How to replace air conditioning and make an upper cabinet?

[maco70]

Hi,

Is there somebody who already did the removal of the upper rear air conditionning stuff on an 1986 full camper and did a upper rear cabinet there, like it was stock until 1985 i think?

Is this easy?

I already have the upper rear cabinet door and hinges but i will have to remove all the air conditionning system and i'm not a mechanic so i don't know how easy or hard it is.

Thanks in advance for reply on this !
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Martin from Montréal

1986 Vanagon GL full camper westfalia
(brown/tan interior)

[iceracer]

I did this recently and it was fairly easy to remove. My AC system was empty so I didn't have to be careful. I reinstalled it and am sourcing larger speakers and going to make my own door/space for storage.
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86 Syncro Wolfsburg edition
63 Beetle (The Iceracer)

[zippyslug31]

I'd love to do this! I really miss that cabinet from my old '80 and my worthless AC unit in my '90 just adds weight.
_________________
previous:
'80 westy
current:
'90 syncro westy 2.5L subi, triple knob, 16" wheels.
'84 sunroof van, 2.1L motor.

[maco70]

thanks!

so, is the first step is to remove the upper panel on which is sitting the air conditionning?
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Martin from Montréal

1986 Vanagon GL full camper westfalia
(brown/tan interior)

[Kejidog]

My 85 had ac. It was removed before I bought it. The bently instructions look pretty straight forward though.I bought a door for the cabinet and screwed it in the front hole where the ac was. Works great. It is open in the back allowing access to stuff from the rear hatch. I think mine was a one off as the air plenum was not installed on the roof in the front of the ceiling. I removed the compressor and junked it. I haven't regretted it yet. But then again I am in Nova Scotia. Our rental Welty we had for our Yosemite trip last had ac and we loved it there. The loss of power was noticeable though.
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85 Westy Camper "Jeebus"
"new" rebuilt 2.1 with a ten cent stainless exhaust- lovin all the power!!!!

[Bman]

Hi, I did this over ten years ago on my 1989 Westy, back when a grey upper cabinet could be found at a local VW junk yard (Auburn, WA) and it didn't cost me a second mortgage.

If I remember correctly, first I pulled the A/C plastic ceiling vents forward of the A/C cabinet, save those screw covers), then I began work on the A/C ceiling cabinet. I had the Bentley to follow and it provides just enough info to begin, remove all the big bolts and lower that unit down; I believe the A/C fins will come with it. Now you need to work on the hoses; for this you will need to unbolt and prepare to move your side cabinet out (not completely out of the van, but enough to feed those hoses down and out) and now you will have access to all the components to manipulate.

Disconnect hoses, and A/C compressor on the engine and remove. Remember to keep track of all of your bolts and baggie them; when you replace the upper cabinet with your new donor you can reuse them. Take your time, think it out and you will have few problems. I do not recall having to drill any new holes, I believe all of the cabinet components were easily manipulated to bolt right up. I replaced all the old A/C/ vent crews in my ceiling and then just capped them with the remaining grey covers for a finished look.

Remember to save all your parts and try to resell them, although you might think it's junk the dude down in NM or AZ will think its gold.

I did this upgrade back when I was a complete novice, now I'm just an amateur novice.

Good luck.
_________________
~Bryan
1990 Burgandy Tintop (Wife's Daily Driver)
1989 Tiico Westfalia "Taj"




2WD Doka build thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=503578&highlight=
FaceHook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/VW-T3-DokaSinka/129026087217120?ref=hl

[Ahwahnee]

Man, this is really a Canuck, Pacific NW, frozen-North thread.

I can see where the extra storage is useful and the A/C not worth your $$$ to repair but if you do ever sell the buyer likely won't be in AZ, NV or SoCal.

[campism]

[BC Westie]

I just pulled my old AC unit out of my van. It had the evaporator under the dash so I had to pull my dash out partially to get to it with the dual fans. Now I have a glove box! 18lbs removed from under the dash and another 40lbs of radiator and condensor thingy in the engine bay. All and all I lost 58pounds
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1980 Vanagon Cali Import 86,000Miles
1981 Vanagon (Auto) 219,000kms
1981 Westfalia (Auto) Cali Import 169,000Miles
1981 Westfalia 300,000kms
1982 Westfalia Cali Import 193,000Miles
1982 Westfalia (Auto) 205,000Kms
1984 Vanagon 306,000kms
1987 Vanagon GL 300,000Kms

[danfromsyr]

that's a rare Behr unit andyou can turn those pounds into $$$
don't toss that in the can, someone in arizona or so cal will be interested in it..

lastly I've never really worried about pounds on my van, it's a camper for cryin out loud... laod it up.. it's made to be a mule.. next you'll be removing your powersteering to gain some time off the line street racing..

[Ahwahnee]

[indytriple]

In typical fashion, here come the AC-Ripper-Haters. TK will probably be stopping by next to train-wreck this useful thread into oblivion. It's your damn van. Do whatever you want to with it.

The weight savings absolutely does matter. Almost every tip-sheet on fuel economy will tell you to remove excess weight from your vehicle. Everything you choose to take is costing you something in fuel economy. Just because it's a small savings doesn't make it insignificant, especially over tens of thousands of miles. But then again, it's not the weight savings that I'm after, it's the increased storage capacity that should be the focus here.

Above-Closet Storage Space Contains the Following:
-24" Breaker Bar
-Torque Wrench
-Bag of 12-15 Large Tent Stakes
-Five Gallon Solar Shower
-Four Weenie Roasting Sticks
-Long-Reach Swiffer "System" for Cleaning Fiamma Awning

AC Cabinet Storage Space Contains the Following:
-Jumper Cables
-Coleman Collapsible Trash Can
-Two Frisbees
-Six Foot Hose Lead
-Five Gallon Collapsible Water Container
-GoWesty Wasserstopper Rainfly
-Front Inside Westy Curtain
-Large First-Aid Kit
-Yakima Stretch Net for Luggage Carrier
-Crazy Creek Chair
-Pillow Catcher Net for Pop-Top Bed

Other useful storage gains include increased room in the back of the closet:

And under the closet:

You can also access most of the small-to-medium size items through the existing hole in the front of the cabinet:

I haven't even mentioned the benefits of having the AC parts out of the way when I'm working in the engine bay (especially the left side). Also, my rear passengers/sleepers have more head room with that gigantic brittle-plastic air-diffuser abomination out of the way.

Please don't PM me from a Southern or Southwestern state and ask me if I still have any of my AC parts. I don't. Good riddance.
_________________
"See The Glass As Already Broken."

87 Vanagon Westy Auto Bostig

www.bluegrassbicyclecompany.com

[campism]

He proved my point that you don't really need to do anything to the existing A/C cabinet once the actual A/C mechanism has been removed and you are left with the vacant cabinet. Just fill it up.

[Bman]

Yes, I like the reusing of the original A/C cabinet. If I had to, I would also cut a larger entrance way for front access and then refinish it with some of the readily available cabinet molding too.
_________________
~Bryan
1990 Burgandy Tintop (Wife's Daily Driver)
1989 Tiico Westfalia "Taj"




2WD Doka build thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=503578&highlight=
FaceHook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/VW-T3-DokaSinka/129026087217120?ref=hl

[PDXWesty]

Here's a shot of the rear cabinet from a non AC van. I really liked having the extra storage up there. I never use my AC now, but I wouldn't remove it just for the storage. Too much loss of value I think. I just learned to do without.

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89 Westy 2.1 Auto

[86syncrowesty]

I pulled mine like most of the others have said, I just left the A/C cabinet in place and use it for bulky things that are needed in a quick grab fashion like jackets, etc. I would like to either make or find a door to put on it like the non-A/C units to keep things in check.

Here in Colorado I am more worried about overnight low temps than on the road high temps. Memorial weekend it was 33* in the van at ~ 9500 ft.
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1986 Vanagon -- Syncro, Westy
2.5L Subaru

[indytriple]

[grboregon]

I want to get rid of my A/C in my 1985 Westy. When I bought it the compressor was already gone so how do I get out the rest of the junk? Does anyone want any of what I take out? Let me know I am in Oregon. I am changing all my coolant hoses so want to do this all at once. Thanks guys. [email protected] if you want to email me direct. Put Westy in the subject so I don't toss it.

[dixoncj]

Funny that folks out west can even entertain the idea of having no a/c. If the AC didn't work in our Westy here during Charleston summers, my wife would order it either be immediately fixed - or the van be sold.

[Tishamingo]

I am considering taking mine out also of my 86. I don't have it hooked up on the engine and the Oregon summers are just nice enough to have the windows down to be comfy.

Being from Alabama I would never imagine I would ever be taking the AC out of my ride but here we are.

Oh I forgot the obligatory "It rains here all the time, you wouldn't like it"

so yeah, don't come here