A/C Compressor Work

Half way through today's work, I found myself asking the questions "Do I really need A/C?" I guess when it's 115 °F, I'll be very grateful I've got it.

So, you may have guessed that I spent the day working on the A/C system, and you'd be mostly right. I spent the day working on the mounting brackets for the A/C system. More steel cutting, drilling and fitting. But since I'm on the home stretch, the engine bay is much more crowded and it's getting difficult to work in the space. Still, it's coming along nicely.

I've got a bottom plate that will be secured to the sub-frame by simply sandwiching it between the sub-frame and the motor mount that bolts to it. It will also be held on the opposite corner by a small piece of channel iron that will be bolted to the chassis. It's surprisingly stable. Onto that plate, I'll bolt two pieces of angle iron which will hold the bottom of the compressor in place. The compressor will be free to pivot on those mounts just like on a normal car.

Above the compressor and mounted to one of the battery supports is a arced piece of steel. That arc matches the movement of the compressor as it pivots on the supports below. Essentially, it looks just like the mount you see for most alternators on normal cars. This way, I can mount the compressor to all these parts and move it toward and away from the motor, allowing me to tighten up the belt that will drive the compressor.

I have more work to do on it though. I'll be spending some time on it tomorrow, but I can't finish it up. Last week I visited a machine shop to have a bushing made. That bushing will allow me to mount the old power steering pulley to the electric motor, and I'll use that to power the A/C compressor. I need to get that back before I can finish this part of the project. Besides, I want to move on to some other projects.