air conditioning.

[Gary Manes]

The P15 was not originally available with A/C. So, vintage correct is not exactly applicable.

Chrysler and Packard had A/C before the war--it was in the trunk. It was on all the time or off all the time. I guess someone had to put a V-belt on and/or off seasonally.

Someone on this site has a Vintage Air unit on their P-15 with a 12 volt alternator, in addition to the 6 volt generator. Things look a little busy in the photo that was posted, but apparently it worked well.

[TodFitch]

Yea I stuffed my swamp cooler with ice and then placed a good fan directly in frount of the intake and it did not make a difference. I even closed up the windows and I swear it got hotter. ...snip...

My parents bought one of those window mounted evaporative coolers when I was a child. They thought I would make the trip from Tucson, Ariz. to Riverside, Calif. in summer a bit more comfortable. As I recall it was scrapped after one trip as being useless. It was a few more years until they could afford to get a car with air conditioning. In the meantime we got by with the windows wide open, a large insulated water jug filled with ice and water and salt tablets.

[michael.warshaw]

salt tablets? what is that?

[Frank Elder]

Back before gatorade people used salt tablets to replenish the electrolytes lost due to sweating, if you took too many you would cramp up, throw up, or suffer dehydration....they were not very tasty either!

[TodFitch]

salt tablets? what is that?

A now discredited way of avoiding heat exhaustion: The theory was that you lost both water and salt while sweating so in addition to drinking plenty of water you also took some salt in the form of a pill.

Its the same idea as a lot of the "sports drinks" that include "electrolytes" (fancy name for salts). The problem was the salt was too concentrated. That is actually the same problem with a lot of the sports drinks which should be diluted with water to be effective. If the electrolyte concentration is too high then it will actually draw water out of your blood into you digestive track to dilute it. Not what you want when you are trying to get more water into your blood stream.

[Captain Neon]

There is something to be said for a small gasolene generator and small window air conditioner stuffed into the trunk, esp. in a coupe. Lots of room in the trunk. Plumb the generator exhaust through the trunk floor and then out to the back. Depending on how clever one wants to be, there can be a dedicated key and starter button for the generator or even have a 6/12 converter connected between the ignition switch and the generator. Modern electronic window AC w/ a remote control could even be used to adjust the temperature on the AC venting the cool air through the package shelf. Plumb the condensate to drip through a tube run through the trunk floor. One could easily have a very unique and cool P15 coupe with that set-up. One could set-up a thumping sound system that way too using the gasolene generator to power the stereo system.

[greg g]

Dont need a generator, just slice a hole in the trunk floor, bodge a drive pulley on the drive shaft and run the compressor from the drive shaft. Yea I know it wouldn't work if you weren't going down the road but it should be cool enough to last through a stop light or two.

[JohnS48plm]

Why not use one of the new Toyota Prius electric air conditioning systems. I don't know what voltage they use. JohnS

[michael.warshaw]

who makes those ac units that looks like a torpedo sticking out the window?

[Edward Roberts]

I don't know much about them, but I believe they work on the priciple of evaporation, rather than using any kind of coolant. Here is a picture of one:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/joeross/2253402695/

The label looks like it says "Sea-Breez" - can't make out the rest.

Haven't been able to find much else about them. Perhaps someone has some design plans. But then, getting one of those little fans with the squirt bottle at the MegaLoMart might be the most economical way to accomplish the same thing. And IT would work at the drive-in, too.

[michael.warshaw]

where can i buy one of those?

[BobT-47P15]

They appear on ebay - are two or three on there now, this being the best

looking one........

[BobT-47P15]

A felllow was talking about adding air to a P15 and using the shell

of the heater (the square box style) to hide the condenser or

whatever.....and make a disguised outlet into the car. Might work.

[michael.warshaw]

do these work on 6 volt?

[BobT-47P15]

Those use NO electricity.....just activated by the incoming air.

They have a pull cord that hangs inside the car to activate it.

[Edward Roberts]

Michael, here's a 6v swamp cooler that looks like a transport for a pet squirrel, if you are just looking for functional. I like the looks of the window unit, but can't imagine they work well to today's standards.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=4996285

Bob, have you ever used one? How well do they work? What is the comfort return on "$225.00 Reserve Not Met?"

[michael.warshaw]

those use no electricity.....just activated by the incoming air.

They have a pull cord that hangs inside the car to activate it.

what makes the air cool?

[Captain Neon]

Those are swamp coolers. The air has to be really, really dry for them to work. Like Southern California dry. They work through evaporative cooling similar to why it is cooler under a tree than an umbrella for shade. Physics 101.

[Cpt.Fred]

the ice inside it and the air flow?

edit: forget it... the other captain was faster

[hkestes41]

Lick your finger and blow on it. Your finger will feel cold. That is the evaporitive cooling effect.

I think Don is on to something there. Really all we need is a very friendly dog sitting in our lap and the window rolled down and we can forget all this talk of A/C.

Edited June 2, 2010 by hkestes41

[BobT-47P15]

A lot of lowrider guys in Calif use the coolers on their cars. Often painted

to match. I don't think they are worth big money personally. I can't

use one on my convert anyway. Had not used one in the past -- had one

I sold at a swap meet years ago that was pretty nice. Think it probably

brought $35 or so then.

This car was just recently for sale on ebay.

[Edward Roberts]

I'd think the fastest way to cool off the interior of an old car would be to take the family out for a three-hour road trip and tell the wife you paid $300+ on eBay for an aluminum tube with water in it.

Think I'll stick with the front and rear vent windows, cowl vent, and cold bottle of water.

[michael.warshaw]

A lot of lowrider guys in Calif use the coolers on their cars. Often painted

to match. I don't think they are worth big money personally. I can't

use one on my convert anyway. Had not used one in the past -- had one

I sold at a swap meet years ago that was pretty nice. Think it probably

brought $35 or so then.

This car was just recently for sale on ebay.

'but how does it cool?

[55 Fargo]

Michael, it doesn't cool man, it makes a sonic sound like a Jet engine, and you forget your hot inside. Very popular 50s items, like the little engines you mounted on your bike to make a motorcycle sound.....

[BobT-47P15]

Air comes in the opening at the front.....goes thru some material inside

that holds water.....then the moistened air comes out into the car to

hopefully cool things a bit. There is an opening on top of the

unit to pour in some water. Pretty simple.....but not highly effective.

Works the same as those things you can get for a house......also called

a swamp cooler.

Here's a link to wikipedia describing those coolers..... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evaporative_cooler