-TheBandit-

iTrader: (1)

Does anyone here have a 67-69 Camaro or 68-74 Nova with the original AC on the firewall and an LSX engine? If so, was it originally a small block or big block car?

I have a '70 Nova with the original AC. I'm replacing the tired Gen 1 SBC with an LY6. There are a lot of great build threads here that I'm learning from, but I haven't found a swap with the AC box. With the small block in there right now it's a pretty tight fit for headers, spark plug access, etc. and I'm not sure if an LSX engine would even fit.

Any info, links or pictures are greatly appreciated. I've attached a picture showing what I'm up against.

millwright1999

iTrader: (1)

I am working on a 74 Nova with a LQ4 right now. I have not yetpulled the small block out of the car, but hopefully in a few months I will have it swapped. At that point I can give all the info I have.

garys 68

iTrader: (1)

You could always upgrade to an aftermarket AC. I went with Vintage Air, erverything fits under the dash inside the car.

hookemdevils22

iTrader: (12)

I doubt it will fit, but there's only one way to find out! Like Gary said, you're probably better off with an aftermarket system. I'd toss the factory A/C and go with an LS setup over keeping A/C with a gen I engine, and I live in Phoenix.

-TheBandit-

iTrader: (1)

I haven't had the AC hooked up for probably ten years, but I do want to keep it intact and potentially hook it up if it's possible down the road. Aftermarket AC is nice too, but you still need somewhere to put an evaporator and I think the factory duct controls & evap are fine.

I am hoping someone here has tried this already.

ls1nova71

iTrader: (4)

I tried it about 10 years ago when I did my swap, and it wasn't going to work without notching the A/C box to clear the engine. I made my own mounts so moving the engine was not a problem, but then it was just too far forward for my liking. But if I was to do it again, and I have another Nova that I would like to do sometime, I would figure out a way to make it work. There are alot of people that say the factory A/C is not as good as aftermarket, but in my opinion the factory system is better just for the fact that you get fresh air in the car, and don't have to deal with fogged up windows that you get with a totally inside system.

A big block 69 Camaro was available with A/C, and the LS1 is not much wider than that, so I would say try it. It might come down to only the coil packs need to be moved toward to the front of the engine on the right side.

-TheBandit-

iTrader: (1)

Thanks ls1nova71 for the reply. I'm not surprised some notching would be required - even with my gen 1 sbc there is hardly any room between the valvecover and the evap box. I think that area of the box is fairly open inside, so notching it shouldn't be a problem.

With the typical adapter plates used to interface the LSX blocks to the early motor mounts, can you sit the LSX block on top of the plates and slide it forwards & backwards? If I could sit the block on the mounts with the engine forward of it's final location, I could more easily mark out and notch anywhere that needs clearance. I assume I'd have to do this without the oilpan or pickup installed.

-TheBandit-

iTrader: (1)

Still hoping someone has experience doing this.

-TheBandit-

iTrader: (1)

btt in case someone out there has done this

-TheBandit-

iTrader: (1)

btt

Thinking about finding a plastic mockup LSX w/ heads to help me find where to cut.

-TheBandit-

iTrader: (1)

Still searching for anyone that's done it. Definitely will post picture when I get to it myself.

-TheBandit-

iTrader: (1)

I stumbled on this Car Craft article on a '68 Camaro with an LS1 and factory A/C unit today:

"Here the engine is test-fitted to the Camaro. Even combining the large factory Camaro A/C "suitcase" and an additional 1-inch setback, the LS1 fits nicely."



Linke to article: http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles...wap/index.html

It doesn't go into detail on how or if they modified the box, but it looks like they made it work. I'm not sure if the evaporator "suitcase" is the same as the one in my '70 Nova. Mine places the POA valve on the opposite side.

awesomerob

i have a 1970 nova with the 6.0 escalade engine, i used s&p mounts and headers, very slight notch for one header tube, other than that its in there very comfortable.
good luck

-TheBandit-

iTrader: (1)

awesomerob, is that with factory a/c? Do you have any pictures you could post or send me?

ls1nova71

iTrader: (4)

Well it looks like it would fit better in the Nova with the POA valve on the other side, that hose running across the top of the coil cover looks kind of tight. I wish there was better pictures of it, so you could see how much of the cover has been trimmed and what they did with coil placement. It's do-able though, so you should do it yourself and take alot of pics of the process to make it easier on me the next time I do a Nova!

-TheBandit-

iTrader: (1)

I contacted Steve Heino, the owner/builder of this Camaro and he gave me the following feedback:

From an email:

-TheBandit-

iTrader: (1)

awesomerob sent me these pictures of his '70 Nova with factory A/C and an LS. He notched the box and fiberglassed it back in with room for the LS.

awesomerob - Thanks so much for the pictures! Was your car originally a big block or small block car? How is the access to spark plugs and header bolts? From the pictures, after your notching the clearance looks similar to what my small block had.

awesomerob

hey clint
my car was originally a small block car, however tight i was able to get at the header bolts and plugs are nt bad at all, i have the large booster, lots of spacethere, just one tube came close on the box, notched a bit from underneath, very easy.
glad to help out

-TheBandit-

iTrader: (1)

Thanks!

How do you like the cooling performance of the system or have you finished things up? Did you recalibrate the POA valve? Did you use the original condensor?

I have read mixed reivews on the Vintage Air system, so I am strongly considering this route. My original AC hasn't been hooked up for ten years and I have no memory of how well it worked. I did tape off the ports when it was disconnected, so hopefully the evap and condensor are still okay.

awesomerob

i used a condensor out of a differnt chevy, keeping the lines on the passenger side, that way i dont have cooling hoses draped across the engine for a cleaner look, still have wiring to do, making the harness myself , and waiting for the tank to arrive.
you should be okay, they have vacuum it out to get all the moisture out, i think it ll be awesome finished,
keep you up to date as i go along, all new learning