1960-1963 Cool Pack AC units for trucks

[60-66]

Decided to start a new thread on the Cool Pack AC units for 60-63 trucks. I have two original examples , one in a low mile 1963 and one in a 1961 truck.but there is a lot to learn on these. The underdash unit itself is not the same as the Passenger cars. The inlet for the fan duct is the major difference I see, anyone else have one of these ? Also has anyone seen an original GMC underdash air unit ?? These first pictures are the 1963.

[60-66]

Heres some more of the condensor and dryer in the 63 for Aero.

[Micmac]

No, but you don't need that up in Wisconsin, send it down here to me and I'll put it in my '63 and put it to good use! Seriously, thanks for sharing the photo's. It is amazing to see all the various differences in these trucks. The air controller you have has 4 levers, whereas mine has two. I guess because mine is a southern truck?

[aerotruk63]

The knobs on your A/C unit are from the passenger car line like the Impala's. The one's that came on my unit, are the Corvair style like in the picture below.

Were the units not different pre 62? I'm not sure, but did they not have a black housing compared to the beige and white housing from 63?

The V8 compressor mounting brackets were bent steel plate not cast.

The X brace at the front of the rad support gets bolted in after the installation. The rivets removed.

When I get the chance I'll scan the complete installation instructions.

[aerotruk63]

Forgot about the insect screen. The one I have was tied in with cotton string. Is yours the same?

[markeb01]

Great thread. Thanks for starting & sharing.

[60-66]

Heres the 61 unit. The older couple that bought this truck new said it would freeze them out of the cab it was so cold. Its complete. Theres two units inside the truck in these pictures, one closest to you is a passenger car unit, the rear one is the truck unit. Notice the inlet for the fan duct, Trucks are straight out the side and the car aims slightly up under the dash.

Aero, I need to see the knobs you have on your 63 unit, I will look in the same accessory book you posted, have one around here somewhere but I wouldnt mind seeing a pic of yours..

[aerotruk63]

Same knobs as your other two units. The picture is from Ebay. There's another member bighunting that has an original A/C Truck

[Ronzo]

What do you fellas say one of those would be worth now a days?
Brother bought a 66 K20 with one in it and doesn't care for it.
I wouldn't mind it for my '64 C20.

[aerotruk63]

The hard to find pieces are the condenser and dryer.
The unit in the cab is protected by all that sheet metal and though rare, are less likely to be damaged or missing.
These units were a dealer installed option, never factory. Thus could be installed at any time and to different year trucks.
While I have no literature on this statement , I believe the units were optioned till 64. Nothing to say that a dealer could not order one for the later years.
To me the value would be $1,000 for a complete setup that is known to be working. I've spent more than that just gathering pieces. Been looking for 30+ years for a complete setup but never come across one.

[corvettejim1968]

it looks like the vent balls are the same as the ones I make. thanks for sharing

[Ronzo]

aerotruk63, thanks.
My brother's truck has all the pieces under the hood, just trying to figure out a value and that helps a lot. I'll get some pictures after he gets it all cleaned up.

[aerotruk63]

Link to the 1963 Accessories Installation Manual.
When your dismantling the unit you should use these pages as a reference to which pieces and hardware you would need to keep.
Then pack everything in a few boxes and ship it off to me for being such a helpful and friendly guy.

https://photos.google.com/album/AF1Q...cb0DMUGwfcqY7b

[Ronzo]

Roger that, and since you're in Canada...
shipping will be cheap, lol.

[aerotruk63]

Yes shipping would be cheap, but I would have to smuggle it into Quebec because I'm sure our provincial government would find a law to have to pay some kind of tax! lol
While the rest of the country is obliged to have their signs bilingual, ours are in French only to discourage you from visiting. We just want more than our share of your federal tax dollars to help support our criminal politicians and their friends.

[C40]

For the 1960 - 1966 trucks.
Is the A/C condenser the same one or is it different for the 60-63 that have the Cool Pack A/C system?
If they are different
Does anybody have pictures of the A/C condenser used in the Cool Pack system?

[tkeduk8r]

I know im bringing this thread back to life, but I have the opportunity to buy one of these CoolPaks that has the side outlet like the trucks do. It through a friend of a friend, and wont be cheap and less cheap to ship for sure. BUT my concern is the brackets that mount it to the dash. I dont think the brackets are the correct brackets by looking at the above pictures. Im installing a 348 in a 63 K20 and Im not counting on perfect originallity, but I would prefer to be as stock as possible.

If the unit is acceptable, Im thinking I would use a combination of Impala car A6 brackets and Vintage or Old Air components to make things function correctly and look reasonably correct.

Any thoughts?

[60-66]

That unit you're looking at is a 1960-1961 unit , not a 62-63 unit. Color of yours is gray and should be more of a beige/yellow , hard to describe, lol . Also the bowtie is a different style as is the extra chrome on and around the vents. Heres some photos of the correct brackets for a "center" mount 63 AC unit. Notice in these assembly instructions a Center mount and RH mount bracket. RH mount was for a floor shift 4 speed, center mount is for automatic and column shift 3 speed truck. A 1963 Accessory Installation manual is what you need to find , usually on ebay, to get all the correct parts. I cant identify your brackets but have seen those before.

[tkeduk8r]

Thank you so much.... So the brackets mounted on top are definitely not correct, at least the passenger side one is not. The seller is trying to locate any other of the parts to include in the sale, but the price is not amazing, however it is the only one for a truck that I have seen. I do have one I picked up originally from a car, but then this one became available. Is the blower a generic unit that I could source from alot of other GM offerings or is that a truck only that will be another needle in a haystack? Can you please post some detailed measurements of those brackets in the hopes that I might be able to fabricate some? I teach manufacturing engineering, so I think with a mill and a break they should be reproducible looking at your pics... Thanks again!
--Mike

[60-66]

Those brackets might be 1961 when the unit is mounted to the right . Need to confirm that yet. I don't have any fan assemblies out to take a picture of. I do have a car version and it looks like nothing I've ever seen commonly used in other cars or trucks . So it might not be that easy to find. Car unit has a bracket spot welded to it that could be removed . I would think after thats removed it might work. Heres a picture of :

Top is the fan bracket.
Two rods from firewall to dash bottom.
side brackets that clamp to the rods.
center bracket to bottom of dash