1982 VH Commodore A/C issues

[Patrick Foot]

Hi all,

I have recently inherited a 1982 VH from my grandfather the one owner of the car. The ac has stopped blowing cold air, i believe it needs to be regassed however he was told it would cost $800 to replace the ac system because the old system can't accept the new gas.

Can anyone confirm that this is the case and what the options are for fixing it?

Thanks in advance.

 

[J_D 2.0]

Yes, this will be true. The old system will be made to run on R12 refrigerant (CFCs) and won’t be compatible with the new non-CFC refrigerant. I think that they have to basically dismantle the whole system and replace all the seals and the receiver/dryer to make it compatible. Hence the cost being only 800 bucks as a complete new system would be a lot more than 800 bucks as just the compressors are normally over a grand.

 

[mechanic]

It needs to be retrofitted to take R134a (the less harmful style of refrigerant).
New fittings, new drier, new gas.

your old gas R12 is no longer legal for consumer use.

get another quote and you might do better, but expect there to be other problems. Gas shouldn’t leak out unless there’s a fault.

 

[Skylarking]

... I have recently inherited a 1982 VH from my grandfather the one owner of the car...

Nice, your grandfather obviously liked the car otherwise he wouldn’t have kept it for so long. Guessing it’s in good nick other than the aircon issue... Post a few pics

I do hope you are able to get it back to looking like new and and you can treat the car in a way your grandfather would have been proud off (had he been around to see you with it).

I’ve seen a few people who have inherited nice cars and then treat them as cheap runabouts driving them into the ground. Please don’t do that with the VH, it’s history,... maybe history in your making

 

[Patrick Foot]

Thanks guys appreciate it, I'll get some photos soon.