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AC for MGA
#1
GILMGA Avatar
GILMGA Gil Dupre
CHATTANOOGA, TN, USA   USA
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1962 MG MGA
1974 MG MGB GT "TIGER"
Anybody put an AC in their MGA and how did you mount the compressor / alternator?


Gil

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Re: AC for MGA
#2
RJBrown Avatar
RJBrown Randy Brown
Queen Creek, AZ, USA   USA
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1957 MG MGA 1500
1958 MG MGA 1500 Coupe
1960 MG MGA 1600 "Later"
1962 MG MGA MkII
Google MGB air conditioning.
Retroair make a kit that fits a 1962 B. Everything outside the cabin might fit?
If you figure something out let us know. At some point A/C would be a great addition to my coupe.


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Re: AC for MGA
#3
Tbird Avatar
Tbird ET Taylor
Land O Sky, NC, USA   USA
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1960 Ford Thunderbird
1960 MG MGA 1600
1961 MG MGA 1600
1972 Triumph GT6 MkIII    & more
My '79 B was ordered from the dealer with A/C (of course it was installed at the dealer) however it looked and worked very nicely (but that was back in the R-12 freon days)
The Alternator was on top of the A/C compressor which looks like it would work in the A.
Everything was stacked in there - what a pain to work on but fortunately it was very reliable and I didn't have to do much to it in 23 years..... but enjoy it.
Colder than a freezer in there with my Snugtop hard top on it. grinning smiley
Hope to see what you work out.

Eric

(pay no attention to the yellow circle I was pointing out the fuel shut off inertia switch for another forum....)




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015-08-28 09:45 PM by Tbird.

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Re: AC for MGA
#4
GILMGA Avatar
GILMGA Gil Dupre
CHATTANOOGA, TN, USA   USA
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1962 MG MGA
1974 MG MGB GT "TIGER"
I have one in my BGT and will be using some of the parts from the B installation from Nastalgic air


Gil

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Ebay photos
#5
three5bangers Avatar
three5bangers Steve M
Valhalla, NY, USA   USA
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1962 MG MGA MkII
1983 Audi Coupe GT
1983 Audi Quattro
1984 Ford Crown Victoria    & more
Search ebay on item 111681331231. An MGA with air. Owner purchased the car like that - so not much info, just a picture.


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Re: Ebay photos
#6
Jim Stout
Shoreline, WA, USA   USA
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1961 MG MGA MkII De-Luxe "Molly"
1962 MG MGA MkII De-Luxe "Ruby"
1992 Lexus SC "Lexie"
2004 Honda S2000 "Sylvie"
Years ago, the NAMGAR magazine had an article about a (Texas?) coupe that was air conditioned.

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Re: AC for MGA
#7
59mgaguy Avatar
59mgaguy John Terschak
Wakeman, OH, USA   USA
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1930 Ford Model A "Jenny"
1959 MG 14/28 "Jessie"
1974 MG MGB "Oooops"
Contact Mike Ash, tech editor for NAMGAR. Mike has a A/C in his MGA that he put in a few years ago. From what I saw the hardest part is routing the A/C line through the toe boards/firewall. That and finding the correct parts.

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Re: AC for MGA
#8
ogee Avatar
ogee Robb Ogletree
Grand Bay, AL, USA   USA
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1962 MG MGA MkII
John, I saw a coupe at the BMCNO show in New Orleans a couple of years ago that solved the A\C line problem quite neatly I thought. They removed the guts out of the heater ( not really needed down here) and ran the lines through the air hose that leads to the heater, then through the heater and down into the cabin.

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Re: AC for MGA
#9
59mgaguy Avatar
59mgaguy John Terschak
Wakeman, OH, USA   USA
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1930 Ford Model A "Jenny"
1959 MG 14/28 "Jessie"
1974 MG MGB "Oooops"
I believe Mike had his hoses coming thru the firewall just above the toe boards. From what I saw I think I would have be better to ran it thru the toe board instead. I don't like extra holes cut in the firewall.

(My 2 cents) As for routing the A/C line through the heater box opening. It kind of takes away from the neatness. Making it look odd or hap hazer when viewing the engine bay. Where as if the lines are routed up through the toe board . The A/C lines then would be almost hidden. I don't think they would not interfere with the passenger's foot room.

When it comes to the buying what is needed I won't take the chances of buying a used compressor. (Like I said my 2 cents)

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Re: AC for MGA
#10
Tbird Avatar
Tbird ET Taylor
Land O Sky, NC, USA   USA
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1960 Ford Thunderbird
1960 MG MGA 1600
1961 MG MGA 1600
1972 Triumph GT6 MkIII    & more
I had been considering using one of Vintage Air's compact systems mounted behind the dash on the passenger side (assuming you do not have a radio in the dash). Route the hoses through the extra pedal cover with 90 deg fittings which would make it fairly easy to remove the system in the future if the next owner didn't want it.

Look for their compact system link...
http://www.vintageair.com/catalog2015.asp

Of course Vintage Air does not have the compressor brackets for the engine - still have to fabricate those.

Think the difficulty would be keeping the car from overheating in traffic.Never had any trouble with the '79 B overheating but that's a different radiator, fan shroud, different engine fan and additional electric fan.

Eric

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Re: AC for MGA
#11
Mustangsix Avatar
Mustangsix Gold Member Jack Collins
Oviedo, FL, USA   USA
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1969 MG MGC GT
1973 MG MGB GT
I'm installing AC in my MGB GT now. Mounting the compressor should be pretty straightforward just as in the MGB, but retaining the generator may require some custom bracketry.

The simplest solution for the interior is probably to just mount an underdash evaporator unit. The MGA has room for most of those types and it could be hung from the dash or mounted to the tunnel. There are some vintage looking units that would look the part. Keep the existing heat/defrost system intact.



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Ceres Motorsports specializes in the repair, restoration, and customization of classic British cars including MG, Triumph, and many other makes.
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Re: AC for MGA
#12
cfrantz Avatar
cfrantz Chris Frantz
MS, USA   USA
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1957 MG MGA
1964 MG MGB
I installed a AC unit in my mgb. It went through several iterations until I got it the way I wanted it. I used aluminum tubing instead of rubber hose to reduce space claim. Also made a bracket on to the back end of the evaporator with the lines from the evaporator fixed to the bracket. This makes the attachment of the lines from engine side of the firewall. On my mgb the bracket is attached to the pedal box hole. Easy to plumb in that location and eliminates the tight area under the dash behind the evaporator. Oh, yes, rubber hoses between compressor and the body mounted components.

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Re: AC for MGA
#13
Gary E Avatar
Gary E Gary Edwards
Kernersville, NC, USA   USA
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1962 MG MGA MkII
I built a system for my 70 BGT and it was pretty conventional with lines through the firewall. the system worked well except the engine would heat up in traffic and the ac had to be turned off. I sold the 70GT a couple of year ago when I bought a A coupe (another story). But sold the A coupe and now have a 71 BGT. I am building a system for this car and will be putting the condenser in a remote location to eliminate the engine overheating. I plan to put the condenser behind the front valance with a shroud and fan for low speed cooling and duct-ed air through the valance for fast speed.


Gary

Murphy's law

Tell a man there are 300 billion stars in the universe, and he'll believe you. Tell him a bench has wet paint on it, and he'll have to touch it to be sure.

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Re: AC for MGA
#14
trialsrider Avatar
trialsrider Silver Member Richard Bussler
South Williamsport, PA, USA   USA
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1959 MG MGA 1600 "Flipper"
1998 Triumph MC Adventurer
Up here in cold northwe can't keep much heat in them how are you going to keep the cold air in,if it's a roadster

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Re: AC for MGA
#15
cfrantz Avatar
cfrantz Chris Frantz
MS, USA   USA
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1957 MG MGA
1964 MG MGB
Heat entering the cockpit is an issue in my MGB and I use a hard top in the summer to minimize infiltration of hot air into the vehicle. This summer we were up to 103 degree F with high humidity. The MGB AC was minimal in this environment. Better than nothing. I also have a hard top for my MGA.

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