After Market A/C (John E. Mitchell Co.) Info

[joebez95]

I bought a A/C components from someone who removed them from a '69. I have a '71 and I was trying to "dry fit" them and found out the evaporator/ interior unit can not be installed because it hits the wiper motor. The unit was manufactured by John E. Mitchell Co. in Dallas. From what I can find out these units were installed by Montgomerey ward, Kmart, Sears, ect in the '70's. I can not find any other info or literature on how these were installed, what mods need to be done to the truck if any or if is just not supposed to be installed in '71. If the portion is removed which interferes with the wiper motor the contour of the unit matches the dash board well. Can the wiper motor be clocked in a different position? Does anyone have any info on these units or possibly have one installed on their truck? Help!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please!!!!!!

[FORDification]

Do you mean it's hitting the heater blower motor? I can't see any aftermarket A/C setup going far enough up under the dash to actually contact the wiper motor....that's pretty far up there. Would it be possible to post some pics so we can get a visual of what you're working with?

Welcome to the site and forums, BTW. You should stop into the Welcome Mat area and properly introduce yourself, and maybe post a pic or two of your truck.

[460 crew]

Pics Pics this sounds interesting. Welcome to the site.

[joebez95]

I took pics of the A/C unit and where it hits the wiper motor but when I tried to down them it said the file size was too big I tried to reduce the size of the file but I can't figure out how to do this yet. If some someone has an idea I would love to e-mail the pics until I can figure how reduce the file size of the picture my camera takes..........Thanks

[binder56jd]

here is link http://www.fordification.com/resize-graphics.htm

additional info on site index pg near bottom- scroll waaay down

[Joe Kriston]

Okay,I went junkyardin' today,and I bought two a/c units...One was an aftermarket with a Ford logo and the other is a factory unit...They haven't removed the factory unit yet but the nice man who worked there offered up the wiper motors as well....He said I would need them w/ the factory unit because the regular wiper motors get in the way of the a/c unit ...

[460 crew]

SO.... I'm assuming when you go to the autoparts store and you ask for a wiper motor their going to ask if you have A/C? Never come accross that one but hey I haven't bought a new wiper motor they really don't wear out here in Vegas, just new blades every year.

[Joe Kriston]

Good question,Crew...The guy told me that the wiper motor on the a/c one is about a 1/2" skinnier than the regular one...Makes you wonder why Ford just didn't use the same wiper motors for all of them ....They're probably not going to get the a/c unit out for a couple of days,and I told them to give me everything and don't butcher anything...

[FORDification]

Hmmmm....never heard that before. I've saved every one from every truck I've parted out, and I haven't noticed a difference between any of the wiper motors. Guess I'll have to do some comparison between them and see if there's any difference.

However, I'd have to say he's wrong, since the factory A/C setup doesn't go that far back nor up that far IIRC. But I'll do some checking and let you know.

[FORDification]

I just did some looking at the pictures I've taken of trucks I've parted out, and I'm still thinking there's no difference. I mean, the windshield wiper motor mounts almost directly above the gas pedal, and the A/C setup doesn't go over that far. Heck, it would hit the A/C heater controls and radio way before it would come close to the wiper motor.

Consider that myth busted! However, if you want visual proof, I can provide some pics in a couple days.

[Joe Kriston]

Thanks,Keith...I thought it was unusual because I didn't even bring it up---he offered the info and the motor(s) if needed(I should mention that he isn't a member so he loses some credibility )....It's impossible to tell with the unit in place,and it was about 110 degrees out and I had already been there for about 3 hours,so I kinda insisted that they remove it for me...I'll also try to get some more info/pics and keep us posted...Also,aren't the motors attached to some kind of cable system?...I wonder if that's what ends up getting in the way...

By the way,these kind of threads come up often and I was thinking it might be good to some day compile all these factory a/c--aftermarket a/c threads into their own section or tutorial...I know a while back Heavenlyfire installed one,and wrote some dos and don'ts,but I haven't hunted down the thread yet...

[FORDification]

The wiper arms are connected to the motor via steel straps, no cables. And they're even farther up under the dash, almost right up against the bottom of the dash panel....the A/C doesn't go that high.

The right side of the factory A/C only goes up to the middle of the glovebox opening, and not even up to the bottom of the heater controls and ashtray assembly at the left side. The radio, heater controls and ashtry are between the wiper motor and the A/C setup.

Here are a couple pics to show the relationship:


In the above picture you can see that the edge of the A/C unit comes over to the left side of the ashtray...


...but in this picture, you can see that the wiper motor is even farther towards the driver.


Here's a shot of the A/C setup. The section on the right that sticks up is what extends up into the glovebox area, but then you can see where it curves down to where the flexible ducts are. That's to clear the radio and heater/AC controls.


...and in this shot, you can see that the top of the left side of the A/C unit doesn't extend past the lower lip of the dash, and is flat all the way to the back of the unit, with the exception of the flexible ducts. In other words, the entire left side of the A/C unit is basically flush with the bottom of the dash....and there ain't no way it's gonna reach all the way up to the wiper motor or the linkage arms. The far-left flexible duct comes up right about the center of the left vent and up behind the ashtray....but the wiper motor is still farther away towards the driver.

[Joe Kriston]

Gee thanks,Keith...I think what I'll do is get online when I go to pick up the unit and show them the pics...A couple of quick questions...In the last pic,bottom right hand corner is what looks like a fresh air intake...The cloth gasket on the one I'm getting(between the kick panel and the unit,about a 2" space) appears to be shot...Are those available anywhere?...Also,about a 1/2"inch to the left of that in the pic,is a metal mounting bracket near the top right hand face of the unit...It appears in the pic that it is actually indented into the face of the unit...On the one I'm getting,it looked like the unit had a little piece cracked off--right where that bracket goes...I guess I'm questioning if it's suppsed to be like that,and mine just didn't have the little bracket there...

[FORDification]

Yes, that bracket is absolutely necessary for mounting the unit. The lip is notched for it, and it'll kinda look like the end of the lip is just broken off, but that's how it's supposed to be.

As for the kickpanel-to-intake gasket, I'm kinda thinking that it's the same gasket used for the regular fresh-air vent on non-A/C trucks, but I could be wrong. I'll have to check that out and get back to you.

[joebez95]

I 'm finally back was out for a couple of weeks. Here are some pics of the John E. Mitchell A/C unit as it sits on my bench. I contacted the guy i bought the unit from and he says his wiper motor was turned at a 45 degree. I hope these pics make sense to someone. If you look the contour follows the curviture of the dash far to the left. In factory installations I find they are mounted far to the right?