Do all these cars come factory with air conditioning? just wondering if mine is special. its a 72.

They are not "factory" systems!

They were dealer installed or subed out to AC-hackers!!

EDIT: Even the Dealer installed units are hack jobs!

nice. that makes me feel alot better.

it dont seem like it was a factory job. blower was just screwed to the bottom of the dash. if it were from the factory then it woulda been a lot prettier.

I had one on my 75 and have spent the last 2 months fixing the holes they cut in my car!

IMHO the AC was a nice addition in hot SoCal & the Southern tier of states (or northern in muggy summers for that matter) - especially when I was driving my non-AC'ed 73 914-2.0 to a meeting in a suit in 90+ degree weather!

The Porsche factory didn't offer AC on either 911/912 nor 914 lines, but recognized that the US market demanded that it be available as an option. When the 914 was produced, Porsche had just stepped up from having their vaunted sports cars being sold in a corner of VW dealerships, to "graduating" to separate Porsche+Audi dealerships - gradumatation if you prefer!

Similarly, small volume auto producers like Porsche routinely contracted out for the optional equipment which they could not provide, then offered them as add-ons at their dealerships - this included such basics as Radios/Stereo Decks & AC. While some on here look at these dealer options with their noses in the air about them "not being factory" - the reality was that at that time almost all auto makers - including the Big 3 - sent far more "stripped" cars out of the factory than loaded ones, then allowed the dealers to equip them up at the showroom to meet the customers' desires & needs - than they sent out fully loaded cars.

In fact, Toyota broke marketing ground & expanded their foothold in the US market during the 70's by offering their cars as all essentially fully loaded, which forced the Big 3 & others to start better equipping their cars from the factory, and stop niggling the customer on all those options for extra cost. After all, the extra cost options were the dealers bred-n-butter by usually being sold at huge mark-ups of 100% or more. So dealers LOVED options & bemoaned their slow reduction with better equipped cars from the factory.

Today, many on here are either unaware or forget these facts of automotive history. As late as the late-80's VW was still selling "radio ready" Vanagons with dealers selling OP radios/decks (OP = Over Priced, not "Ocean Pacific" in this case); nor was the AC in them from the factoryt, but a later add-on. We bought our 88 Westy radio ready - got a great Sony AM/FM/Cassette unit for 1/2 the price of the POS dealer Becker unit, and it had AS added at & by the Westfalia Werk - not by VW itself (although a VW engineered & approved AC unit nontheless).

The funny thing is, that I don't hear the 911 folks complaining nor downgrading the dealer AC'ed 911 models, like the 914 guys seem to here. Yes, a shoddy installation is not a great thing, nor is adding more spots for rust to start on non-rust preventative treatment cars, but still ...... I'm just saying!! You don't see 911, 912, 930 nor 914 guys complaining about & ripping out their radios & antennas because most of them were dealer installed!<_<

That all said - yes, your 72 is indeed a special 914 for having the AC since most did not - particularly if it is one of the 2 dealer sold & Porsche factory approved AC systems (both designed by the same guy BTW). The VPC (Volkswagen Products Corp. division of VW of America - VoA was the Porsche importer & servicer in the early days back then), and DPD (don't recall what the initials stood for).

You can differentiate the 2 as follows:

VPC - rectangular evaporator unit in front trunk with spare on top requiring the tire board to sit higher, and the under dash fan/vent/control unit has the dials offset to the right of the stock air/heat slider controls in the center of the dash. On 73-76 914s with the shortened Center Console, the 3 gauges are flat mounted in a triangular pattern.

DPD - has a conical evaporator shroud over which the spare can fit inverted (i.e.: shiny side up - in non-ac 914s they sit shiny side down), with the under dash fan/vent/control unit's dials centered under the fresh air/heat dash sliders. On 73-76 914s with the shortened Center Console, the 3 gauges are angled to the driver mounted in a linear pattern.

If yours was so equipped by the selling dealer with one of those two, then IMHO you should keep it. If it's not currently functional, then you can either look into having it rebuilt, or look at one of the units designed by the VPC/DPD designer which AA sells, to see if it can be retrofitted into the original DPD or VPC in your 914, so you get the benefit of better performance due to a better compressor with less HP drain, running on R134 & gets colder (although the cockpit is a small box to cool to start with).


Here is a 72 MY dealer options & accessories catalog FYI - & I'm including the 911 section too, so you can see that both were treated equally in terms of AC & other dealer added options.
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.... continued ....

72 MY Dealer Accsy. Brochure, cont. -

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... continued ....

72 MY Dealer Accsy. Brochure, cont. -

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.

And a 73 MY DPD AC brochure -

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... continued ....

.... continued for 72 & 73 MY's VPC AC dealer brochures -

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... continued ....

.... 72 & 73 MY's VPC AC dealer brochures - cont....

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.

These are pix of the 2 "modern" AC systems offered by AutoAtlanta & designed by the original VPC/DPD designer, but use a more efficient compressor & runs on R134 Freon. I couldn't get my link from AA's pdf catalog to go to the item on their website anymore (they must've changed their system & not the links), but try them online or by phone if this is of interest.

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Credit where credit is due - all of these pix collected by me were from Jeff Bowlsby's excellent 914 website, and you should take time to peruse both his & the p914 websites for great 914 info.....

http://bowlsby.net/914/Classic/
http://www.p914.com/

.

I found them when I was researching putting AC into my 73 914-2.0 in the resto, but ultimately decided against since it wasn't originally equipped from the dealer that way (but I may change my mind at a later date). I prefer the balanced look of the DPD under dash unit in the cockpit, and the spare fitting over the conical evap. unit without losing space in the front trunk (as the VPC unit loses several inches in height). My plan was to retrofit a modern R134 unit into the DPD dash & front trunk housings/shrouds (or at least the vent/controls fascia unit) for the correct period look, with "modern" efficiency & cheaper & environmentally friendly R134, but I didn't go far enough to check that retrofit's feasibility yet.

So be proud of your unique 72 914 with AC, and tend to fixing any rust or poor workmanship issues with its installation, any operation problems, etc. - assuming it's a dealer installed VPC or DPD - or if you just like having AC in your 914 & like to cooly smile at your fellow Teeners sweating in their non-AC purist 914s on hot days!

If I haven't said so elsewhere before .....

Cheers!
Tom
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PS - here's 2 good pix of the VPC AC in Steve G's/smg914's 73 914-2.0 to show the short center console & triangular gauges layout.....

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You can find more pix of this beautiful 914 in the Originality & History Forum, under the Nailed Topics: "The few, the rare...." topic.

Tom,

Nice write-up about standard vs. optional equipment on cars of the 60's and 70's.

Back in the day, you had to specify everything on your car. My parents bought a 1968 Dodge Coronet and opted not to get the clock but the dash still had the clock dial face and hole for the time adjuster, just no clock.

airconditioning?

it has windows and a removable top.

That works great when it is 112 degrees here in AZ.

Yeah, yeah - the old "Sears 265 & 255 AC" - roll down 2 windows & drive 55 or 65 mph - depending on which "model" you got!

As noted above - in 80-90+ heat & add your humidity back there - your either toast (top off), or a bag of sweat (top on) - either way, no fun!

You obliviously only drive your 914 on cool days or in shorts!

If it's a DD - as most were in their early lives, then the AC was greatly appreciated in the hot areas of the US.

But - I mean Ohio - you're probably either a Browns or Bengals fan - & what do they know!?
... right Spoke! Go Steelers!!!!

Thanx Jerry!

My Dad had to do the same thing when he bought our `63 Greenbriar Van (Corvair for the uninitiated) back there in Bridgeville or Dormont IIRC, & it had the "blank clock" too! He said: "Why should I pay extra for a clock - I have a perfectly good watch!"

Same deal in 67 out in San Diego when he bought the 3/4 ton Chevy pick-up - pick your options one by one, then either wait on the factory order, or adjust your list for what the dealer had on hand in stock on the lot & in the parts dept.!

Bad day in Dallas - eh!?

Better Luck for our Steelers next year Bud!
... meanwhile watch some USA Eagles at the 2011 Rugby World Cup this summer/fall on your local NBC/Universal Sports & NBC affiliate!

Cheers!
Tom
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I have the DPD unit and a case of good ol' freon. I better sell the car before the freon runs out.

i am getting ready to spend about 3000 to have a system put in.
my car has never had it.

R - you can possibly convert to R134 without much changed out at all, perhaps only the "new" compressor (rotary?) from AA. I converted our 88 Westy & 85 BMW 325e over the past few years, and did so when I had to have compressor work done anyway - so the net difference was under $100.

Hopefully your York compressor in the DPD will last as long as the case of Freon, then die, so you can effectively change over then at little difference in what it cost to do the repairs due by then anyway.

Also, old Freon can still be had, but last I heard it was up to $50-100 per can!
4-5x of those per car in my 2 was a big reason to switch, and easily makes a new compressor pay for itself quickly!

Steve - if you're doing one of the AA systems, I'd love to see a new topic in the Garage on how well that works out for you, pix of it installed, etc.

I may still hack into mine at some point after the resto to add one if I can't take the heat when I want to drive it, and my wife wants to come along!

I believe that DPD stood for "Dealer Products Division".

--DD

You read my mind! Use up Freon, then change compressor. OR, sell Freon, (i have 8 cans) and buy new compressor.

I know this is an old thread, but don't shoot me please. I have updated the information in case anyone should be searching about air conditioning for their old VW - Porsche - Audi etc. I have updated the links within the old posts for anyone that is interested. A search for Porsche 914 air conditioning will bring up the current companies that make and sell an aftermarket unit for your 914, specifically classicautoair.com, autoatlanta.com and retroair.com along with a few places that sell replacement parts for 914 heating and air conditioning units with wiring diagrams and more. You may come across an old court case involving these companies which can be found here:

https://casetext.com/case/heatransfer-corp-...kswagenwerk-a-g


OLD QUOTE:

"That all said - yes, your 72 is indeed a special 914 for having the AC since most did not - particularly if it is one of the 2 dealer sold & Porsche factory approved AC systems (both designed by the same guy BTW). The VPC (Volkswagen Products Corp. division of VW of America - VoA was the Porsche importer & servicer in the early days back then), and DPD (don't recall what the initials stood for)."

AND



My updates:

DPD = Design Performance Dependability by Don P. Dixon of San Antonio, TX.

VPC = Volkswagen Products Corporation owned by VWoA of Fort Worth, TX.

I don't believe VPC was designed by Don P. Dixon (DPD) from San Antonio, Texas, but I definitely could be wrong and it doesn't really matter.

They are both long gone, but in their day they made aftermarket A/C units for VW's and Porsche (maybe Audi) which were distributed thru VWoA for VPC of Ft. Worth and by DPD of San Antonio.

Here's more than you probably want to know about Don P. Dixon and his air conditioning systems:

http://www.roadglue.com/docs/main_and_rest/air_condition.htm

https://web.archive.org/web/20050308033040/...r_condition.htm


Ed Gilmore can rebuild your under-dash and/or supply you with a new compressor and modern system.

http://www.gilmore-enterprises.com/

https://www.gilmore-enterprises.net/

I hope this helps someone like me researching this subject.

Ditto on loving to hear what you think after adding the AC. I am in Dallas and AC will be a high priority here.

I thought it stood for Defective Product Design.

Anthing that requires hacking up the car like either of these "accessory kits" did, was just plain 1970's era quality, poor design, and installer laziness. I will cut them some slack that compressors were much larger then but still . . .

I'm not saying I don't want AC. I really would like it. I just find the damage done to install it dosen't suit me. I still have holes in my chassis to fill becuase of the hacking done to it for AC.

One sexy beast

You don't live in Texas where not having AC limits the time you can drive the car. Here having AC in your car is way more important than having a working heater. Driving Elwood (the factory 6) in mid summer when it is 105 degrees is an exercise in water weight loss. It is very draining, and a long tour is out of the question. So he stays home during the summer.

The DPD unit worked great in Frody (Betty's 914), and made it really nice to drive in the summer. I am going to rework the compressor mount to put it on top of the motor so I don't have to hack the new engine shelf on the right side. Other than that, it is going back in as it was.

Igor (the 4.0) is getting an evaporator that will replace the fresh air blower, modeled on the one Larry Hubby built, and an electric compressor. All the parts will be modern, more efficient designs. This should give me a really nice AC unit, and I can drive Igor year round.

Clay

I understand completely. Midwest is 90F+ and 90%+ humidity in summer. Have had many sweaty drives in my teener back in the day. When I first got my Miata with AC, I thought I had died and gone to heaven.

I'm with you to put the compressor up top. Hacking the tin and the shelf is simply unacceptable to me and leads to other problems (rust, engine heat recirculation, etc.)

I grew up in NE Ohio, so I know about the heat/humidity combo. But nothing beats a Texas summer day where it is 105 in the shade. Texans consider the best parking space to be the one with the most shade, not the one closest to the door.

And 914s vapor lock with the engine off.

I'm adding A/C to one of my 914-6 projects. No cutting sheet metal in the engine compartment was a requirement. Small modern compressors are very helpful.

In So Cal its a necessity and with a big 911 engine its not a big drain on power either.

Click to view attachment

So are there ways to run the lines to the front that don't require the holes through the longs? I'd love to see pictures of other methods just out of curiosity as I don't have a 914 currently, but would likely want A/C in one when I finally can afford one again. (I probably would only ever run the top off at night, due to easily getting sun-sick--massive headache and nausea if in the sun too long--too many years of being in and teaching marching band)

Yes it can be done.

Essentially the lines run in the same position as the evap canister lines along the left longitudinal, ends up very tidy with no cutting; just enlarging a couple existing holes.

The car in not yet assembled but I'll post photos when it goes together chronicling the process.

YES! Please post photos. I like what I see so far. I'm more inclined to put it on the /6 conversion.

I've been toying with how to run lines in the tunnel but when I had my tunnel apart I didn't do it and there wasn't much space in there for a large suction line. Not saying it can't be done but I punted.

Likewise, I'd be more inclined to put the condensor up front with a oil cooler and/or bumper modification.

I likely have some fit-up photos; I'll see if I can dig them up. The system was put in and taken out a few times during development, nature of custom fabrication.
Here are a couple more compressor photos:
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Old thread that might be of interest:

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...92917&st=20

The parts are well manufactured. I did the same thing years ago on my 2.4L six. And I found out that the magnesium timing boxes are not strong enough to use for a compressor mount. It cracked and created a hell of an oil leak. Expensive to fix too.

Just my experience. YMMV.

Clay

Clay, Where did the chain case break? A bigger plate that engages more chain case cover studs and maybe ties into the motor mount might distribute the stress enough to work out. Turbomans bracket also uses the valve cover studs. Looks pretty beefy.

I had the same fear of cracking the chain housings; the stock M6 studs are too small.

I took a que from Porsche's 3.2 A/C set-up and update the chain box mounting and surrounding studs to M8.

Plus the chain housings and entire engine is an all aluminum 3.0 turbo so much stronger than the original Mag motors.

Also the cover is milled flat so the bracket is supported over its entire surface area and not on the thin ridge at the outside of the cover.
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Electric AC is an option, but expensive. Around $800.00 for the electric compressor and another $1k for a 175 watt alternator.
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?aut...;showentry=2901

Mine was on the other side of the motor, mounted to the RH valve cover, and to the smog pump mount. The additional stress from the belt tension broke the back out of the mag timing cover around the smog pump mount.