Posted by John Ha 2/21/2021 11:02 AM | #1 |
The V8 AC compressor mounted on the left side of the engine and in the initial stages I was hoping to keep it there so I would not have to break into the lines or move anything. But that was not to be. The only brackets available that would work to mount it on the left side of the engine were big and clumsy, and covered much of the oil filter and the front spark plugs.
So I searched for and found a used OE bracket for the engine that mounted the York/Tecumseh compressor. It mounts to the right side of the engine. The Sanden compressor uses a different mounting scheme than the York compressor. Brackets are available in the aftermarket to adopt the Sanden to the York plate but I had lots of scrap in the garage and decided to try to make my own.
I used standard hardware store angle iron for the pivot axis and heavier steel from some barn shelf brackets for the brackets the adjusters attach to. I am using turnbuckles sourced from the local Tractor Supply as adjusters.
I did the original fabrication with the engine out of the car since it was much easier to access everything for all the bracket trial and error mockup and installation. The first setup looked OK and worked well. Unfortunately, once I had it in the car I found out that the compressor pulley was too close to the battery after the belt was tight. That was OK though because I was not really happy with the appearance of all the bolts, nuts and spacers I was using to attach everything to the compressor. So I flipped the outboard “L” brackets on the large assembly that mounted the York compressor to the engine. That effectively moved the pivot point away from the battery by about 1/2 inch. I then discovered that the turnbuckles did not clear the compressor so I made two brackets to mount to the upper ears on the compressor. These extended the turnbuckle eyes out far enough to clear the compressor. I mounted the new bracket with threaded rod and nuts rather than separate bolts, spacers and nuts just to clean up the appearance. To further clean up the appearance I covered the exposed threaded rod with a piece of vacuum hose.
First try, compressor showing raw inboard brackets and turnbuckles.
Another shot of the “first try” mounting showing the pivot brackets and the adjuster brackets
The current (and hopefully final) configuration showing the new upper brackets and threaded rod. I think it looks much better!
Final Configuration Showing Adjuster Setup
Battery Clearance is still close (~1/2 inch) but much better than it was with the first setup.