A/C Setup

So my truck is running pretty good, and it's time to think about the A/C. Are there any other setups out there other than the S&P kit? I'd like to get it done for less money than they are asking, and the polished brackets and compressor would look out of place in my engine compartment as I have no other chrome/polished/billet stuff in there.

I would love to use the style of compressor that my truck came with to make the hookup even easier. I really don't want to mess around with making a bracket though.

You can do without, mod the frame and use the Gen3 truck mount or paint or powdercoat the S&P aluminum ones black. I know they're pricey but unless you have some pretty good fabrication skills you're going to pay the price for ready-made pieces.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(RedHeartbeat &#064; Jun 17 2007, 12&#58;20 PM) [snapback]97036[/snapback]</div>

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You can do without, mod the frame and use the Gen3 truck mount or paint or powdercoat the S&P aluminum ones black. I know they&#39;re pricey but unless you have some pretty good fabrication skills you&#39;re goint to pay the price for ready-made pieces.
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Not doing without, not modding the frame. I&#39;m sure I could fab one, but I just don&#39;t want to mess with it. Was hoping there was another option besides S&P

March makes a set but they won&#39;t sell the a/c setup seperately and it&#39;s more expensive for their kit than the full S&P accessory kit.

Anyone tried this setup? http://www.fbodymotorsports.com/inc/sdetail/12165

Looks like the compressor that my &#39;90 had come with originally.

That looks like it could work with the true LS1 Fbody engines. All truck engine guys will have to space it out to compensate for the longer crank pulley. That&#39;s a good price for an installation kit if it allows you to reuse what you already have. Let us know how it fits&#33; :thumb:

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(RedHeartbeat &#064; Jun 17 2007, 02&#58;30 PM) [snapback]97047[/snapback]</div>

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That looks like it could work with the true LS1 Fbody engines. All truck engine guys will have to space it out to compensate for the longer crank pulley. That&#39;s a good price for an installation kit if it allows you to reuse what you already have. Let us know how it fits&#33; :thumb:
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Looks like it would work, I need a new compressor anyway, but if I use an original to the truck I won&#39;t have to dick around with custom hoses. If I can confirm this is for the same style compressor I will probably order one next month and see how it works.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(98hd &#064; Jun 17 2007, 02&#58;39 PM) [snapback]97048[/snapback]</div>

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Looks like it would work, I need a new compressor anyway, but if I use an original to the truck I won&#39;t have to dick around with custom hoses. If I can confirm this is for the same style compressor I will probably order one next month and see how it works.
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I have the setup from fbodymotorsports.
I had to make my own spacers to get the brackets out far enough.
I also will have to shorten my a/c hoses to fit properly.
My plan is to get the hoses shortened tomorrow, and when I get it hooked up I can send some pics if you would like.
It may be a week or two, as I have my 6 speed out in the floor right now, but I plan to get it back in the truck this weekend.
It looks pretty much stock, and sets a lot lower than the s&p which I like.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(pnhigg &#064; Jun 20 2007, 03&#58;29 PM) [snapback]97319[/snapback]</div>

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I have the setup from fbodymotorsports.
I had to make my own spacers to get the brackets out far enough.
I also will have to shorten my a/c hoses to fit properly.
My plan is to get the hoses shortened tomorrow, and when I get it hooked up I can send some pics if you would like.
It may be a week or two, as I have my 6 speed out in the floor right now, but I plan to get it back in the truck this weekend.
It looks pretty much stock, and sets a lot lower than the s&p which I like.
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I&#39;d love to see the pics if you get some. What year truck is yours? Are you using the f-body accessories? Interested to hear about the spacer issue.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(98hd &#064; Jun 20 2007, 04&#58;18 PM) [snapback]97324[/snapback]</div>

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I&#39;d love to see the pics if you get some. What year truck is yours? Are you using the f-body accessories? Interested to hear about the spacer issue.
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I may have assumed some things in my post.
I have a 92 fullsize with at 5.3L and truck accessories.
If you have an LS1 with fbody accessories, you likely won&#39;t have space issues like I did.
I had in my mind you had a 5.3 but as I reread the post, that info is not there, so I must have been dreaming.
I will try to get some pics posted by the weekend.
I have been too busy to fool with my truck the past few days.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(pnhigg &#064; Jun 21 2007, 10&#58;37 AM) [snapback]97392[/snapback]</div>

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I may have assumed some things in my post.
I have a 92 fullsize with at 5.3L and truck accessories.
If you have an LS1 with fbody accessories, you likely won&#39;t have space issues like I did.
I had in my mind you had a 5.3 but as I reread the post, that info is not there, so I must have been dreaming.
I will try to get some pics posted by the weekend.
I have been too busy to fool with my truck the past few days.
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No problem, I&#39;m not ordering until next month anyway, but would like to see the pics if you get some. Good to hear I shouldn&#39;t have to mess with the spacing.

Sorry I still haven&#39;t gotten any pics up. We just found out mid week that my sister in law (26 years old) has been diagnosed with a brain tumor and had surgery this morning.
My wife an I have been out of town.
I haven&#39;t forgotten about it.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(pnhigg &#064; Jun 30 2007, 07&#58;40 PM) [snapback]98226[/snapback]</div>

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Sorry I still haven&#39;t gotten any pics up. We just found out mid week that my sister in law (26 years old) has been diagnosed with a brain tumor and had surgery this morning.
My wife an I have been out of town.
I haven&#39;t forgotten about it.
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Sorry to hear about that, take your time.

How much thicker does the spacers need to be for the 5.3?

I can&#39;t tell you for sure. I have been in a hospital waiting room for the past several days, and the truck has been pushed far to the back burner.
I actually made some spacers and used some washers to make everything line up.
I will try to get some pics posted as soon as I get a chance.

Here are some pics of my a/c setup.
Like I said, I have been busy running around like crazy with my wife d/t her sister&#39;s illness, so the hoses aren&#39;t hooked up, but what I used are factory lines for a 4.3 which were then shortened to make the turn.My Webpage
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f2...g/TruckAC2.jpg
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f2...g/TruckAC1.jpg
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f2...gg/TruckAC.jpg
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f2...g/DSC00158.jpg
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f2...g/DSC00157.jpg

In the first pic, I am holding the radiator hose out of the way so you can see the a/c compressor a little better. The others are what it looks like from general vantage point

My bad, the one listed "My Webpage" is the one with the hose held out of the way.
Also the last two are shameless pics of the truck after I put the wheels on it. :smile: :smile: :smile:

Also I can get the belt part # if any of you decide to go this route,
I tried three or four before I found one that worked.

I had to grind off the back of the tensioner and flip it over like on an ls1 to make the belt work.
It just uses two of the bolts instead of 3 as normal on the trucks.

Enjoy

That looks pretty good. I had some other things come up and don&#39;t have money for the bracket right now, but I&#39;m planning on getting one as soon as I can.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(98hd &#064; Jul 13 2007, 09&#58;06 PM) [snapback]99392[/snapback]</div>

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That looks pretty good. I had some other things come up and don&#39;t have money for the bracket right now, but I&#39;m planning on getting one as soon as I can.
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I know the feeling.
Just let me know if you have questions when you get to it and I&#39;ll help all I can

Do you know if this will work with the newer compressors off the 98 v-6 vortec truck engines? The compressor looks a little different. From reading the website I&#39;m sure the brackets will work with my F-body LS1 but I can&#39;t tell about if I could use my old V-6 vortec compressor. I emailed their help section to ask about the difference in the compressor but I&#39;m sure I&#39;ll get the normal "We don&#39;t know" response&#33; If this bracket works it would be able to save a lot on the A/C conversion. Has anyone seen the difference between the two compressors? I&#39;m not even sure what year they changed but I do know that your pictured compressor and the newer (96-98) vortec compressors are different looking. I&#39;ve never seen an older style up close so I don&#39;t know for sure&#33;

I don&#39;t know for sure.
I don&#39;t know exactly how to know for sure, except going to a parts store and comparing both compressors.
I am pretty sure they are very near th same, but I don&#39;t know that they bolt up the same way.

Are your wheels the Boyd Coddington Smoothie II's?

Yes they are smoothie II
18x8 up front, and 18x10 out back

Did you get your A/C working? And if so how cold does it get? Are the brackets made strong enough to last? Good quality? Did you use your truck compressor or an F-Body compressor?

The a/c works well. The brackets will work better for the ls1 than for the 5.3 d/t spacing issues.
I am also planning on making a static tensioner which I think will help my problems with a loose belt.
With LS1 accessories, I think my set up would work very well.
My a/c will get in the low 40s inside the truck.

make your own brackets or mod the ones you can buy
http://img2.putfile.com/thumb/10/28521414348.jpg
these i made, heres what you would modify to fit

http://img2.putfile.com/thumb/12/35313163046.jpg

and you need an 03+ a/c comp, and matching lines and notch the frame rail a tad.... like so:
http://img2.putfile.com/thumb/10/28521414234.jpg
extra 750 for a/c nahh, im good... but with the ls1 bracketry i dont think its possible. maybe this combo would work:
ls1 intake + 07 waterpump + stock 5.3 accessores. the 07's have a different angle on the water neck and doesnt hit the TB.

dragging one out of the closet here... but you only have to notch the frame for the lines to clear? and only for a 03+ a/c compressor? whats wrong with older models?

I believe what you're looking at is a 73-87 model type frame. The fully boxed frames of the 88-98 frame would have to be notched severely to fit the factory a/c unit of a Gen3 engine into the vehicle in its stock location.

KWiK Performance, Inc. - Home

http://www.ls1truck.com/upload/files/251/IMG_4109_2.JPG



I stumbled on this kit when I decided to do my ac. I picked up the compressor on ebay for 110 bux and had the lines made at napa for about 75. I like ur setup, very nice though!

Damn! That's what I could use! Wouldn't have had to notch my frame inside the mount brackets and cab. DAYUM!!!!

Oh well... live and learn. Why wasn't this around when I did the swap 2 years ago?!?!

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Originally Posted by Turbo_smh

KWiK Performance, Inc. - Home

http://www.ls1truck.com/upload/files/251/IMG_4109_2.JPG



I stumbled on this kit when I decided to do my ac. I picked up the compressor on ebay for 110 bux and had the lines made at napa for about 75. I like ur setup, very nice though!

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I've aso used this kit on installations and it works well. Gives a little more factory look than S&P's setup not to mention it's cheaper.

awesome kit turbo_, that's probably what I'll wind up getting, much more affordable!

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Originally Posted by Turbo_smh

KWiK Performance, Inc. - Home

http://www.ls1truck.com/upload/files/251/IMG_4109_2.JPG



I stumbled on this kit when I decided to do my ac. I picked up the compressor on ebay for 110 bux and had the lines made at napa for about 75. I like ur setup, very nice though!

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How did you decide on which sanden compressor to buy? I've got dual AC, does that make a difference in which compressor I need?

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Originally Posted by NITROUS

I've aso used this kit on installations and it works well. Gives a little more factory look than S&P's setup not to mention it's cheaper.

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Man this sounds funny but when I decided to go through with this project your trucks engine bay was the one I based everything on. It was the only set of pictures I found online until I found this site later on in the project when it was pretty much complete. :hail:

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Originally Posted by bigburb

How did you decide on which sanden compressor to buy? I've got dual AC, does that make a difference in which compressor I need?

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Yea the kit will actually give you a couple of part numbers for compressors unfortunately, you will have to change your lines to adapt to new style. I had my lines made at NAPA for about 80 bux

purchased it today!

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Originally Posted by bigburb

purchased it today!

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Awesome! let me know if you have any trouble

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Originally Posted by Turbo_smh

Man this sounds funny but when I decided to go through with this project your trucks engine bay was the one I based everything on. It was the only set of pictures I found online until I found this site later on in the project when it was pretty much complete. :hail:

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Cool, thanks! You took the easier way out bro, I wish I would've done that sometimes. Trick truck you have!