67 SB Coupe with A/C upgrade

[Tom R.]

Among my many NCRS memberships, I'm also a member of our local Corvette club which is non-NCRS and proud of it. But we also have a Classic Car Club (muscle car types) and ran into a member of the Corvette club (weekly drive-in hosted by classic car club) sporting a 67 marina blue four-speed smallblock with deletes...like radio. Car used to be dragged raced than restored and sold as a driver.

My curiosity is this...he wants to install vintage air (a wife thing). He's got the aluminum radiator (or looks like) along with the surge tank. I pointed out to him that 67 air Corvettes came with brass radiator (i'm assuming based on my 68 knowledge) and he may wish to consider an upgrade to radiator to increase cooling capacity if he intends to add air.

So...what's the story. Upgrade the radiator and run it like it is?

[Kevin M.]

Re: 67 SB Coupe with A/C upgrade

Run it like it is, aluminum cools better. Jerry F will chime in soon he loves his vintage air and Top Flighted with it on his car.

Kevin

[Kevin M.]

Re: 67 SB Coupe with A/C upgrade

Run it like it is, aluminum cools better. Jerry F will chime in soon he loves his vintage air and Top Flighted with it on his car.

Kevin

[Gerard F.]

Re: 67 SB Coupe with A/C upgrade

Tom,

If he is not having heating problems now, tell him to run it like it is. I have a vintage air system on my 67 S/B 300 HP with it's original aluminum radiator. Only time I have noticed elevated temperature was in hot weather in bumper to bumper, stop and go traffic. Otherwise, no noticeable difference when just cruising along.

If your friend orders Vintage Air for a 67, make sure they know it is for a 67.
They make up special radio side panels for the 67 fresh air pulls (which are still usable independently of the system).

Hopefully, your friends car is not a heater delete car, as you use the original heater/defrost controls for the vintage air system but replace the heater box with a new heater/AC/fan unit. But they will also sell you the controls.

Actually it's a pretty slick system, and you lose some but not too many points off on a non-AC car in Flight Judging.

Hope this helps,

Jerry Fuccillo
#42179

[Gerard F.]

Re: 67 SB Coupe with A/C upgrade

Tom,

If he is not having heating problems now, tell him to run it like it is. I have a vintage air system on my 67 S/B 300 HP with it's original aluminum radiator. Only time I have noticed elevated temperature was in hot weather in bumper to bumper, stop and go traffic. Otherwise, no noticeable difference when just cruising along.

If your friend orders Vintage Air for a 67, make sure they know it is for a 67.
They make up special radio side panels for the 67 fresh air pulls (which are still usable independently of the system).

Hopefully, your friends car is not a heater delete car, as you use the original heater/defrost controls for the vintage air system but replace the heater box with a new heater/AC/fan unit. But they will also sell you the controls.

Actually it's a pretty slick system, and you lose some but not too many points off on a non-AC car in Flight Judging.

Hope this helps,

Jerry Fuccillo
#42179

[John H.]

Re: 67 SB Coupe with A/C upgrade

Tom -

All '67 small-blocks came with the Harrison aluminum stacked-plate radiator, which is as good as it gets for cooling; he shouldn't have any issues with an aftermarket A/C installation in terms of cooling if the system is in good shape. Only the '67 big-blocks had copper/brass radiators (except L-88).

[John H.]

Re: 67 SB Coupe with A/C upgrade

Tom -

All '67 small-blocks came with the Harrison aluminum stacked-plate radiator, which is as good as it gets for cooling; he shouldn't have any issues with an aftermarket A/C installation in terms of cooling if the system is in good shape. Only the '67 big-blocks had copper/brass radiators (except L-88).

[Joe R.]

Re: 67 SB Coupe with A/C upgrade

Hi John:

I gather that "everyone" agrees that the aluminum radiator is more efficient than the brass radiator. Do you think that GM's engineers had this view in 1967? If so, why did they choose to use a brass radiator instead of aluminum for the big blocks? Surely they recognized that the big blocks would present more of a cooling load than the small block.

I realize that the big block brass radiator is physically larger than the small block aluminum radiator, but if the aluminum radiator technology is more efficient I'm surprised that GM didn't just use a larger aluminum radiator for the big blocks.

This question has always bothered me, and the above thread prompted me to ask you whether you know GM's reasoning behind using brass for the big block radiators.

[Joe R.]

Re: 67 SB Coupe with A/C upgrade

Hi John:

I gather that "everyone" agrees that the aluminum radiator is more efficient than the brass radiator. Do you think that GM's engineers had this view in 1967? If so, why did they choose to use a brass radiator instead of aluminum for the big blocks? Surely they recognized that the big blocks would present more of a cooling load than the small block.

I realize that the big block brass radiator is physically larger than the small block aluminum radiator, but if the aluminum radiator technology is more efficient I'm surprised that GM didn't just use a larger aluminum radiator for the big blocks.

This question has always bothered me, and the above thread prompted me to ask you whether you know GM's reasoning behind using brass for the big block radiators.

[Peter L.]

Re: 67 SB Coupe with A/C upgrade

Tom - I think it's implicit in everyone's response but just in case, please note that 67 sb Covettes with C60 came originally with the aluminum radiator. Pete

[Peter L.]

Re: 67 SB Coupe with A/C upgrade

Tom - I think it's implicit in everyone's response but just in case, please note that 67 sb Covettes with C60 came originally with the aluminum radiator. Pete

[Tom R.]

Yes...it's heater delete

Thanks guys...yes its heater delete. I'll pass along the comments re controls.

[Tom R.]

Yes...it's heater delete

Thanks guys...yes its heater delete. I'll pass along the comments re controls.

[Gerard F.]

Re: Yes...it's heater delete

Tom,

I think they would still have the holes in the dash with the heater delete, but he'll have to come up with the bezels, knobs and defrost control which are available. Not sure about the hole for the defrost, but they give you a new duct fitting with the kit, as well as new radio side panels.

Jerry Fuccillo

[Gerard F.]

Re: Yes...it's heater delete

Tom,

I think they would still have the holes in the dash with the heater delete, but he'll have to come up with the bezels, knobs and defrost control which are available. Not sure about the hole for the defrost, but they give you a new duct fitting with the kit, as well as new radio side panels.

Jerry Fuccillo