Dear Les and mid-60s Buick cool cat wannabes . . .
Has anybody tried one of the new Mark IV under dash a/c units in a 66 Skylark? Thank you, Les
Well, since I don't own a 1966 Buick Skylark, the shortest possible answer is - no. But perhaps I can be a bit more helpful than that. I suppose you are referring to the Vintage Air reproduction of the Mark IV underdash air conditioner - correct?
http://www.vintageair.com/2014catalog/Pages%20from%202014%20VintageAir%20Cat%20rev%208-15%2051.pdfIf so, you have to assess two problems.
1.) Does this underdash unit physically fit into the dash of your 1966 Buick Skylark. The dimensions are supplied on the web page I've given, you could also ask for a paper copy of the Vintage Air catalog from the company for easier access. I looked into this setup for my 1965 wagon and it would have fit okay, but I wanted to use the space under the ashtray for the traditional triplet of gauges.
2.) If you can fit this unit, I believe the remaining problem is to fit the Vintage Air compressor and evaporator into your engine bay and routing the hoses from the engine bay to the underdash unit. You'll need a bracket to support the compressor and need to cobble together something to support the condenser. On my wagon it wasn't much of a problem to fit the condenser coil in front of the radiator. The compressor bracket is more of a challenge because the pulleys need to line up exactly. One way to solve the problem is to "splice" a Sanden compressor bracket onto a Buick bracket of the period that supported the A/C compressor. However, this has to be done with great precision.
There is one puzzle that the Vintage Air catalog does not explain. With their "sure-fit" kits, the heater coil is included so that you replace both the heater and add air conditioning. So on my wagon, hoses for the heater and A/C are routed to the Vintage Air so-called "evaporator assembly." The catalog doesn't mention if the Mark IV reproduction also includes a heater coil or not. This is important because when my wagon got her Vintage Air upgrade, we were able to reuse some of the heater housing parts to route the hoses. If you need to preserve your 1966 heater, that will limit your hose routing options.
Alas, that is all I can offer and it isn't all that much. You might want to "hold your nose" and visit some
"Chebby" forums to see if you can find an example of an installed Mark Vi on another make of GM car. If all else fails, you might give Vintage Air a call. These units are expensive, they should be willing to give you some technical support beforehand to understand what is involved in installing the Mark IV underdash unit.
Hope that's some help.
Cheers, Edouard
