Direct-fit A/C kits are great…right up until your car isn’t on the list. Alas, the oft-forgotten C-bodies usually fall victim here. What saves unsupported vehicles like those big barges is a quality universal kit that can actually be made to fit without sending your checkbook out to sea.
Vintage Air’s Builder Series is a great example of that and a video from Diebold Auto Body showed how an unlisted application like their 1966 Plymouth Fury could get ice cold A/C with ease.
The star of the show is the Gen 5 Magnum MAX Evaporator Kit (P/N 675200) which includes the evaporator module, brackets, wiring harnesses, duct hoses, a drain kit, heater control valve, and instructions.
However, understand that universal does mean some planning is involved. Diebold did a little custom work to make an under-dash control panel, then perfectly placed the line bulkhead in the firewall such that the supplied hoses looped beautifully over the passenger-side valve cover. Most impressive might’ve been the fact that their duct routing let the factory glove box drop back in with no modifications at all.
The result was an OEM appearance of which Ma Mopar herself would’ve been proud. Chrysler, Desoto, and AMC owners who’ve been told “there’s no kit for that,” take notes. Vintage Air’s Builder Series might require a little extra effort, but when it can end up looking this good, there’s nothing to sweat.
