defiant1

I am learning a lot about the car. But not sure on the A/C I have in the car. Based on the pictures, is the A/C factory or an after the fact installation?

Also the hose near the accelerator pedal, I see where it hooks to the AC but need to know what it does. Is it a drain hose? Whatever it is, it is in an inconvenient spot as your foot keeps knocking it off its connection.

If anyone has the same setup, please let me know.

70 cutlass s

That's not factory A/C. I don't have any idea what the hose is for.

defiant1

Okay, that is a start. I guess I will see what kind of markings I can find on the AC to give me a better idea where/who installed it.

VikingBlue

maybe it's a drain hose like room air conditioners have..for an aftermarket AC unit.

yzzerdd

Yes, on the bottom of the A/C unit, you can see a protrusion (was going to use the word nipple, but decided protrusion might be a little better) that the hose appears to have been disconnected from. Reconnect the two. As suggested above, it seems to be a drain hose.

--Jack R.

redoldsman

The hose is definitely a drain hose because those things create a lot of moisture since they remove moisture from the air. It is for sure aftermarket and could be manufactured by John E. Mitchell company in Dallas or ARA in Fort Worth since they were large manufactures of aftermarket A/C units. Of course there were a number of other companies but these are two that come to mind. Does it still work?

defiant1

The previous owner said the AC worked. I have not tried it yet as I am working on the motor, changing fluids, belts, gaskets etc.

Now that you mention ARA, I believe that is what is written on the front of the unit.
Thanks for your help.

rocketraider

If that unit works, it will outperform the factory A/C. Only thing is all the aftermarkets were recirculating units and don't give you an outside air option.

jeffreyalman

I had all 3 of my recirc doors wired shut so I never get outside air, A/C is 40 deg at the vents on all 3

Lady72nRob71

Put a small worm drive clamp on the condensate hose to secure it. Last thing you need is water draining inside...

Great idea for driving in big cities with lots of smelly diesels...
I plan to install a switch in my AC system to allow for a recirculate option when using the heat.

jeffreyalman

my era cars only had recirc on max fan, now I have it on all speeds