Greg,
There is just a little more to this than just the sq. inches of the condenser.
The design of the condenser has a lot to do with it also. The company that I
work for (Volvo) makes retrofit kits for our older cars. Most of these kits
do not require any parts be changed other than the accumlator/drier and the
fittings. The techs that install these kits tell me that after the retrofit
the cars take slightly longer to cool down (I asked the guys in AZ. to make
sure I'm getting the straight dope) but after a few miles the system gets just
as cold. So my point is design of the system has a great influence of how
well it will work when retrofitted. If I were in your shoes I would do the
retrofit with the existing condenser and evaporator and see how well it works,
if it is OK then life is good. If not then I would research a different
condenser.
Also one thing I forgot on my previous post. When doing a retrofit the
receiver drier or accumulator needs to be changed to one that is compatible
with R-134.
Hope this helps
Rick Ewald
In a message dated 3/2/99 10:11:28 PM SA Eastern Standard Time,
ghutmacher@stanleyworks.com writes:
> After doing some research on the same subject, I learned that R134 is not
> quite as efficient with regard to heat transfer as R12. For a given system,
> I was told that I would need to increase the surface area of my condensor
> (unit in front of the radiator) by a factor of 20% to acheive the same
> cooling as the R12 system. My stock MGB condensor is 200 sq inches (10x20).
> I will need to install one that is 240 sq inches to acheive the same heat
> transfer rate with R134. All that being said, I still plan to go with the
> newer R134 since it is easier to get. I also plan to switch to the far more
> efficient Sanden 508 compressor instead of the junk York compressor that
was
> original. Company called Vintage Air is an excellent source of information
> and they have a good catalog (although it is mainly aimed at street
> rodders). Good luck.
> Regards, Greg Hutmacher
>
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