Question about A/C

Post by **Faulkner** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 10:06 am

David Wilson (Carlisle alum!) asked me to post this question on his behalf:

David wrote: Do you know of anyone who has a 59 Plymouth with the 318 engine and factory air conditioning? I am installing the six blade air conditioning fan on our hardtop and need to get the correct spacer. The standard one puts the fan too close to the radiator. Unfortunately, the parts manual is so ambiguous, you can't really determine which spacer is the correct. If I knew either the thickness or part # I could get the right one.

Website · Post by **Ron Keij** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 11:39 am

I checked my parts book and it seems to be part # 1859 578 for the 318 engine. Not completely sure though since the picture isn't the best one in the book and I don't have AC in my car.

Ron

big m · Post by **big m** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 12:01 pm

If anyone knows if the spacer from a '57 is the same, I have a '57 Fury here with factory A/C, and I would be happy to measure it. ---John

rogerh · Post by **rogerh** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 11:39 pm

we have a member who has a factory a/c 318 car.. our man in Wisconsin..he has been of help to me. Hopefully he will stand up and be recognised...

rogerh · Post by **rogerh** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 11:46 pm

(john Zastrow)

Dick Koch · Post by **Dick Koch** » Fri Feb 16, 2007 9:01 am

Hi David - My red 59 SF came with factory air but it is not installed right now, will be when I finish the restoration. It has the 318 engine. The spacer in there now is 1-3/4" thick. It has a six blade fan which I installed, the front edge of the fan is 1" from the radiator. I had the radiator changed from a 2 core to a 3 core. Hope this helps.

As a side my green 59 has no air conditioning, a 361 CI engine, it has a four blade fan. The spacer is 1/2" thick and the edge of the blade is 1/2" from the radiator fins. Just enough to get a belt on. Go Figure!!!

Dick.

Fins59 · Post by **Fins59** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 11:17 am

Hey Roger, I'm here; not very often, but here. I went out and checked my AC 318 car. As Dick said, the spacer is 1 3/4" but the distance from my fan blade to radiator is 5/8". I just also measured the spacer on my 4-dr non AC car and that too is 1 3/4" but spacing from blade to radiator is just a hair short of 1". Hope this helps David. ps: When David said his fan blade was too close to radiator, how close is close?

tomf · Post by **tomf** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 3:00 pm

On my Sport Fury with the 413 engine with a three row radiator core, the spacer was too thick, so put in on my lathe and cut it off to the thickness I wanted. These are cast aluminum and cut quite easily on a wood lathe with a wood chisel. Take it down to almost off then take it off the lathe and finish the cut with a hack saw. File off the final cut and you have your piece.

Tom

speedwilson · Post by **speedwilson** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 9:09 am

I would like to thank evrybody that responded to my Question about the A/C fan spacer. It appears the standard 1 3/4" spacer on the 318 engine was also used for 318 cars equipped with A/C. At least I now know I have the right spacer. I am also sure the fan is an original 6 bladed unit. My clearance problem is due to the tips of the blades contacting the upper rear edge of the bottom radiator tank. There is actually plenty of clearance between the face of the blades and the core of the radiator. The only conclusion I can make is that maybe the blades are slightly bent. I had originally removed the fan from a 59 plymouth that had been in a front end collision. I will go back and re-examine everything again.

Dave

rogerh · Post by **rogerh** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 9:13 am

and then the question arises..are you using the correct radiator? Could someone have altered the bottom tank? good luck

Dick Koch · Post by **Dick Koch** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 9:18 am

Dave - When I got my SF with the 318 & AC setup it had a four blade fan, I later changed to a 6 blade I got on ebay. It will not hurt anything to take 1/2" off your spacer.
Dick.

Dick Koch · Post by **Dick Koch** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 9:21 am

Opps! Make sure fan belts won't rub on any thing. My SF with the 361 has the belts so close you maybe could get a sheet of paper between them.
Dick

Dick Koch · Post by **Dick Koch** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 9:22 am

Opps! Make sure fan belts won't rub on any thing. My SF with the 361 has the belts so close you maybe could get a sheet of paper between them.
Dick

speedwilson · Post by **speedwilson** » Tue Feb 20, 2007 6:57 pm

Problem solved. As I suspected the fan had two blades slightly out of wack. They were not obviously bent, however, after attching the spacer and setting the fan on a flat surface I could see two blades tips were noticably forward of the others. A rubber mallet and a block of wood coaxed them back into place. It didn't take much. I now have about 1/2" to 5/8" between the face of the blades and the core so installing belts shouldn't be a problem. There is no interference at the bottom tank now either. I would have never looked to the fan if I didn't know the spacer was correct so, thanks everybody for checking your spacers for me.

Dave

Dick Koch · Post by **Dick Koch** » Thu Sep 06, 2007 9:08 am

Well I'll get September started. My 59 SF with the 318 engine originally had AC which I plan to reinstall in the car using a Sanden compressor. I know cold air was discharged thru the two vents on the dash and the vent under the dash onto the floor, If anyone can help, my question is: Did the factory install a under dash unit? Any other tips about reinstalling the AC would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Dick.

'59 Plymouth Forum