Vintage Air Gen-IV System - Ice Maker

The included condenser and dryer hard lines are secured next. Be sure to use the proper O-ring (included) and a generous application of O-ring lubricant when assembling the hard lines. Hold the condenser fittings with the proper size wrench to prevent damage to the fittings when tightening the hard line. Finally, insert the rubber grommet into the pass-through hole and secure the smaller of the two lines with the included rubber-coated P-clamp.

The Vintage Air compressor mounting bracket is designed to mount the Sanden compressor in the same relative location as the original compressor. The bracket can accommodate newer-style cylinder heads (which we're seeing more and more with crate engines) simply by drilling out the three mounting holes to the next size up. A step-style drill bit works great for this.

Since this car was already wearing a Randall's Rack conversion, we had to measure and shorten the three aluminum spacers supplied with the rack and pinion kit, as well as notch the Vintage Air bracket for clearance. A little math, some quick work with a cut-off wheel, and we were good to go.

With the Randall's Rack power steering pump reinstalled on its aluminum bracket and the Vintage Air supplied Sanden compressor fitted to its bracket, everything fit nicely and lined up well. You are on your own for pulley sourcing (if you need any) and belt length, but most small-block pulleys have been reproduced, or you can always upgrade to a complete serpentine solution like Vintage Air's Front Runner.

With the underhood work completed (sans hoses), we moved our attention to the Vintage Air Gen-IV evaporator case installation. The Gen-IV for the early Mustang is secured to the firewall and cowl via three formed-steel brackets. The Gen-IV case has nut-serts preinstalled to accept the mounting bracket's fasteners.

The two brackets that retain the evaporator case to the firewall use supplied 1/4-20 bolts and push-lock retainers. An easy way to secure the push-lock retainers and not destroy your finger tips is to use a small 1/4-inch-drive deep socket to push the retainer over the bolt's threads, as shown here.

Once you have the three mounting brackets secured to the case, you can move forward with installation of the heater core and evaporator hard lines. The hard lines are installed with lubricated O-rings, and like the condenser assembly, require two wrenches to properly hold the fixed tube while tightening the tube nut.

Before the evaporator case can be installed, a few prep items need to be taken care of first. The passenger-side cowl hat needs to be sealed off, as the evaporator case will sit right under it and the outside air source is no longer needed.

The included cap is secured via three tapping screws and sealed with silicone. At the firewall, the provided metal block-off plate is installed with the included fasteners and also sealed with silicone. Now is also the best time to install the Vintage Air supplied defroster ducts to the underside of the dash.

Although the instructions said to install all three evaporator case brackets in advance, Merv couldn't seem to get the case up under the dash with the rear bracket installed, as it would hit the dash.

Thirty seconds later, with the bracket removed, the case slid easily into place under the dash. You might have better luck depending upon carpet thickness, padding, and whatnot.

It's best to have a second set of hands for this next step. As the evaporator case is slid up under the dash, there are four hard lines and two mounting studs to pass through the firewall, which will take a little finesse to accomplish. Once the lines are through, the two firewall mounting bolts can be secured with the included nuts and washers.

The one evaporator case bracket we removed earlier finds its way back to the evaporator case and is then secured to the bottom of the cowl with two self-tapping screws. It's best to put a little sealer on the screw threads to prevent any rain water or car-wash water from working its way down the threads and into your interior.

The wiring harness for the Vintage Air Gen-IV system is easy to figure out. Most of it is pre-terminated to connect to the Gen-IV's computer and relays, with only a few loose wires to cut to length and terminate with the included terminals. Here we're securing the system's two relays to the cowl panel directly above the evaporator case.

The harness is then tie-wrapped to some existing underdash wiring, and the harness's molded connector plugged into the Gen-IV's computer, which sits atop the evaporator case. The plug to the right is for the actual dash controls, which we'll be tackling here momentarily. The single loose purple wire needs to find a home with a key-switched 12-volt source. Merv attached it to the original ignition switched heater wiring.

Under the hood, the main power feed's circuit breaker is mounted to the inner fender, and the red wires coming from the firewall are reconnected. The remaining wires will be routed, cut to length, and terminals installed as follows: red to battery positive, white to battery negative, blue to binary switch at condenser/dryer, and green to the electric heater control valve (not yet installed).

Since the Gen-IV is completely electronically controlled with stepper motors for the various temperature blend and air control doors, it goes without saying that something has to be done with the stock cable controls. Vintage Air's answer is the cable converter, a small electronic slide control that converts the lever movement into an electrical signal. The installation requires disassembly and modification of the cable controls. Here, we're removing the original blower switch and vacuum controls.

Vintage Air includes two new control levers that will work with both '67 and '68 style controls. It's just a matter of using the included templates to locate and drill the proper holes and to trim the control levers to fit the end knobs.

The cable converters are used to convert the movement of the control panel lever's range of motion to an electrical signal for the Gen-IV computer. We trimmed the universal endlink to the proper length per the included instructions for all three converters.

The completed control panel, with its three cable converters in place, simply requires connecting the wiring harness to each converter (the instructions detail which wire colors connect to which converter) and securing the wiring via the included tie-wraps.

With the controls properly modified and refit to the dash, we're in the home stretch now with our hose kit installation. There are only three loose hoses to install under the hood and they use different fitting sizes so it's impossible to mix them up. Route the long lines first, being sure to lubricate and install the required O-rings on the end fittings. Don't tighten one end without starting the opposite end fitting first. This will allow you to gently rotate the hose for best routing and clearance before tightening up the end fittings. As before, be sure to use two wrenches to prevent damaging the tube fittings.

Once you have the hoses installed, clocked, and routed to your liking, ensure all openings in the firewall are sealed. The air conditioner will be more efficient with less chance for hot air to get in, so check things like door seals, glass adjustment, and so forth. Even consider tinting your windows to help the air conditioner's output. The Vintage Air kit includes a roll of press tape, mainly to keep the #10 suction line insulated as shown here, but you can use it to seal the heater hose fittings and other small holes as well.

Back inside the car, the Gen-IV's case drain needs attention, as well as the actual routing of the dash vent hose, before we can charge the system. For the case drain, the instructions call for drilling a hole in the firewall one inch below the drain outlet on the case. Since the car had factory air, we opted to reuse the original drain hole. Taking the remnants of the original drain hose, we passed the Vintage Air drain hose through it, trimmed it to length, and installed its 90-degree end fitting for a clean and simple solution.

Last on our installation list is the duct work. The Gen-IV evaporator case uses two different outlet sizes, a 2-inch-diameter for the defroster vents and a 2 1/2-inch-diameter for the main dash outlets. Be certain you're using the proper size duct for the vent you are routing and ensure the duct is not in the way of any moving object, like the glovebox, ashtray, wiper mechanism, and so on, and then cut the duct to length. You want a small amount of slack/flex in the duct, so don't make the routing too tight. At this point, it's simply a matter of routing your heater hoses and having the system charged by a professional shop and you're done.