SARGE - ROAD WARRIOR

The next "To Do" on the list was A/C. Fortunately, Sarge had factory A/C. Of course the system didn't work, but most of the components were there. I decided to upgrade the whole system and discard the OEM. I did a little research on Google and settled on Vintage Air. They were in Austin Tx, just a few hours away. Their system was a "Mitch Miller" install. The system for Sarge cost about $1,500. I found that they offered discounts to vendors who they used as distributors.
I had developed a relationship with a shop that specialized in 58-64 Chevys. I had gotten a few parts and the owner was happy to see the wagon. Through him I was able to get the kit for about $1,300.
When he saw I was upgrading the system, he offered $200 for the OEM A/C vents! I was shocked and surprised. But of course planned to use those with the new system.



While waiting for the new system I started to prep the wagon. I pulled out the old fan assembly and evaporator. Repainted the firewall. (the compressor and condenser were not there)

Waiting is hard work ;-)

 

Had a saying in the Navy--"Hurry Up and Wait"

 

loving the progress

 

I agree!
My wagon came with factory A/C but it too has not worked in decades. I have been looking into the Vintage Air kits myself. Sounds like you got a heckuva good deal on yours.

 

PS Sorry to hear about your wife struggling with the aftermath of the crash. I hope things begin to improve soon and continue improving.

 

They say that in the Army too!! They also say "If you ain't complaining, you ain't having fun"

 

I heard it as, "If you ain't complainin', you ain't doin' it right."

 

The Vintage Air kit finally arrived. I drove over to Last Minute Customs and picked it up. Bruce, the owner, assured me that if I followed the instructions to the letter it would come out fine. I took it home and pulled out the instruction booklet. It was massive but truly was a "Mitch Miller" follow the bouncing ball kit. (BTW, today, my kit cost $1,825) Lemme start by saying that I am more than satisfied with the outcome and I wish I had taken more pictures but I didn't know I'd be doing this post at the time. Anyway, the unit blows cold from the outset. The wagon has a lot of interior space and the A/C does a good job of cooling even in 100 degree Texas heat.

It took a few days to install the system. In order to route the hoses, I had to remove the right front fender. That was a bit of a surprise.

Over the span of about two weeks, I worked only on the A/C. First I prepped the firewall inside and out, sanding and painting it flat black. I sealed up several spots where water might migrate to the interior. I installed the compressor, condenser and evaporator in accordance with the instructions.

The unit used the original four lever A/C control on the dash. Pretty ingenious I must say. It really uses three of the four levers. I later connected a radiator fan to the fourth lever. Once completed, I put the fender back on and took it to my A/C man who vacuumed down the system and charged it up.

The wife was impressed but reminded me of the seatbelt requirement...I reminded her..."How do you eat an elephant...one bite at a time"

 

great job

 

This also shows that you don't have to get down off an elephant, you can get down off a duck.

(*several members' heads explode trying to understand the joke*)

 

What came first, the chicken or the egg?? I'm not sure what came next. The carburetor, the gauges or the seat belts...

The prior owner had replaced the original gauges with Auto Meter gauges. They all worked fine but I didn't like their look in the dash. They had a large bezel which protruded out of the dash and they had a satin finish. I went to Summit Racing and ordered new gauges with chrome bezels.

I had already painted the dash and really liked the results. I had planned to change the face plate of the speedometer to white to match the other gauges. Well....that's not as simple as it sounds. I disassembled the speedo and could not figure out how to change the face plate to white and repaint the numbers black and make the whole thing work with the opera lighting.
I had decided to replace the white face Summit Racing gauges with black ones. When I shared my plan with the wife, she said she liked the white gauges...that ended that part of the project.

So, I have extra gauges lying around...but not as many as I could have...
The adventure continues!!

 

Someone else on this forum, with an early '60s (1960?) Chevy wagon also wanted to have a white-faced speedo. You may want to hit up the 'searchn00b' function, see if I'm imagining things or not.

 

One of the two requirements my wife had was done. The A/C was blowing cold. But she still wouldn't go cruising because Sarge didn't have seatbelts. Another visit to the internet and I had a set of seatbelts. I chose the three point configuration because I know it is more effective. In 1960 there are no airbags and the steering wheel doesn't collapse, so in an accident, the steering wheel becomes a ram driven right into your chest. I hope I never have to find out, but I trust that the 3 point belts are more safe.
In order to install the belts, I needed to weld the anchor to the B Pillar. (Flash Back) I didn't know it at the time, but several years ago a friend of my stopped by with a Lincoln electric stick welder he wanted to sell. I told him I didn't know the first thing about welding and didn't think I'd ever have a need for a welder. He was a motivated seller and I'm a little like "Tim the Tool Guy" I ended up buying the welder.


I called the guy who went with me to pick up the wagon. He is a retired welding inspector. When he heard I had the welder, he gave me a bunch of stuff. Gloves, helmet, welding sticks, a little hammer, heavy duty wire brush, etc. I still didn't know jack about welding. So, one day he came over and gave me a lesson. We cut up a bed rail and fabricated a holder for my air hose. I pieced it together and welded it as best I could. When I was done, he took it and dropped it on the driveway. It broke apart like breadsticks. The do-over held together and is hanging in my garage today.

I prepped the B Pillar by removing the molding sanding and painting the area and marking the location. In spite of passing my welding lesson, I ask my friend to weld the mounting plate in place. I marked and drilled holes in the floor pan to anchor the belts (sorry no after pictures)

I had already ordered the carpet and installed it when I did the belts.

Progress!!!

 

great progress, love those gauges

 

Decisions, decisions, decisions... I decided to address the paint next. I didn't need a "Show Car" paint job since this is a "Go Car". Besides that, the shop that did my show car had changed management and now only wanted to do insurance jobs. Fact of the matter is most of the shops were only taking in insurance jobs and the idea of painting a classic car was not something they wanted to do. The shops that would do the paint were $$$$$.
A friend of my son had a shop where he was flipping scratched and dented cars. I caught him between jobs and we worked out a deal where I would buy the paint and he would prep and paint the wagon. Holey Moley! Paint is expensive... I went to an automotive paint shoppe and picked the color I wanted so I guess it's "custom".

I knew what my color scheme was gonna be, Olive Green, a tribute to my Army years and Silver to match my 62 Vette. I had visions of loading the Vette on the trailer and showing up at Car Shows and Car Nights.

He kept the wagon for a few weeks and I'd stop in every other day.

He did a decent job. On a scale of 1 - 10 I'd rate it 8. The worse spot is the rear drip rail which was and is still rusted through. There are a couple of spots where he didn't get the rust prepped right and now there is rust growing under the paint.
All in all, I'm satisfied. I do plan to fix the drip rail and have been reviewing the options.

When I got it back home, I was overjoyed!!!