[hemi43]

Originally Posted by cleszkie

I live in southern California, and my Vintage Air does a great job of cooling my Blazer. However, I had to make several other modifications.

You cannot just install an A/C kit and expect it to work. Our Blazers are basically metal boxes that get heated up by the engine and exhaust, in addition to the sun. In order to give your A/C a fighting chance, you need to install insulation to keep the engine and exhaust heat from radiating up through the floor and through the firewall, and to keep the cooled air in. Take a look at any newer vehicle and you will see the massive amount of insulation used both for sound deadening and climate control. This is what I did:

1) Installed Fat Mat on entire interior surface of tub (floors and bedsides) and in doors.

2) installed heat shields between mufflers and floor pan (this made a huge difference).

3) Installed heat shield on under side of trans tunnel and on firewall in engine compartment (this also made a big difference).

4) Installed carpet over Fat Mat.

5) Replaced all top and door seals that did not make a good seal. Went with the press-on door seals that really work nicely. I adjusted the metal mounting rails on the door openings to make sure the seals had no gaps between the seal and door.

6) Made sure my kick panel vents closed all the way and that the seals were good. Vintage Air unit pulls interior air from right in front of passenger side vent. If it is pulling warm outside air that is leaking past the vent, it will compromise the cooling ability.

With all these things done, my Blazer cools down nicely in the SoCal heat.

Forgot to add that you need to make sure your existing cooling system is working well. If you are having issues with engine temps, adding a condenser plate in front of the radiator and expecting it to function well is not going to happen. I run dual electric fans with a shroud that covers my entire core, and a two row aluminum BeCool radiator.

The problem is the Softopper. It's like trying to cool a tent.