Classic Retrofit designs and manufactures the finest modern technology products for classic air-cooled Porsche 911s and others. Our product range includes the amazing electric air-conditioning as seen on cars from Ruf Automobile and Singer Vehicle Design. Our Porsche 964 and 993 electric air conditioning kits have just been launched.
We also design and manufacture CDI upgrades for road and race Porsches in 3-pin, 6-pin and 8-pin variants, suitable for everything from a Porsche 911 to a Porsche 917 and beyond!
Another great upgrade is our direct-replacement fuse panel, which transforms the efficiency and reliability of an older 911. We can supply fuse penals for all 911s to 1989 giving them blade fuses, blown-fuse LED indicators and integrated headlamp relays! See details of all of our products at ClassicRetrofit.com.
Does the servo cut off coolant flow to the heater matrix when the ac is on or does it redirect the coolant back to the return pipe? If it does not it may be a good idea to redesign it so it does. That circuit helps cool the back portion of the block to help prevent overheating/warped heads (from what I have been told) on the 300 tdi
I just tried to install his panel, a few wires im confused on which are the headlamp one. there are no instructions in box do you have anywhere like a pictures diagram or something. i have a 81 targa. thank
Great effort. Very well design ! But, it's not that easy when it comes to air conditioning. During summer, temp. may rise up to 40°C + high humidity in some area. Using the original Defender airduct (a metal frame heater air duct) for cooling the air, easily to get condensing water (condensing water collect under the dashboard area) The original Defender airduct was design to use only for warm (dry air). As, I had tried this method before. Rust occured around duct area under dash console. Note: That's why the original design of Defender air conditioning unit has to attach under the dashboad console, away from the heater box. Note: Aircond. unit in the engine bay, become a problematic (high amount of heat produced while engine is running).
Do this for a W460 Mercedes G... More than half of all manufactured are still on the road today probably. I would like a LHD version. 😉 And maybe to avoid cutting the bulkhead? Rust and fording deapth issues could arise... And I like mine too much to cut it
I once had a 1988 One-Ten County, originally shipped to Australia (I imported it to NZ) It had an air conditioning system integrated into the dashboard, along with push-button duct controls. Can't recall if they were vacuum or electronically controlled. You could easily spot the old Ninetys' and One-Tens' with that system, as the scuttle vents were usually black (plastic?) and unable to be opened. Wonder why nobody has replicated that old setup....not even Land Rover themselves. Pleased to see there's new products under development for the classic Landys.
I love the thought put into this. As the air cooled 911’s go further n further out of my budget, I can only wonder how this elegant 12v solution could be applied to other cars, front engine cars. The space in the 911 bonnet is so handy for this project. I feel alternator upgrades would be easy to any application. The parts look relatively compact too. Nicely done
Lovely color, is that green-gold / gelb grun? or beige-grun metallic? Is it original,I have only seen that once on a 914. Anyway: Congrats on getting the heat & a.c. as all in one unit, is that like a house-hold mini-split? I am curious about this development. Keep us posted and let me know if you need a US test-mule. Here in NYC Climate goes to extremes: Summertime heat and humidity, to just below zero in the winter months. I can test it out for you here on my car an '83 SC
Certainly a modern system for current 911's with prices in the stratosphere. I had a 78 SC that I used as a daily driver for years until it reached 180k miles. It had an old non-functioning A/C system that I made work. I used the evaporator in the smugglers box and the condenser in the engine door. I got a used Sanden compressor, had new hoses made and fitted a new expansion valve. The real trick to make it work is to have air flow through the condenser to get rid of the heat. The classic solution was that the engine cooling fan would do that. That fan looks great, but it really doesn't move much air. So I added a pancake fan on the condenser and the system blew cold air.
So the AC has been revised to become a heat pump. Yes, all you really needed was a valve to change the direction of flow and a modeling program to check the evaporator and condenser to see if they will work in reverse. I wonder why the German Engineers could not figure out how to do this. The only addition needed with electric AC is a higher output alternator and an additional battery like an Optima. The compressor runs off the Optima battery and the extra current from the alternator keeps the Optima charged.
This much extra power usage would mean upgrading some of the electrics and especially a larger alternator. Even the newest of air cooled 911's are now well over 20 years old, and the electrical systems, especially the 1930's fuse and relay panel were hardly up to the task as it was. But to lose the old heat exchangers and the barely functional AC systems that came on these cars is practically a miracle. To think it's expensive is to not consider the cost of repairing the factory AC every few years, but the stock heating works well, though to new owners it takes a good read of the manual to figure out how to use it! Within a few years there will be even simpler electric climate control systems and really, this technology is pretty new to the aftermarket, so if you're on the fence about it, give it a little time and watch how they evolve. One driver for them is the custom car and restoration market, especially in the US. Soon the bigger players with have easily installed custom systems that are likely to cost no more then their present climate control kits.
I love it. The OEM AC was the worst in how it took up all the passenger foot space, leaving a very claustrophobic travel partner. I really appreciate how you resolved this working with the original dash as opposed to having to swap to the later Puma dash. Will this also be plumbed into the dash windscreen demisting vents? All looks very clean, tidy and factory. Any idea yet as to what the retail pricing may be? Great work
Looks great! I’ve already got the digital ignition and upgraded fuse box. The AC was next on my list, and electric heat means I can finally get headers and new exhaust! Very exciting!
Will the development for the LHD unit have the same release as the RHD? Very excited for this to come to market as options available for the defender lack fresh air intake and I really would like to keep that. Also do you have any plans for added filtration for the air intake? Defenders don't have any sort of filtering for the fresh air intake out of the box.
Can the system run for long at idle? I noticed when you pulled over that the voltage dropped from like 13.4 to 11.9volts pretty quickly, then stabilized around 12.1. Seems as though the alternator isn't really generating significant current at idle, so I'm wondering if the a/c will get ahead of the car and continue to drag that voltage down or not unless you're moving.
Brilliant. After a scorching drive to Revival from NL last year - I was about to splash out on your A/C. So what is best here: buy A/C now and buy upgrade kit later? Or wait untill this kit comes out.
