A/C Question

I am working on dropping a 429 into my Fairmont. The car originally had A/C but the guy I bought it from removed it. He lived in the UP of Michigan so A/C wasn't needed and he was looking for every HP out of the 5.0. Anyway, I know there were two types of A/C used. How do I know what I need to assemble an A/C set up with this 429? If anyone knows a link I can use also that would be awesome.

Thanks!

Don

make sure you have a good or new evaporator in the car, run the line with orifice tube from the a/c evaporarator along the r/s fender apron up to where the fox body condensor (or what ever)will sit.if it isnt insulated, be sure to insulate this pipe if you want the a/c to be cold.
once you have the engine assembled, all the accesories worked out like throttle cable, alternator, power steering & a/c compressor, fit the engine & exhaust into the car. make sure it all works.drive it.
see if there is enough room for the vacuum/discharge hose to fit between the engine and firewall. if there is yeah!!!, (if not, you're an engineer, and will need to do some thinking & scratching)if all appears to be in working order, fit the condensor into the car.
take the car to you local a/c fabrication shop. if you dont know one, or cant find one, drive the car to the local ford dealer and ask who does thier installations......someone see the car & will take notice and help you find a good shop.
when you have a one-off install like a 429 in a fairmont, if you could find the parts, they would be expensive. let the guy at the fab shop make & fit the lines from the compressor to the condensor and evaporator. he will have the tubing bender mandrells, hose crimpers etc to do a custom job.he may ask you to to supply some parts uch as service port fittings, switch fittings, or he may have it all on hand, make sure to use r134ac refrigerant.
the wiring is easy, just make sure you use a relay & diode for the compressor clutch, most a/c diagrams are the same basic wiring for this part, so you should be ok.
dont put a time limit on the job, if he has more time to be creative, it will most likely be cheaper.
later jb

You are the man! Thanks! Adding to my watch list so I can call it back up.

One question though, I was once told there were two types of systems and I could tell the difference by the inlets on the firewall. Does that make a difference when getting the other parts you've listed?

Maybe I'll find a shop first, take the car over and have them give me a parts list...

Again, thanks for the help!

i'm not 100% but i think that the two types of evaporators were the type that had an expansion valve and one that had screw-on fittings, and the clip-on style which uses the o-rings and spring-lock connectors. (my fairmont had the screw on/up expansion valve)
you can find the clip-on style evaporators just about anywhere. the clip-on is the way to go, i spent ages looking for an expansion valve for my car, never found one.
are you going to change the k-member?

Yes, the k member will be a tubular one with a built in 1.5 inch motor mount drop so I can keep my hood...at least that's the plan. I'm told the Hooker Super Comps will still fit with the mount drop too so no issues with exhaust. Also prevents you from having to bang on the tranny tunnel for the C6 to clear.

It's getting exciting!