GTM A/C Evaporator Kit

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Major System Category: AC & Cooling System
Task: Mount the evaporator unit
Parts: Vintage Air Evaporator unit. (It is the big thing with a bunch of ducts coming off it)
Prerequisite Tasks:

• Dismantle the passenger foot well
• Disconnect the passenger side front brake line

Additional Costs: N/A
Time Requirement: 60 minutes to bolt this into place. Longer if dismantling is required.
Date Started: August 4, 2012
Date Completed: August 4, 2012
Consideration: This needs to be done before the passenger foot well is installed, and probably, before the front passenger brake is run. However, it is good to have the hard and soft coolant lines run in order judge clearance.

Vintage Air Evaporator unit. SOmehow I need to get this mounted in the GTM.

I didn't know about this handy little item until it came time to unpack the Vintage AC system. This is a big box, and I sat there staring at everything, wondering where and how it was going to fit inside the GTM. This is definitely a time to plug Vraptor Speedworks. One of the items I purchased last December was the AC Plenum relocation part. I knew it made sense at the time, but I really didn't have an appreciation for how much sense it made! This item relocates the blower motor to the passenger footwell and recycles inside air instead of outside. It also eliminates this HUGE cowl.

I removed the panels common to the tunnel, but this did not give me the clearance I needed to swing the evaporator unit in  and out. I removed triangular piece (this has to be modified for the plenum) and the three fold piece. With these removed I could easily swing the unit in and out. Orientation: passenger foot well.

I ended up drilling out the rivets on four panels connected to the passenger side footwell. I have to say (shameless plug here) that my panels were really solidly installed. It took work to get them off the car! Once the footwell is dismantled, it is an easy thing to swing the evaporator in and out of the tunnel. It sits above the hard coolant lines, and there needs to be some clearance.

This is the rear of the evaporator unit. The hard coolant lines are running under neath. I used the clamp to get an idea of where it should rest. Orientation: Passenger side front third of the tunnel.

This is the Factory Five replacement bracket. I bolted the bracket onto the evaporator unit (not seen) and  slid the  bracket upwards until it was flush with the tunnel cross member. orientation: Passenger side front third of tunnel. 

Front bracket on the evaporator unit.  It is too wide for the GTM chassis. I drilled new holes and installed rivnuts. The excess needs to be cut off.

The front bracket for the evaporator is wider than the cross member it rests on. The excess will need to be trimmed. I plan to do that later. The rear bracket is replaced with the Factory Five bracket. The trick I discovered here was to bolt the end of the bracket in place, and slide it up until outside of the becomes flush with the tunnel cross member. Once I had that position, I put a clamp under the bracket, and riveted the bracket in place.

Rear bracket riveted in place. Unit installed. The passenger side footwell remains dismantled.

I marked the front bracket for rivnuts. The slots for attachment do not work since they drop into open space on the other side of the chassis cross member. I drilled new holes and bolted the unit into place.

Consideration: before you even think about the AC Plenum or buttoning things up, go find the hard lines for the AC. Once everything is tight, there is ABSOLUTELY NO ROOM TO WORK ON THESE.

Hard lines off the Evaporator. You can see the accumulator bolted above the steering rack. I think this is easier to do from below, because you don't have to fight the cross member where the evaporator bracket is bolted.  In both cases there are two nuts that need to be tightened.  In this photo they are hidden by the cross member. Orientation: Taken from above. Left side is towards the front of car. Right side is towards cockpit.

Unfortunately, I learned the hard way about the coolant lines. I installed the AC plenum relocation and bolted down the evaporator unit. The cross member that the evaporator unit is attached to interferes with connecting the hard coolant lines. BTW: The instructions at this point are vague (that's putting it kindly). I ended up drilling out the rivets on the AC Plenum, unbolting the evaporator unit and standing under the car to get the hard lines installed. This is a major pain. I plan to leave everything loose until this beast is in place.

Issue: Remember to put the O rings in and grease them with refrigerant oil.

This the O ring for one of the hard lines (and my thumb).

Issue: If the evaporator ever needs maintenance or replacement, this is going to be a major job. I think the footwell needs to be as solid as possible. Therefore, it needs to be riveted back into place.

With the evaporator in place, I depart from the manual's instructions. This is when I install the AC Plenum Relocation pieece, and change the location of the motor.