Well, thanks to the help of you guys answering a few questions for me and my brother for really giving the car a mechanical shake down, it looks promising that I will be buying a lovely '73 1.7 litre 914 in the next week or so!

Now.. I'm Buying it in DesMoines Iowa, but will be living in Dallas Texas. You can imagine that using a 914 in Dallas every day will be great as I have a lot of chance to have the roof off! But ALSO It would be nice to be able to drive to those business meetings without sweating buckets.

SO... I'm wondering if anyone has any experience of having after market Air con installed by a professional, or if anyone knows a firm that they trust in either DesMoines Iowa, or Dallas Texas?

I would appreciate any and all help!!!!

Thanks Loads! I owe you a beer!

Doug

I don’t think you can buy a new off the shelf A/C system for a 914. If you do some digging you can find used systems for sale. They were dealer installed when the cars were new. There were 2 manufacturers, DPD & VPC. The DPD is the better of the 2 systems. The DPD has a condenser w/ a larger fan that cools better.

If you can find a system you will want to convert to a modern Sanden rotary compressor in place of the horsepower robbing York compressor that came w/ them originally. You will also want to replace all of the refrigerant hoses on the system w/ the modern barrier type hoses. Some people convert to R134a refrigerant instead of the original ozone depleting R12 that came in the system.

A/C is not very popular w/ 914 enthusiasts. I live in southern Arizona where it gets up to 110 degrees in the summer. I would have to park my car 4 months out of the year without A/C.

If you don’t want to install the system yourself you will have to find a local shop that can handle it. Find someone w/ experience working on VW A/C they are very similar.

Thanks for all the info.. I kinda figured that Brand new AC was probably a no go, but don't know much about AC units at all...

I take it you have AC in your 914? Did you fit it yourself or get someone to do it for you?

Any idea on web sites to source the DPD unit from? Do Pellican Parts keep such things in stock?

Thanks for the tip on V/W fitters.. Thats a good idea.. I owe you one!

Thanks again!

Doug

My car came w/ a VPC unit.

I just saw a complete system sell on E Bay.

DPD System

Look in the classified ads here and at PP.

Make sure if you buy one that it is complete. Some of the individual components are hard to come by. One part that is not always included is the compressor drive pulley, it is mounted behind the engine cooling fan and is hard to find used.

Hey Doug. I am in Fort Worth. Look me up when you get down here.

If you can't get any pro-installer for the AC, I can help you fabricate anything you need and I have AC tools as well.

James

Don't rule out new systems. If you really want one I'm sure it can be done. Check out "Vintage Air" - they do retrofit kits and systems for the hot-rod crowd. I think the're even based in Texas. They might have everything you need except maybe the compressor mounting bracket and crank pulley.
One of the reasons I hang out on this board is there is a more resourceful attitude here. Some of the other 914 hangouts say "can't do it" almost as a reflex action. (Uhhggg.)

I say go for it.

-Ben M.

This site has some info & parts for Porsche & VW A/C:

Ice A/C

I agree with the reply about Vintage Air.
They do a heck of a lot of Hotrods and Streetrods and can be creative in their application.

Good Luck!

Thanks for all the help guys.. I'm looking to finalize the purchase this week. I won't be able to do anything with it 'Till I get back to the USA.

James, I'll def. look you up when I get back to Dallas. I'll be picking the Car up in DesMoines, then Road Tripping it down to Dallas stopping along the way to see family, etc.

Am really looking forward to taking that time to really get to know the car and driving it on the open road! I'm sure it will put a big smile on my face!

As for the air con, hopefully I'll have enough time before it gets too hot to get the Aircon sorted...

Thanks again for all the help and happy Nine-Forteen-ing..

Doug