I'm still looking for a truck or van that suits my needs, but I learned the hard way this past winter about how useless defog can be without A/C. a lot of the trucks and vans on auction don't have A/C, and the ones that do, command a premium, regardless of body condition, which somewhat hampers the supply. I'm starting to get a little bit impatient waiting for the perfect vehicle, and was thinking about making up for the deficiencies by adding things, since I plan to modify anyway. How difficult is it to add either a stock sourced, or aftermarket A/C kit to a sambar?
theres still a few that came with them factory, my 91 was a complete base model and had AC. my 97 is Super Deluxe and doesnt have it albeit ive considered swapping it from my 91 if you want pictures of how the AC is run factory LMK, my 91 is sitting on jackstands with the box off. im tearing the drivetrain out and scrapping the rest soon
as far as i remember the engine on my 97 has the bracket for the compressor but its empty and runs a short belt since its only crank and alternator. my 91 has the compressor and a longer V-belt to run the compressor. i dont know if the condenser is with the rad in the one picture, i havent looked under my 97 really im debating swapping the AC from my wrecked 91 to my 97 but i dont know how much power the AC would rob, i never used it on my 91
Thanks for the pictures Maximal. My 1996 also has a bracket but no compressor. And of course I have no AC button.
yeah i posted it from my phone, no idea how that happened lol i'll look into it but im pretty sure my 97 has the skinny old school V-belt design but my 91 has the grooved serpentine belt. if the crank pulley and alternator need swapping to transfer it i probably wont bother
Sorry for disappearing, been busy. I've been referencing this for part numbers: http://jp-carparts.com/subaru/figlist.php?maker=subaru&car_baseid=F52000&type=T11&cartype=007 I think I need a compressor, longer belt, and the condenser/expansion chamber, then figure out how the air is piped.
I'll post a picture tomorrow but you may need a different alternator and crank pulley too to add A.C, my 91 with A.C. has a multi groove serpentine belt and my 97 without A.C. is a single groove v belt The only things left on my 91 I'm stripping are the engine/trans and A.C. lines, if you want pictures of anything before it's all pulled in the next few days lmk
I realize this is an old thread, but has anyone added air conditioning--aftermarket or OEM--to a Sambar?
Don't know if they are still around or not but you might search for "Antique Air". They sold add-on AC units for hot rods & antique vehicles. Had some nice small units which could be easily installed in limited spaces. Fred
Vintage Air is the retrofit company I know of. When I was first looking at Sambars I looked into retrofitting AC since it was hard to find on the available trucks. I found a japanese parts supplier that was selling all the parts to do it for ~$750.
Fun fact, AC on the trucks was a dealer installed option.. not factory installed. It was sold as a "kit" with all of the parts needed and it all just bolts in. If you can managed to get your hands on ALL of the parts, you can add it without a problem. Most of the passenger vans (Dias and higher trims) had it factory installed, but the trucks did not. @banzairx7 Who was that supplier? I wonder if they still can get the bits. I have been slowly collecting AC parts as I find them.
I think it was these guys- https://parts.japanesevehicles.com/. I can't seem to find anything similar now. It was used parts but was all the wiring, switches, compressor etc.
Ah, I think those were also on Yahoo Auctions for a while.. I havent seen one on there in about 2 years, which is too bad
