[mcneon]

I'm looking to recommission the A/C in my '79 Alfetta GT. I know sort of what the installation looks like, but it's been decades since I owned an Alfa of this era with A/C.

Can anybody post photos of the compressor bracket? Does it have an idler attached? Were there steel and aluminum versions? And finally, does anybody have a spare one for sale? Oh, if only the Alfarm were still around!

I have the original bolt-on drive pulley, and Vintage Air sells an adapter to fit the Sanden SD508 to this bracket, so those parts aren't difficult.

Any and all help appreciated.
Bob in Nashville

 

[mcneon]

Thanks for all the pix, everyone. At least now I know what I'm chasing!

Bob

 

[mcneon]

Okay, I found the main bracket with idler. I also bought an adapter for the Sanden 508 compressor that mounts to the old York pattern.

I'll have to gin up something for the downward mount, but that doesn't look too difficult. Does anybody have a spare alternator mounting bolt with the rear stud that this mount attaches to? I smartly trimmed that off when I was reassembling that side of the engine, thinking it would never be needed! In fairness, the previous owner had cut off the two big studs at the front of the engine, so I just followed his precedent. At least replacements for those were easy to locate. Please PM me if you have an alternator bolt you will part with.

Bob

 

[mcneon]

Thanks, Dave, but that won't help me. The bolt I need actually has a threaded stud on the head end. That stud mates with a rubber-bushed mount for the lower compressor support. The one I need would have been standard in probably any 115 or 116 chassis with factory air.

Hey, a funny thing happened yesterday. We got our Stelvio a month ago, and we've seen exactly one on the road since then. Yesterday, we pulled into the parking garage at the downtown library, a structure that probably has 1500 parking spaces, and found it pretty full. We had searched a little ways when I spotted backup lights coming on. Lo and behold, it was another Stelvio leaving! He spotted us, too, and gave a thumbs up. I'm happy to see that new Alfa owners are responding to other Alfas like we old-timers have done for years.

Bob

 

[mcneon]

Thanks to all who posted pix and added content to this thread. I located the upper part of a high-mount bracket but wasn't real happy with that.

I was able to buy one of the later-style mounts and got it installed successfully. The bracket is lighter, and combined with the change to a Sanden compressor, the whole assembly probably saves 10-15 pounds over the original. It's also much more aesthetically pleasing to me, as it tucks in right next to the engine. This version lowers the compressor close to a foot compared to the high-mount style. Lower CG is always better.

Now, on to the remaining parts - condenser, receiver/dryer, fan, hoses. Should be pretty straightforward from this point; Vintage Air probably has whatever I need. I may have A/C by spring at this rate!

The high-mount bracket parts I have are for sale if anybody needs them. This includes the large head mounting studs and hardware and the OE accessory drive pulley that bolts onto the crank pulley. PM me if interested.

Bob in Nashville

 

[mcneon]

Bob that's a VERY sanitary looking installation! I agree it's much superior to the front mounting plate.

Dave, this one is very solid and should do the job quite well. The question of whether this was actually factory, though, is still very much a question in my mind. More likely, I think, a POE-installed, USA-sourced part.

On the possibly factory side, the low mount has the same gorilla weld quality that the high-mount bracket has - solid but crude as can be. (I'm assuming the high-mount brackets were factory, but I don't know that.) On the possibly aftermarket side, the mount has the brand name "Mapco" stamped on it; all of the hardware (which I'm quite sure was original) was SAE; and, this mount uses the water pump belt tensioner arm stud and a longer exhaust manifold stud as bracing points. Every mounting hole is oversize, as in 7/16"" for a 3/8" fastener, not the kind of thing you normally see in Alfa factory fitments. Also, the compressor mounting bolts are 3/8", while the compressor is designed to mount using 10mm bolts. It all works, but it kinda has a lot of J. C. Whitney add-on qualities to it. Just my observations.

 

[mcneon]

Be careful and make sure the mount bolts stay tight. That style likes to slightly loosen the bolts over time and vibrate. You don’t ever really hear it it. But the bracket will completely wear thru the stud on the water pump.

Thanks for that observation, Jim. The mounting hole where the mount attaches to the water pump stud is counterbored on the front side to provide extra clearance between the nut and the water pump pulley. When I got my mount, that recess was full of schmutz; there had likely never been a nut on that stud. Also, the back side there had noticeable fretting corrosion from rubbing on the water pump boss. Judging by the amount of that wear, and considering that this was steel vs. aluminum, that situation had probably existed for the life of the previous installation. I doubt I'll ever put enough miles on my car to loosen things up, but it's definitely something to monitor.

 

[mcneon]

If anybody else wants to install one of the low-style mounts, here's a caveat. These mounts have rubber isolators for vibration control. And, since the alternator mounts to the compressor, it's electrically isolated from chassis ground, too - except for a 16 or 18 gauge wire connected to the alternator's D- terminal, not nearly heavy enough to carry the alternator's 45 amps. After a few miles, the wire connected to that terminal smoked and melted the rest of the alternator wiring. I'm hoping the alternator and regulator weren't damaged.

 

[mcneon]

If in the future you want a factory low mount the S3 Spider had the compressor low on the passenger side. It would need the engine front cover and crank pulley for an S3 plus the special Sanden SD507 compressor but it is a neat solution

alfavulcan, I agree that would be a cool solution, but it's that shorty compressor that'a problem (and the fact that it has serpentine belt drive). Before I sold my Series 4 Spider a couple of years ago, I had to replace the compressor. I looked far and wide. Some sources claimed to carry it but were out of stock. Ultimately, I bought an SD508 and modified the bracket to fit it - cut it in two and welded in a strip of steel to make the compressor mounting dimensions correct. I participated in a thread about that started by pantera928 at the time. (a/c compressor woes.)

 

[mcneon]

The compressor is a challenge but the S3 used a v belt. The S4’s went with the serpentine

Gotcha.