AC R134 Conversion Mechanic Needed in Atlanta, GA

Tim,

We missed you at Donut Derelicts this AM. There were four Pantera owners there today.

Mike

Hey Mike...I am currently working in Shreveport, LA and will be here for about another year. #4106 is here, but will be bringing her home for winter storage soon. If there is anything going on during Thanksgiving week or around Christmas I would like to meet some of you guys...otherwise it is going to likely be this time next year before I get to see any of you. But gotta pay for #4106!!

You will find Panteras and Pantera owners at the Donut Shop pretty much every Saturday AM.

Mike

If the system works now, it can be improved a bit by closing the isolation valves on your stone-age York compressor, then carefully unscrewing the smaller line connected to the brass evaporator valve under the passenger side dash. Inside the valve port is a tiny conical debris screen that is usually plugged solid with debris. No flow = no cooling. Soak the screen in carb cleaner or something to dissolve old rubber and carefully brush the rest off. Reassemble, reopen the compressor valves and with less than a can of freon to replace that lost, it should cool better.
Reworking any further will mean cleaning out the system, replacing the dryer, the evaporator valve with one specifically for r-134a, all the hoses for barrier-style o-ringed hoses, and the compressor with a Sankyo rotary. Sankyo sells an adapter bracket that bolts to the Pantera's York bracket, and the stock clutch wire plugs in with no alterations.

I converted 1362 to 134a. The key points are as Jack says.. remove the cone strainer, get a dual crossflow condensor from ackits.com. I bought my rotary style sandeen from Mario at Pantera east with bracket. The hoses and dryer from NAPA. If I had to do it again.. I would locate the condenser up front. The evaporator and expantion valve are stock! The 134a works great.