OUR CARS – TORRENS
COOLING THE COMMODORE
AIR-CONDITIONING is awesome in any classic car. In fact, I wouldn’t have bought my brown 1979 VB Holden Commodore SL wagon if it didn’t have the optional factory air-conditioning.
But… it didn’t work.
I’ve been playing with cars long enough to not trust the ‘Air-Con Needs Re-Gas’ spiel in many for-sale ads so when I handed over the cash, I expected to spend considerable bucks rebuilding the airconditioning system. Rumbling bearings in the Commodore’s now-beltless compressor was just one hint as to why the cool had escaped.
As I did for my Pajero recently, I spoke to Mark ‘cool-man’ Ostermann, who specialises in putting coolness into classic and custom cars so I organised some time with Mark to discuss what was required for my Commodore’s air-con.
Mark advised the car’s original – so 40 years old – air-con hoses would need to be replaced and the remaining components flushed and checked to ensure the system would be 100-percent reliable. Thankfully the 1970s-type air-con compressor used in these early Commodores remains available, re-configured for use with new-type air-con gas, and Mark had one on the shelf.
I disassembled most of the air-con as part of an engine bay restoration (more about that in a future issue) so I arrived at Mark’s workshop with the air-con lines, components and compressor in crates, ready for inspection, replacement and