A/C in Roadster?

[Phil S]

What is the possibility of putting A/C in the roadster? I live in Houston where the humidity and heat make it a necessity in a daily driver. Has anyone done this?

[CowtownCobra]

The hardest part will be the snears from the purists who think such creature comforts are unbecoming to a cobra. Screw em!

[foothills gary]

I had a/c in my last roadster and never regretted it.There are some times when you want to drive the car(maybe for the ride home)and it's 110 and muggy,and you just don't have time to put the top up and down,or you are on you're way to a meeting where you have to arrive fresh(or your spouse does)when a/c is it.For what it costs to put in initially,I think it's worth every dime.With low mounting and an overabundance of power to drive it,why not?My car will be ordered with it.

[Excaliber]

BlackJack runs a hardtop with his A/C unit. What game plan do you guys think will work?

Soft top with no windows? ONLY with windows? NO soft top at all?

My Excal has the evaporator all ready installed, under dash, integral with the heater defroster vents the whole enchilada. BUT, no compressor or condensor mounted (yet).

I'm thinking, Soft Top but without using the side windows. Just not sure it will provide ENOUGH cooling to make it worth while that way.

Ernie

[foothills gary]

It's amazing how comfy you'll stay on a hot muggy day even with the top down and the a/c on,especially in traffic.Soft top with side curtains more than adequate.That's how mine will be ordered because it worked so well on my last car.

[Fitz]

Just in case someone reads this since August. I have AC in my soft top and on very hot days in AZ, well @ 115-125 on the road just stay home. The hotter it is out and the higher your HP the hotter the cockpit. Unless you were really smart and had the firewall and cockpit lined under the carpet. (I wish I had done that; may still do it in the future).

The area between the windshield will have a gap so air escapes there along with around the snaps. I had a company called "Top Shop" in PHX go though the top and put a professional round rope inclosed lining around the snap edge on the under side. I also had them reinforce the top to the frames in 4 different areas. the reason for this was to help the top not bubble up as you are going down the highway like all convertables do. Also get the windshield brace put on so the crome around your windshield won't be pulling away.

Vinage Air is also a good place to go if you have one in town to make sure it is set up right. I had a problem with where the condenser was mounted and had it fixed. It rubbed against the radiator from vibration. I know Cobras never vibrate.......

I wouldn't have it any other way Phoenix. The Sun out here dries up your head and face so fast ,
your lips swell out, part..ly fall off and the birds eat the rest of your lips while you are passed out in the heat. In others words, everyone's heads have regular visits to the skin doctor.

[Jack21]

Fitz,

Could you send me some shots of your top and windshield reinforcements please. (jwalsh21@ix.netcom.com)

Turns out my windshield is beginning to pull out of the frame.

I would imagine with a FFR, that all the Mustang pieces would fit.

Noting the roasted toasties complaints of original Cobras, I double face aluminum padded under the carped from the dash to the firewall, single face aluminum padded under the carpet from the dash back, and ceramic coated the headers inside and out. No roasted toasties from 1,400 deg headers a few inches from my feet. Footwells don't even get warm. But I do need the heater in the winter and fall.

Excalibers (Classic Roadsters replicas) had AC as a factory option, and there is room to fit all the pieces. Retrofitting would be more difficult than had I installed it during the build, but stuck in rush hour traffic on a July or August afternoon with the temp and humidity hovering around 100, I think, time to upgrade to AC. Yeah, the purists will laugh, but it's my sweat, not theirs.

[SL]

here's a link to some pix of an a/c setup in a FFR..

http://www.qualityroadsters.com/access_page.html