Howdy, I need to replace the condensor in my '64 with something lighter and thinner to help free up space for my front mount intercooler. Most of the aftermarket condensors seam to be around 24W x 14H x 1T. Considering my OEM copperbrass condensor is around 26W x 20H x 1.25T it seams odd that it would be that much smaller. I'm not going to buy the rediculously priced BeCool unit so are any of the other vendors/manufactures any better than the rest? So far I've found Vintage Air, Southern Air, Old Air Products, and Hot Rod Air. The previously mention condensor seams to run between $90-145 from these vendors so is there a significant difference? Thanks,
Something to consider. If you are going to switch to 134 find the biggest condenser you can fit in the space. 134 needs a more condenser area than 12 to achieve the same cooling rate because it does not transfer heat as well as 12. Mikey
Well this is the biggest condensor I can find since I'm width limited by the original downflow radiator design. The original condensor is huge, covering the whole core support opening but its copper/brass or copper/aluminum which is not only heavier but more importantly thicker than I want since I've got about 8in of space to stack an intercooler, radiator, and condensor while still leaving enough space between them so I'm not getting excessive radiative heat transfer at low speeds.
Ever think about using CO2 to cool the intercooler instead of air??? Then the intercooler can be mounted just about anywhere there's room. Some tubing for a fine mist & the air will be as cool or cooler than air to air heat transfer.
Thanks for the idea Tom. The problem with it is that its dependent on a consumable resource for charge cooling on a conintual basis so I would be hitting the CO2 everytime I reached the hobbs switch turn on for the sprayer. The other problem is the intake charge contamination issues. As you are aware there aren't a whole lot of places in this car despite its size for an intercooler and since what we are talking about is still an air to air intercooler it would need to be pretty big. So sticking it in the front has the serious possibility of getting sucked into the intake tube at low speed. Also I don't think spraying anything out into the atmosphere beyond the staging lanes for a nitrous purge is NHRA legal and if I'm going to do the hoops to get a trunk mounted battery legal I'm certainly going to keep the rest of the car legal. Its a good idea don't get me wrong but for a street driven car I'd like to keep the normal operating boost "infinately" sustainable, meaning other than the gas and air to run the engine, no outside fluid consumption. For turning up the boost I plan on running a 2 stage boost controller with an methanol injection setup to keep surpress the detonation and further cool the charge.
All it would be Will is a fine mist controlled by the size of the "Jets" used for the mist. This is not something you would need all the time as your foot will not be into it while just cruising around. A small CO2 cartridge can last a long time once you get the pattern correct. Then you won't have the problem of a front mounted intake. Just some thoughts.
