RESTORING THE AIR CON SYSTEM CLASSIC 1972 FRONT ENGINED V12 FERRARI 365 GTC 4
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The Borletti air conditioning system was completely ineffective & probably not working at all. If it had worked in the recent past the flexible piping was so well worn that the system was not retaining any gas.The air con radiator did not retain any pressure & it would be necessary to repair & renew all of the parts I could obtain or make. The Aspera York compressor & the electromagnetic clutch was overhauled & fitted with new ports for current coolant gas. |
The original refrigerant, Freon 12 gas, is no longer available in the UK or worldwide. The hose on the inner side of the right front wing near the air con drier, with a copper water pipe repair, is the hose from the brake servo unit to the camshaft driven brake vacuum pump.These sort of botch repairs were evident in many areas on the car The air con pump is driven by a key at the front by the right hand intake valve camshaft. |
The first attempt to re-gas the system failed completely because of a fractured copper pipe at the the evaporator inside the car. which was repaired prior to putting the unit put back in the car. The pressure & nature of the cooling gas found other leaks & the evaporator had to be removed & repaired again. Second time was successful & the air con system is now back in the car & working. |
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 The purifier desiccator is a key component of the system & was badly battered. It was also almost full of water & I could not drain or dry out the crystals. A replacement unit was available at Ferrari UK & was fitted after cleaning & re commissioning the solenoids & other parts of the system |
 After much searching I found a supplier for the air con hoses,The replacement ventilation hose looks to be an almost exact replica of the original but it is far too new & clean.It needs with time & use it will ‘grubby up” & look older. |
 The air con radiator was cracked,leaking gas & beyond repair.It was replaced with an identical unit that was again available at Ferrari UK.I was getting used to the Ferrari term NLA (no longer available) so was pleasantly surprised at the off the shelf availability of so many items |
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I have now replaced all the defective parts in the system & reinstalled it all in the car. The right hand radiator cooling fan is linked to the air con system but the relay that operated the circuit was burnt out. I replaced it with a relay that is standard FIAT at very minimal cost which was a new experience on this car especially if the bits came from Ferrari UKThe dashboard temperature/on off switch was also not working due to years of not being used. It is a rheostat with a metal contact which ran over the winding resistance & amazingly came back to life with electronic switch cleaner & WD40.The re-gas was done by a local company & the system works well considering it is 40 years old. This is a big car with a large glass area & air conditioning is really nice to have on even a moderately sunny day.I am really glad that I spent the time fixing it. |
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