1953 Cadillac Series 62 Coupe with Factory Air Conditioning Part 2

[madogblue]

How driveable are these cars today? Can you drive them at highway speeds or are they really winding out, and so non-aerodynamic that they are not good to drive over say 55?

[NDrLoR]

@madogblue Due to the age, nearly 60 years old, I wouldn't want to drive it 70-80 MPH. However, the '53 has a 3.07 final drive which gives it relaxed cruising at 60 MPH as compared to many other cars of the day with their 3.54 and higher final drives. Aerodynamics were not a significant factor in '53 beyond making a car look good. More progress was made in automobiles 1903-1953 than in the same interval 1953-2003.

[MrBBB53]

Great! Just great!! I found your video informative, thank you. I have a '53 cadi-62 series that had factory air. The compressor was missing when I bought the car. Any idea on what I can do to replace it? I would like to stay original, but that may not be possible.  What advice can you offer me.

Bob

[NDrLoR]

@MrBBB53 Thanks! I've heard someone say if one of those, which is a one year only design, can even be found they are around $1,500! I have just bought a rebuilt vacuum booster/master cylinder for a '56 I have from USA Parts Supply, Ltd, which supplies all kinds of vintage Cadillac parts. Their number is 800-872-2013. I would also call Honest John's Caddy Corner in Justin, TX at 800-59Caddy. Between these two numbers, you might get on the right track. Good luck!

[Organgrinder1010]

Fascinating! In my pre-teen years I always scanned Cadillacs for the two air scoops indicating a trunk a/c unit. Never quite knew how it all came together. Thanks!

[NDrLoR]

@Organgrinder1010 Well now you do! Thanks!

[hep2jive]

wow that engine is huge, thats when cars were getting complicated...great video,id love to have this car!

[NDrLoR]

@hep2jive That's right, it's a 331! The pent-up demand after WW II was finally satisfied with warmed-over 42's. Now they had to start adding real amenities to keep customers coming. All this added a lot of stress to the electrical systems, so they went to 12 volts in Cad/Buick/Olds in '53, Chevy/Pontiac in '55, Ford/MoPar in '56 to handle the higher loads.

[dsteveortiz]

Do you have any videos showing the power window set up? Im having trouble finding out what is wrong with window set up. Thanks for your help.

[NDrLoR]

@dsteveortiz My car does not have the hydraulically operated power windows as it's the lower trim level Series 62. They could have been bought as an option, but only Coupe de Villes, Fleetwoods and convertibles had power windows as standard equipment.

[Mrtriumphchopper]

A lot of the vaunted excellence of the post-war Rolls Royce/Bentley was due to the generosity of GM/Cadillac engineering. A/C by GM/Frigidaire;power steering by GM/Saginaw;transmission by GM/HydraMatic;hydraulic windows and seats GM.Like people used to say,If it's on a new car,Cadillac probably had it first. After all,it IS the Standard of the World!

[NDrLoR]

@Mrtriumphchopper I knew of Rolls Royce's use of those GM components in those years. It's good that they didn't use them in the 80's or 90's, GM's bad years.

[soulfultenor]

early systems (lol) I'm a trained HVAC tech. it's nice to see all that technology ahead of it's time

[NDrLoR]

@soulfultenor Thanks! Overbuilt weren't they!

[soulfultenor]

@NDrLoR lol yeah they were, systems are similar but have orfice tubes and expansion valves, my toyotas have expansion valves and EPR (Evaporator Pressure Regulator)

[NDrLoR]

@soulfultenor I'm familiar with the orifice tubes on the late 70's GM--I despise cycling compressors, which pretty well ruled from the 80's-90's. Now I think several makes use a non-cycling type called variable displacement--that may be what is in my '07 Nissan Altima 3.5 as I know it does not cycle. Many others do because I can hear them going on/off at stop lights. I like a good supply of crisp cold air, not what I call "muggy lapses" you get when it cycles off.

[soulfultenor]

@NDrLoR my 95 Roadmaster has the variant of the A4 or A6 Compressor, it still has the swash plate but it's not comparison to the A6 with the oil sump, they were the long belly's I call them, on the older 70's and 80's GM fullsize cars, those compressors were indestructable and they held up better. I know my mom has a 77 Caddy DeVille, with an expansion valve on the evaporator coming from the liquid side of the condenser @ the Evaporator which made it more efficient. They also used a POA system.

[NDrLoR]

@soulfultenor The A-6 is kind of the classic of AC compressors, one of the best ever built from GM's era of engineering excellence. The A-6 was adopted by Ford in '72 for Lincolns and T-Birds, then used on big Fords and Mercurys '75-'79. I had a rebuilt one put on my '77 Mercury Grand Marquis and it's perfect. It's the exact opposite of that nasty little pancake thing GM came out with about '77 that burns out in six months and can't be rebuilt.

[soulfultenor]

@NDrLoR Yes, this I know, I have one in my shed that's in good condition, it came off of an 77 Century.

[TheWSTEENROD]

wow thats got to add about 400 pounds to the car.....but she's no featherweight anyway cool vid and car

[NDrLoR]

@TheWSTEENROD I've picked up a small modern Sankyo compressor and it was heavy--I'd hate to think what the one on the 53 weighs! There's enough copper tubing (no flexible lines in the system) to fund a nice retirement, and the trunk unit probably adds at least another 100!. Thanks!

[jenniferkm115]

Hey, does anyone know how to remove the A/C trunk unit. Can't find how it is mounted. Thanks!!

[NDrLoR]

@jenniferkm115 Don't know--probably would have to be disassembled, then retaining screws or nuts be gotten at somewhere in the bottom of the evaporator case, but that's just a guess--I've never seen one apart or taken out.

[lp1330]

I got my book Friday. It's great.I got it so cheap I actually feel guilty about it. Mine has 144 pages, Besides the cover, the illustrations of the car body are of course Olds also. Imteresting that it is a rotary compressor. How long did they use that? I know they went to A5 in 58 and A6 in 62, and had at least one other design between yours and 57. Interesting that Ford started using A6 on Mark lV and TBird in 72, and GM style evaps and POA valves on 72 intermediates but with the 2 cyl comp..

[NDrLoR]

Congratulations! It's interesting how things have come full circle--no pun intended. GM never used any other design but some style of rotary compressor--I believe it's by far the smoothest style. Both Ford and Chrysler used reciprocating types--York for Ford and their own by Chrysler, until after 1980 when everyone went to the Sankyo style. The Ford systems in the 70's Lincolns are transplanted GM systems. The GM A-6 has the reputation as being the best compressor ever designed.

[lp1330]

I just bought a 53 Olds a/c manual that should be similar to yours. Haven't gotten it yet though.Now I guess I have to find a 53 Olds with air.I am not exactly holding my breath. Couldn't afford it if one ever surfaced anyway.

[NDrLoR]

No don't--you would definitely suffocate. I remember back through the 60's seeing a dark blue '53 Super 88 4-door sedan in Waco with factory AC. After moving to Dallas, one weekend a family friend rode to Waco with me to visit her friends, two spinster sisters. I took her to their home and there sat the Olds under a carport, still in nice condition. They let me look inside and I remember it was a radio-delete car--wish I'd kept track of it because I'm sure they kept it 'till they died.

[NDrLoR]

Congratulations on the AC manual--I'm sure it's the same except for having an Oldsmobile specific cover.

[jdollinter]

Thanks for posting this fascinating piece about

the early days of automotive A/C, I'd always wondered how the early Cadillac system worked

and you answered my questions. Great stuff !

[NDrLoR]

Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[sbd650]

Air-conditioned car in 1953! Amazing!

[NDrLoR]

It was available pretty much from every maker beginning in 1953--but there is a possibility that Cadillac offered it in '41 as well--I've seen a cutaway of a '41 with a factory installation. Packard had it in '40--it was WW II that postponed it. If it hadn't been for the war, auto AC would have been universal by the end of the 40's.

[cadrolls1]

It was available in Packard in "47". It was very expensive though as was the case in "53". I believe it was $700.00 at that time. That was almost half the price of the car so not too many people ordered it.

[lp1330]

There is a pretty slick 54 with factory air on Ebay now. It has a real sharp closeup pic of the compressor with that external clutch. Print it out and frame it. It would make a great conversation piece. Larry

[NDrLoR]

It is gorgeous! When I first saw it, I thought it was the exact same car I saw in the Dallas area in the late 90's--same color, coupe, factory AC, all original--but that one was a Series 62 with crank windows and the plainer interior, this one is a Coupe de Ville. The man wanted $6,000 for it, which I would have given in a heartbeat, but he made every excuse as to why he couldn't deal with me at that time, and the next week it was gone. He probably already had a buyer.

[lp1330]

Did they only use the four vents coming out of the roof on certain models or body styles? I was surprised to see your 56 had the same type of vents as this one.A friend said his first car, a 53 Roadmaster had them in the roof. I guess Cadillac was the last GM to use a trunk unit. I have heard that the a/c in 57Cads was so feeble it was nearly worthless. I think they got much better in 58. I do remember riding in a 58 Olds that had great air.

[NDrLoR]

Altho they used the same bodies, Buicks were actually a little more deluxe in their AC-equipped coupes in that even the two-doors had registers in the roof and Plexiglass tubes in the back shelf--the stainless steel "ribs" were deleted, 'tho.  Only Cadillac sedans used plastic tubes and vents in the roof.

[lp1330]

With the size of that condenser and evap, as well as the lines, I wouln't be surprised if it held closer to 10 lb than 5. I can remember when you could get cans of R12 on sale for 29 cents, and they were at least 15oz, if not a full lb.

[NDrLoR]

Oh I'm sure it would hold that much if it had to be refilled. Back when we knew R-12 was going to be discontinued, I bought three cases at about $2.75 a can, about 15 years ago. I still have two cans left of that stash.

[lp1330]

Hi thanks for the replies! Now I do recall seeing a 54 Roadmaster with the clutch you describe. One thing tho, one of my best friends said that the first a/c car he ever rode in was their neighbor's 51 Imperial, in about 53 or 54. He'd have been in his early teens then. I know besides Cad, a/c was available on Olds and Buick in 53, and not on Chev til 55,probably waited for the V8. Pontiac had the first in-dash, but did it come out in 53, or 54? BTW I am in the a/c trade and an old car

[NDrLoR]

Yes, Buick/Olds/Cadillac got factory AC in '53, Pontiac in-dash in '53, and Chevy in '55. My parents best friends had a '52 Cadillac Fleetwood with added on AC in the back. We added a Frigiking to our '53 Roadmaster in '60 prior to a trip to Mexico.

[lp1330]

Neat! Wonder how may lbs of Freon that system holds. When did they start using clutches on the compressors? Also, I heard from more than one person, years ago, that the very first Chryslers used R22. Do you know if that is true or not? Again, thanks for the video--awesome car

[NDrLoR]

Thanks! That system would probably hold five lbs. easily. In fact I had it charged this past summer, the first time in about four years--we used three cans of Freeze 12 which brought it up to cooling again and I also added 4 oz. of oil. In '54, GM used a solenoid sitting on top of the compressor that connected to an external clutch in front of the compressor. Beginning in '55 and from then on, the clutch was integrated into the pulley like on the later A-6 compressors.

[NDrLoR]

Chrysler and Ford did not have clutches until '55.

Yes, the first two years for factory AC on Chrysler Airtemp, '53 and '54, did use R22. A friend had two '54 Imperials with factory AC owned by Mobil executives in the 50's. Those two years had a big, V-4 clutchless compressor with a huge pulley that allowed the compressor to run much slower and under lower pressure than those using R12. From '55 on they used a clutch controlled V-2 using R12.

[chansetwo]

Very nice. Thanks for keeping it in such good original shape. I'm going to get one someday.

[NDrLoR]

Thanks!  I've always preferred original, 'tho imperfect cars, to restored cars.

[mznxb9872]

How cold does the air get coming out of the vents? Is it able to keep the interior cool in summer?

[VictrolaJazz]

I've never put a thermometer in the vent, and I no longer drive my cars in extremes of either heat or cold, but on an 80-85 degree day, you can tell a significant difference between outside and inside temperature, especially because of dehumidification.

[fireballeight]

Just a tip if you dont already know - go easy on the oil filling. Normally you wont loose any oil unless you have a leakage in the system. Adding oil to the system not knowing the oil filling can cause overfill, subsequently damaging your compressor. Does the compressor have a sight glass for oil level?

[NDrLoR]

You'll notice in the video a Shrader valve below the compressor--the procedure is to hold a clean rag below the valve, press the valve core and if oil sprays out onto the rag, then you have enough oil in the system.

[NDrLoR]

Coincidentally, I've uploaded two videos of my '56 Coupe de Ville just today, so take a look at it as well. Thanks!

[fireballeight]

What did they do when there was no need for the AC? Just turn on the heater and let it compete with the AC? Turning off the AC fan wouldnt be very healthy for the compressor, having unvaporized Freon coming back into the suction line?

Kind regards from across the Atlantic Norway.

[NDrLoR]

The heating and AC units on this car are entirely separate from each other. When new, an auxiliary fan belt was supplied to be used during the winter months to bypass the compressor so it would not run--I'm sure this annoying job was not performed after the car was a couple of years old, leading to premature compressor failure due to its running all the time.

[fireballeight]

Thanks for a very nice, cool and informative video. As it happens, I share your fascination for early 50 Cadillacs and my profession is refrigeration. You actually have a very basic manual capacity control on this unit, bypassing some of the high pressure Freon gas/liquid back into the suction line to the compressor. This will reduce the amount of Freon going trough the evaporator(cooling unit) but also increase Freon temperature, giving hotter air outlet from cooler. Freon R12 is it?

[NDrLoR]

Thanks for the nice compliments! It is an R-12 system, but it also uses Freeze 12, which it was topped off with recently.

[cochinito77]

thanks for sharing your car with us. they were way ahead on the times!

[NDrLoR]

Not having a template to go by, they actually overbuilt things like this in those days, instead of today's notion of let's get it out the door and cheaply as possible and to hell with the customer! Some modern writers will dismiss these units as "barely adequate" and "rudimentary" when in fact they can hold their own with anything of today in their simplicity of design and operation.