<VV> CORVAIR A/C CONDENSER POSITION

[Arlette Carl]

Hi everyone,
 
Bob Hall comments, and perhaps he is right that regardless of the position of the A/C Condenser in a Corvair (1965 & older models compared to the 1966-67 position) that engine cooling will be effected to much the same degree.
 
I would without question agree that the 1966-67 Corvair A/C Condenser installation is by the best looking and leaves the engine free to work on. I agree so much that convering my 65 Monzas AC Condenser to a 1966 style was very appealing until I obtained a copy of the following book.
 
"THE ULIMATE GUIDE TO VAIRS WITH AIR" by Greg Riley.
 
The following are direct quotes from the above book:
 
1. "There is just too much heat generated by the stock condenser. The factory cars all seem to be on the verge of overheating."
 
2. "However, the 1965 system did keep the car very comfortable even during the severely hot weather of Houston summers."
 
Greg Riley's book comments on the 1966-67 Condenser installation as follows:
 
3. "The 66-7 design makes for a neat installation, but is not the best choice for engine longevity".
 
Greg Riley claims in his book that he has had a lot of experience with 1966 Corvair A/C Condensers, agrees they are a neat installation but would not recommend that anyone used them. If you read his full comments on page 40 of this book, you will not want a 1966-67 Condenser in your A/C equipped Corvair.
 
Basically Greg Riley advises that the 1965 and earlier Corvair condenser cools the car better and has less of a negative effect on the engine. Grey explains that there are many examples 1965 and earlier Corvairs with factory A/C still functioning after years of use. He claims that this is not the case with 1966-67 factory A/C equipped Corvairs and goes on to say also that almost every 1966-67 factory A/C car has failed.
 
Greg's book recommend that the condenser be installed in the trunk for best results, but this does not appeal to me for many reasons.
 
In the end I am going to stay with the stock 1965 A/C condenser, do everything possible to ensure our engines cooling system is working as well as it can and look at the possibilty of installing a thin electric fan to draw extra air through the stock condenser.
 
I like my cars as stock as possible and if I make a change I try to hide this change. If installing a thin electric fan over the stock A/C condenser improves engine cooling and also the performance of the stock A/C then perhaps it worth the slight change from original.
 
I would be interested in everyones views, but Greg Riley's book clearly states that the 1966-67 Corvair A/C condensers should be avoided even if they look nice.
 
Regards
 
CARL L. KELSEN
1965 RHD FACTORY AIR MONZA CONVERTIBLE
MELBOURNE, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA

 

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