Mike Posted December 4, 2018 Share #13 Posted December 4, 2018 Awesome write-up, thank you for taking the time to do this. Your installation looks very clean and organized.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpilati Posted December 4, 2018 Share #14 Posted December 4, 2018 I have this one or a Gen III in my car. Awesome air conditioning! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qz16 Posted January 6, 2019 Author Share #15 Posted January 6, 2019 I was asked to regenerate the parts list order/s required for the install of the vintage air mini gen II. Below is the information for the mock-up box that vintage air loans out to help customers understand the size of the package that has to be installed inside the car. It helps you understand where to put the evaporator and hose connections. I cotacted vintage air and this was the info that they gave me. I decided that in my case it would not be necessary to actually mock-up the install. I was confident that I could get everything to fit based on other installs that I had read about. I would add that vintage air was responsive and helpful. “The shipping box measures 26 x 20 x 20. The evaporator assembly measures 11" high by 11.5" wide x 8.5" deep and will sit up against the firewall and a small portion of the bottom of the unit will sit down below the bottom of the dash. You would see about 2" to 3" of the bottom of the case. The switch kit we have for this system is separate from the original and can be placed under the steering wheel or in the console out of site. You can go to our web site at autoacsolutions.com and to to instructions for more on installation of the system. Click onto our indash a/c instructions. If we can be of more assistance let me know. I will be working messages off and on through the weekend and will try to answer as soon as possible.” The only disappointment that I had with Vintage air was that they could make it a great deal easier to order a complete system. I would suggest that they spend some time reading some of the different popular forums searching for reasonably good installs and create a parts list for some of the popular classic installs. Obviously, it would be nice to place a single perfect order that contains everything you would need. I have been able to do this a couple of times. Sadly, this was not one of those times. Below is the first order that I placed. The error of my ways is immediately apparent: I did not use the Horizontal slide panel. I did use the York to sanden conversion bracket – but I have heard that there are better solutions out there. I used vintage air’s ez-clip kit. I also purchased their plier which I think is well worth the expense. It was easy to use. It allowed me to create the customized hose routing that I wanted. I am still in the throws of restoring my car so I do not have any experience with the quality of this connection system, but I have high hopes that it will not leak. I liked the idea of using the bulkhead connectors and so I bought two. One for the AC hoses and one for the heater hoses. If I had to do it again, I might separate the hoses a bit more; just to make it easier to connect the hoses. The bottom line is don’t get ahead of yourself. Order what you need. As best I could tell there is no discount for larger orders with the exception of shipping cost. 66005-VUZ-A MINI GEN II W/DEF EA 1.00 0.00 470.00 470.00 main unit (heater/def/AC) inside car49110-SHQ HORIZ SLIDE PANEL (MACHINED) EA 1.00 0.00 75.00 75.00 slide controls63375-VUE DEFROSTER DUCTS (SET) EA 1.00 0.00 19.95 19.95 04808-VUQ SD-508 POL COMP O-RING 134a EA 1.00 0.00 249.00 249.00 compressor15815-VUB YORK TO SANDEN CONVERSION KIT EA 1.00 0.00 60.00 60.00 conversion bracket to mount compressor547002 HOSE KIT,E-Z CLIP UNIVERSAL EA 1.00 0.00 360.00 360.00 clip kit (hoses+connectors)420000-VUR EZ CLIP PLIERS EA 1.00 0.00 78.00 78.00 tool to install ez-clips07323-VUC DRIER W/TRINARY SWITCH EA 1.00 0.00 59.00 59.00 drier389602 STRM 2 WAY INLINE BKHD #6-#10 BLK EA 1.00 0.00 44.00 44.00 bulkhead connector /bracket (AC)389803 STRM 2 WAY INLINE BKHD #10-#10 BLK EA 1.00 0.00 44.00 44.00 bulkhead connector / bracket (water inlet/egress for heater)03263-VUC PARALLEL FLOW COND 14 X 24 W/BRKTS EA 1.00 0.00 149.00 149.00 condenser (to cool air before drier and return to evap) My second order was just foolish. Do not order hose connectors until you really understand your hose routing. In my opinion this is not possible until everything else is installed. With regards to the connections inside the car. My install works but, it would have been a lot easier for me if I had realized how little room there is in the cockpit. If you understand how difficult it is to make bends with these hoses and how much room you need to actually tighten the connectors then placement of the bulkhead connectors can be improved. This influences the selection of connector style (90 deg., 45 deg. straight, etc) I ordered a number of incorrect connectors. 347160-VUR EZ CLIP #6 STRAIGHT EA 4.00 0.00 17.00 68.00 AC and water connectors347100-VUR EZ CLIP #10 STRAIGHT EA 1.00 0.00 19.10 19.10347200-VUR EZ CLIP #10 45 DEGREE EA 1.00 0.00 24.50 24.50347180-VUR EZ CLIP #8 STRAIGHT EA 4.00 0.00 16.00 64.00347380-VUR EZ CLIP #8 90 DEGREE EA 2.00 0.00 18.25 36.50318000-VUR EZ CLIP AC HOSE #10 PER FOOT FT 8.00 0.00 5.75 46.00347962-VUR EZ CLIP #6 CLIP EA 8.00 0.00 0.60 4.80347960-VUR CLIP #6 CAGE EA 4.00 0.00 1.05 4.20347902-VUR EZ CLIP #10 CLIP EA 4.00 0.00 0.65 2.60347900-VUR CLIP #10 CAGE EA 2.00 0.00 1.40 2.80347982-VUR EZ CLIP #8 CLIP EA 12.00 0.00 0.60 7.20347980-VUR CLIP #8 CAGE EA 6.00 0.00 1.15 6.90 Third order:347260-VUR EZ CLIP #6 45 DEGREE EA 1.00 0.00 20.00 20.00 more AC /water connectors and clips347300-VUR EZ CLIP #10 90 DEGREE EA 2.00 0.00 19.75 39.50347900-VUR CLIP #10 CAGE EA 2.00 0.00 1.40 2.80347902-VUR EZ CLIP #10 CLIP EA 8.00 0.00 0.65 5.20347960-VUR CLIP #6 CAGE EA 1.00 0.00 1.05 1.05347962-VUR EZ CLIP #6 CLIP EA 2.00 0.00 0.60 1.20121018 HARDLINE 90 HEATER FITTING EA 2.00 0.00 7.00 14.00121004 HARDLINE STR HEATER FITTING EA 2.00 0.00 7.00 14.00 The final order that I placed was for controls so that I could use the original 240z climate control panel. 11458-VUS SWITCH 3 SPEED BLOWER ROTARY EA 1.00 0.00 11.25 11.25 knobs I needed to use orig. 240z control panel 49457-VUI KNOB CONTROL (ROTARY) EA 1.00 0.00 1.50 1.50 20558-VUP LABEL BLOWER SWITCH EA 1.00 0.00 3.00 3.00 I know some of you will be interested in the total cost of the install. I made a few mistakes that were somewhat costly. And the total cost of these orders also includes the EZ-clip system and plier and extra parts. So, if you add all of the figures the total is approximately $2154. I would estimate that there is approximately $300 worth of material that I did not need or use (panel, bracket, hose connectors ..etc) There is a $75 plier. I did not calculate the additional charge for the ez-clip system. The reason I bring this up is to be fair to vintage air regarding cost. If you compare the price of their system to another vendor make sure that you are comparing equivalent systems. Given the additional information/experience that I have at this point I would make the same choice and go with Vintage Air. I hope this helps and if you have a question, I will try to answer it. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zKars Posted January 6, 2019 Share #16 Posted January 6, 2019 Excellent write up. Thank you for taking the time to create it. Comments from my experience with EZ clip. i love the hose and fittings as they are all DIY. The hose is much smaller than the standard black hose and does much tighter radiuses-es-es... radii? Stay away from the SS braided hose that Vintage Air has unless the look of it is a requirement for your build. Pricey and very technique sensitive to get good seals. Second, do not buy EZ clip stuff from Vintage air. $$$. You can find them at AC businesses such as new-line.com much cheaper. Many major centers have New-Line retail outlets. Third, the EZClip lock ring plier tool is also much cheaper from ebay/amazon or new-line. Get one, don't try to do it with regular pliers. It also allows you to UNDO the clips. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheee! Posted February 15, 2019 Share #17 Posted February 15, 2019 Any pics of the vent hose routing? Looks tight.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qz16 Posted February 15, 2019 Author Share #18 Posted February 15, 2019 Wheee, I am sure that I have the detail photo for whatever you are looking for and if not I can take an additional shot or two. Having said that I am not sure what you are looking for. Below are additional pictures of the cockpit to bulkhead hose routing. Hope this helps but if not let me know what you need and I will snap another shot. So this is a fairly good shot that shows 3 of the 4 hoses. The hoses moving left to right . The first hose (furthest from the firewall is the heater return hose. The next one if the heater entry hose. It has the electric valve (box closest to the Evap Unit). Both heater hoses have EZ coils on them to prevent collapse of the hose. Probably not needed but bend is sharp (not severe) and I just wanted to be on the safe side. The heater hoses go through the firewall behind the evap unit, those bulkhead connections are partially visible in this image. This image is shows the AC bulkhead connections below and to the right of the evap unit. My partially dressed wire harness obstructs the view of the 2nd ac bulkhead connection. This image is from underneath (low in the footwell). Not a lot of extra room. It actually looks worse than it is because of the water valve (the square plastic box under the water hoses). This is really the first view of the 4th hose (the 2nd ac hose). It points down. This is probably the best view of the AC hoses, bulkhead entry/exit in the middle of the image and the goofy routing that I used to get it to the evap. Bottomline: You are correct. There is not a lot of room, but it is certainly enough. It is a pain in the neck to make the connections because of the contortions that you have to go through, kneeling on the ground outside the cockpit etc. I am a little too big to be an easy fit in the footwell. Between the cramps due to the twists of my upper body and the skinned hands I was certainly glad to be done with it. Like I said if you need a different view let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheee! Posted February 15, 2019 Share #19 Posted February 15, 2019 Actually, although these are helpful, I was referring to the vent hoses that go to the defrost ducts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qz16 Posted February 15, 2019 Author Share #20 Posted February 15, 2019 sorry, I just did not pay sufficient attention when I read your question. You said vent hoses and I totally spaced out. The interior on this project has stalled. I have been waiting for a replacement dashboard from Vintage Dashes since September. Sorry I could not be more helpful. If the dash shows up I will be getting back into this and will make sure that I take photos and post them here. If, and it looks likely that you will finish before me please post your photos. Once again sorry I could not be more helpful. good luck with your project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheee! Posted February 15, 2019 Share #21 Posted February 15, 2019 No problem! I temporarily pinned up my defrost ducts and looked at the angles and it looks like they are almost parallel to the evap unit... could be tight bends for sure. I am also waiting for the dash for the 280's to be made available. My interior is still a long ways off. I am more concerned about getting lines and hardware in place for the finishing work later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mepiazza Posted October 4, 2020 Share #22 Posted October 4, 2020 @qz16 - I am starting down the path of a full ground-up restoration of my '73 (sort of) 240Z. I've removed the dash and can now see the somewhat of a disaster the heater box and the AC system is and will be to restore. I like the compactness of the VintageAir Gen 2 Mini, however, buried in your description is the statement "Also, you need to seal off the cowl vent because there is no provision for the vintage air system to utilize that vent. The only fresh air vent system that you will have will come from the vents on the driver and passenger side which are controlled by individual mechanical cables.". The mini shows 3 oval outlets on the top. The right and left obviously get routed thru hoses to the right and left dash vents but why do you say there is no ability to use that middle vent? The original plastic piece that connects the metal center dash vent housing to the original heater box could be cut at 45 degrees and reglued so the outlet faces downwards at 90 degrees and should be pointing, pretty much, at the middle outlet. I'm making assumptions here based on your photos of the unit's placement as you didn't include any photos of how you connected up the hoses nor did you talk about it other than the above referenced statement. If you didn't make use of that middle dash vent what did you do with that middle port on the Gen 2? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheee! Posted October 4, 2020 Share #23 Posted October 4, 2020 I did use that vent for the centre stack on the 280. Works perfect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheee! Posted October 4, 2020 Share #24 Posted October 4, 2020 The fresh air vent on the cowl is not used as the Gen II system uses the condenser to remove condensation from the recirculated air in the cabin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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