to cool the car. I also had a few problems and had to call VA customer service and eventually got to talk to a tech rep and was able to get it fixed but it took a while leaving messages to get a call. I am currently working on my 69 Firebird conv that came with factory air and talked to Classic Air today and they were VERY helpful in deciding if I should keep the factory air or use their perfect fit solution. If is was me I would talk to both and look at both installs and choose the one you like the best. I am probably going Classic Air sure fit for my 69 Firebird after talking to both.

[TheJDMan]

The reason I asked this question in the first place is because a long time friend of mine, who also happens to be an ASE Certified Master Technition with over 40 years of auto repair experience, installed a VA system in his personal 1970 C10 probably 10 years ago and it never cooled well even after numerious tech support calls. He has strongly recommended against VA and I am inclined to listen to his advice. However, I also recognize that the systems have been improved since then and so I am asking if the new system is more effective.

[hiflyr]

The reason I asked this question in the first place is because a long time friend of mine, who also happens to be an ASE Certified Master Technition with over 40 years of auto repair experience, installed a VA system in his personal 1970 C10 probably 10 years ago and it never cooled well even after numerious tech support calls. He has strongly recommended against VA and I am inclined to listen to his advice. However, I also recognize that the systems have been improved since then and so I am asking if the new system is more effective.

I would definitely call Classic Air and talk to them look at both systems as far as condensers, compressors and just their willing to talk about your situation and then make your choice.

[Chevy Kid]

Everyone's A/C systems have come a long way in 10 years. Vintage Air has a much improved system in their Gen IV applications.

One thing to note is the importance of the ancillary items involved in an A/C install. Proper insulation and weatherstripping are a must regardless of who you chose. Often these items are over looked resulting in poor performance.

[tommycomfort]

Everyone's A/C systems have come a long way in 10 years. Vintage Air has a much improved system in their Gen IV applications.

One thing to note is the importance of the ancillary items involved in an A/C install. Proper insulation and weatherstripping are a must regardless of who you chose. Often these items are over looked resulting in poor performance.

That's a good point. I wasn't too thrilled with how the Gen IV in our 66 was performing on 100 plus degree days so I talked to Rick Love at Goodguys Columbus and he came out to take a look. We hadn't used any of the vents in the upper part of our A/C dash and had the outlet that would have gone there just open onto the driver's foot well. Rick said that would make all the difference and although it seemed far fetched, the following week we removed the switches we had there and installed a vent. Sure enough cooling the air higher made a tremendous difference.

[XLexusTech]

Steve PM sent

[hiflyr]

That's a good point. I wasn't too thrilled with how the Gen IV in our 66 was performing on 100 plus degree days so I talked to Rick Love at Goodguys Columbus and he came out to take a look. We hadn't used any of the vents in the upper part of our A/C dash and had the outlet that would have gone there just open onto the driver's foot well. Rick said that would make all the difference and although it seemed far fetched, the following week we removed the switches we had there and installed a vent. Sure enough cooling the air higher made a tremendous difference.

I agree I no on my 69 FB I am going to design some kind of smooth duct to reduce the turblence sine the aftermarket systems fans CFM produce less than modern oem systems. I am going to try and adapt my factory AC lower floor vents to work with the new system.

[Twentyover]

Absolutely the best thing you an do is to get face level vents. In my 70 Camaro I bypassed one of the factory "knee cooler" vents and added a face level vent. A face vent is adjustable between your lower torso and face with enough velocity to be effective. Many older cars have vents located too low, so when you want air on an uncovered portion of your body to shed heat, the outlet is too far away and velocity disperses.

[gray86hach]

I installed VA on dads chevelle. Two power tours in 100 degree heat it was very very comfortable. Will it make you need a jacket like a new car might? no but for a 45 year old car it works very very well.

11,000 miles in two years with not 1 problem.

I will be installing one on the 79 z28 when I get started on that.

Tim

[mcraw66chevy]

Guys what needs to be done on these old cars is a lot of Dynamat definitly new rubbers some x-tra carpet underlay . I installed 10 Vintage air this past year 4 Old Air Hurricanes they all performed well in fact not a customer complained about a one . I set in on the seminor that VA put on in Columbus and they stressed how important it is to get the freon dead on not guessing like we use to on the 12 systems . I did a 65 impala recently with a Va with a gen iv it works wonderful in a car that size with No complaints . I currently have 3 cars sitting here now getting a/c 2 getting VA one getting Old Air i stress Dynamat it works dont buy the cheap crap that says its just as good . Usually a good time to change your firewall pad too . Oh yea you think humidity ant bad visit us in Mississippi on a summer day .