A-6 compressor TLC

[Fred H.]

All,

First time poster so bear with me.
I own a 63 coupe with what I am fairly certain is factory AC. I have talked to Tom Christmann about it. Tom has built up a database of the 63's with AC.
The compressor is in serious need of TLC. I have had a local shop make attempts at rebuilding it, but those attempts have failed. The last time they tried, I measured the housing ID and it was out of round by about 0.020".
I then sent the compressor to Classic Auto Air in Tampa and they got it back to working...sort of. After a handful of uses, the compressor locked up. My guess is that the build up of head pressure made the housing issues worse and the internals locked up.
Now I am on the hunt for a shop that is willing to take this tired old compressor and give it the attention it needs to make it run like new again.
Any suggestions?
Any idea what the ID of the housing should be? It would give me target to shoot for if I have to find a local machine shop to fix the ovality.

Thanks in advance for the help
Fred H.

[Mark H.]

Re: A-6 compressor TLC

Fred,

Interesting in that you and I have similar problems - at least with Classic Auto Air in Tampa. My '65s compressor needed a rebuild and I too sent it to them and now my clutch won't disengage, and I'm getting little help from them. They claim the compressor may have been dropped, etc. Maybe it was by UPS, not by me. And the minute I opened the box I remember thinking "wow, that is not near enough cushening (that air-filled plastic stuff) to keep this compressor protected during shipment" (the thing weights about 25 lb !). When I sent it to them, it had twice that much cushening/shock-absorbing mat'l around it. Leave it to say I am not impressed with Classic Auto Air's $250 rebuild and am now struggeling to get much help from them. They'd allow me to ship it back but I'd have to pay the 2-way (insured for big bucks) shipping !

Good luck to both of us. If you find a great place let me know and I'll do the same.

Mark

[Fred H.]

Re: A-6 compressor TLC

Mark,

My experience with Classic Auto Air was not bad. I falsely assumed that they would run a bench test with the compressor before sending it back to me. Your right in saying that you expected more for the price you paid. That is why I am looking for an alternative shop. I'll let you know if I find one.

Fred

[Greg A.]

Re: A-6 compressor TLC

It's been nearly 6 years, but I had Old Air Products from Ft. Worth rebuild the original R4 compressor for my '78. They charged $195 and did a nice job...it still works!

I know I got the recommendation off this board. See www.oldairproducts.com. I assume they know the older A-6 style better than my R4!