I'm fed up with my 308's lack of AC!!

Sorry for not responding sooner.

I gave up trying to have evaporators and condensers manufactured.

I will manufacture mounting brackets for an off the shelf parallel flow (4-pass) evaporator which is 30% more efficient that the factory condenser.

The brackets will also provide mounting holes for two 12" fans.

I have sourced a R-134a dryer/pressure switch that will fit in the factory bracket.

I will be receiving the continuosly variable compressor on Friday, 4/18/08.

The only catch with the compressor is the "V" groove pulley which will have to be custom made.

I will manufacture an adapter plate which will allow the new compressor to attach to the factory compressor bracket.

I have also sourced a block style R-134a expansion valve.

The only major component left is the evaporator which I will attempt to manufacture.

Here is a screen shot of my first pass design for the evaporator.

More to come (including photos)

Rob
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Sorry for not responding sooner.

Work is progressing.

I will post photos as I comlete each part.

Here is a quick summary.

The following is complete:

1) compressor pulley design
2) condenser fan mount design
3) electrical connector parts list
4) compressor adapter plate design

The compressor adapter plate material was ordered on Monday.

I am currently finishing the condenser mounting bracket design.

I still have to:

1) design tooling to modify the condenser
2) finish the evaporator design
3) design the compressor hard lines
4) finish the condenser hard lines design
5) design the evaporator hard lines
6) order the new compressor belt
7) order the compressor suction screen filter
8) order the expansion valve
9) order data aquisition system

More to come.......

 

Here is a visual update on my efforts:

compressor pulley (custom made to accept a 60 degree v-belt versus the standard 38 degree v-belt used on most cars, 20% smaller diameter than stock so compressor will run faster at idle, also compressor has 43% larger discplacement than stock, idling at a stoplight places the highest demand on the system)

condenser with cooling fans (straight blade and curved blade fans shown, final design will use curved blade fans for both sides)

expansion valve (block style with internal temperature and pressure sensing, stock unit only had temperature sensing)

evaporator in housing (extra space around the core will be packed with foam to make sure all the airflow goes thru the core)

evaporator core (serpentine design, all aluminum, not my first choice but it will be used for initial testing)

clutch connector (watertight)

fan connector (watertight, one set for each fan)

receiver/dryer (R-134 desicant, same exterior dimensions as the original R-12 unit)

trinary pressure switch (R-134 setpoints, includes radiator fan control switch)

more to come.....
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Sorry for not responding sooner.

A lot of progress has been made.

I decided to design a new evaporator assembly due to the poor manufacturing quality of the cores I had designed last year to fit in the original housing.

Completed items in car:

1) compressor
2) condenser and fans
3) evaporator and fans
4) expansion valve
5) dryer

Incomplete items:

1) hi and low pressure charge port brazing
2) condenser fan connectors (waiting on pins, expected delivery this friday 1/23)
3) compressor clutch wiring harness
4) evaporator electronic fan speed controller (digital thermostat in the near future)
5) dryer to expansion valve tubing assembly brazing (waiting on tube expander, expected delivery this friday 1/23)
6) high pressure hose to condenser tubing assembly brazing (waiting on tube expander, expected delivery this friday 1/23)
7) pressure switch wiring
8) system testing

I will post pictures shortly (need to ship this weeks orders first, that whole making a living thing keeps getting in the way).

Thank you for your patience.

Rob

 

Sorry for not responding sooner.

Sorry, but I am not familiar with the Mondial A/C system.

The plan is to finish this first system and then keep adding applications.

Completed items in car:

1) compressor
2) condenser and fans
3) evaporator and fans
4) expansion valve
5) dryer
6) hi and low pressure charge ports
7) condenser fan connectors
8) dryer to expansion valve tubing assembly
9) high pressure hose to condenser tubing assembly
10) evaporator fan connectors

Incomplete items:

1) compressor clutch wiring harness
2) evaporator electronic fan speed controller (digital thermostat in the near future)
3) pressure switch wiring
4) system testing

I tested the evaporator fans after connecting the ducts and noticed a lot of air thru the lower center vent but very little air from the upper dash vent.

Figured I would pull the louver from the dash vent and did not like what I saw.

My car does not have a center dash vent duct seal.

This seal is supposed to bridge the gap between the top of the duct and the bottom of the dash.

Without the seal the air can simply escape under the dash.

After searching Ferrarichat I was not happy to hear about not being able to remove the dash with pulling the windshield.

Something about brackets that go under the windshield seal??

After much head scratching about how to install a seal I decided to see if I could somehow access the area from the side after removing the instrument cluster.

I then noticed that the driver side defroster vent did not have a seal either.

The gap starts at 1/2" at the top and gets bigger towards the bottom ending up at a 1.375" gap.

Ideally the seal would be glued to the top of the ducts.

I then decided to remove all the dashboard screws to see if I could lift the dash enough to gain access.

To my supprise the dashboard was not attached to the windshield and came out easily after removing the steering wheel, turn signal cluster housing, and radio.

The only part that stays in the car is the black aluminum trim piece between the dash and the windshield.

I REPEAT YOU CAN REMOVE THE DASHBOARD WITHOUT REMOVING THE WINDSHIELD!!

My car is an 85 308 QV US version, not sure it this is true for earlier or later cars.

Anyway I spent some time on the phone today with foam cutting companies to see about having closed cell foam seals cut with self advesive glue on the bottom.

I e-mailed CAD drawings of the seals to the companies who have said they will respond quickly.

(see attached images)

The saga continues.

Rob
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Here is a summary of how I removed my dash.

1) remove two screws on each side of dashboard(open doors to reveal screw heads, one above the other, phillips head screws)
2) remove radio
3) dislocate relay board next to fuse blocks to access lower dash securing screw (phillips head) from the passenger side
4) remove instrument cluster (pull out four warning lights in each corner of cluster to access moutning screws, phillips head screws)
5) disconnect instrument cluster wiring harness (three connectors below instrument cluster)
6) remove instrument cluster top cover (four mounting screws easy to remove after removing dashboard, 10mm wrench)
7) disconnect instrument cluster dimmer harness
8) remove horn button and steering wheel from steering wheel adapter (six flat head socket cap screws)
9) remove steering wheel adapter (this requires a 38mm ring nut socket and a three jaw puller)
10) remove turn signal cluster housing (securing screw located at lower right hand corner of housing, ~5 oclock position)
11) disconnect turn signal wiring harness (two connectors next to steering column)
12) gently pull dashboard toward you and slightly down to clear windshield side pillar trim pieces
13) after dash is free you will have to lift it up and over the steering column

(please forgive me if I have left anything out)

(see attached images for photo of a home made 38mm ring nut socket from an old 12 point 1.25" socket wrench and a Dremel tool)

Like most disassembly projects I would stress not rushing or forcing anything.

If something is stuck figure out why, don't use brute force instead of your brain.

I have installed and removed the dash several times to check/confirm the vent seal design.

On my car there is no clearance issue with the trim piece or the windshield.

I REPEAT, IT IS VERY EASY TO REMOVE AND INSTALL THE DASH!!

Again, I can not vouch for earlier or later cars.

Rob
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