fbekholden.com

Me mate came over today with his van that he was fitting an aircon setup into, it was getting hot and the plan was to make a shroud for the radiator that was in it- well it got to 100 on the way over with the thermo on and the aircon not even hooked up yet plus he tows a caravan with it so the plan quickly changed to installing a 3 core red motor radiator that was going to go into my FJ

This is as far as the shroud got, we rolled a ring up and positioned it on the grey radiator then decided to fit the bigger radiator



Chopped the front out then modded the radiator to mount up in front of the support panel to give a bit more clearance for the engine fan

All together with the condenser and thermo back in , with the fan off it got no hotter than 85 on the way home so hopefully that will work



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Neat work. Interesting AC compressor location.

Cheers,
Harv

It is one tidy van. Elle saw the aircon in one of the cars on our run on the weekend and wants it in the sedan. Battery is already in the boot and that is where I was thinking of putting it.


FB ute fixer upper, EK van on rotisserie

Yeah he has just mounted a knee freezer under the dash, it goes in to be plumbed up tomorrow so will be interesting to see how it goes, was a kit he bought for under a grand so if its a winner I think there may be a few more getting installed.

I'd be interested to see how it goes too mate, is the compressor electric driven not belt driven?????

FireKraka wrote: Mon Feb 17, 2025 11:57 am I'd be interested to see how it goes too mate, is the compressor electric driven not belt driven?????

Correct , I believe he has used a VN/S style alternator and just changed the pulley from 6 rib to a V belt type.

I’m very interested to see how it goes for that coin. Paul from our club put in a 120 amp alternator on his 186 but there is still a voltage drop at idle on hot days with the air going.


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Errol62 wrote: Mon Feb 17, 2025 2:54 pm I’m very interested to see how it goes for that coin. Paul from our club put in a 120 amp alternator on his 186 but there is still a voltage drop at idle on hot days with the air going.

Drew has fitted an N70ZZ Landcruiser style battery to his to hopefully alleviate that issue. Will report back on it once I hear from Drewfus how it goes.

Probably going to need a higher output alternator or try machining the alternator pulley so there is a 3 - 1 ratio or a stepper motor to increase idle speed to get the alternator alternating. Been there, believe me!!!
The compressor pulls ~50-60A, one/two fans ~15-30 plus inside fan, ignition, lights, see where i'm going.
I had a 120A alternator, the sticker read 25/120 so at idle nowhere near what's needed.

Idle up solenoid plus 120 amp alternator, welding cable leads and a $*#@ off great battery for sure. Once you start mucking around with ribbed belts on top of that it starts to make a belt driven compressor sound attractive.


FB ute fixer upper, EK van on rotisserie

Modern conveniences and modifications don't come cheap but should be doable on a good ole grey or red, 120A alternator should be enough it's just getting the idle amps high enough or a higher rated alternator?

briby wrote: Mon Feb 17, 2025 7:49 pm Modern conveniences and modifications don't come cheap but should be doable on a good ole grey or red, 120A alternator should be enough it's just getting the idle amps high enough or a higher rated alternator?

I think I am with Clay on this one, an engine driven compressor sounds like a simpler solution.

"think I am with Clay on this one, an engine driven compressor sounds like a simpler solution."

I thought the problem was lack of space for both, hence a remote mount compressor? Six o' one, half dozen o' the other I spose.

I’m not sure how I would go mounting a compressor on the 179 with 3xSUs in the ute, but it is quite doable in the sedan, with single carb and the battery already relocated to the boot. Both Drew’s and Paul’s have the electric compressor in the engine bay.


FB ute fixer upper, EK van on rotisserie

briby wrote: Mon Feb 17, 2025 5:52 pm I had a 120A alternator, the sticker read 25/120 so at idle nowhere near what's needed.

That's the issue - the high amp alternators do deliver high amps, but only once they are wizzing up a lot (kinda like turbo lag ). At idle they don't do too much. The 160A unit I have in the wagon won't even self-excite below 1500rpm.

Over-driving the alternator (smaller pulley on the alternator or larger pulley on the crank) would help, but I assume that there is probably a maximum limit to how fast you should spin the lightning maker. Google says it's about 15-20,000rpm. Sounds scary fast, but needs to be ratio'd down to crank speed. A typical LS type alternator pulley is around 6cm diameter, a grey crank pulley around 14. Using 15,000rpm as the alternator limit, the crank could run to 6,400rpm before the alternator gets too worried. Not many greys run that quick... or not for long. I figure find some pulleys that overdrive, check the 15-20,000rpm limit, then give them a go.

Cheers,
Harv