[alfa] re: GTV6 2.5 vs 3.0 and AC equip

[Joe Elliott <jee@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

As to when a car (specifically a GTV-6) becomes enough of a 
collector's item that tasteful upgrades will lower it's value, I 
don't have much to offer, but I'm very curious to hear what others 
have to say.  I ponder this issue regularly.

As to the air conditioning, I use a vacuum pump that I bought a 
university surplus auction and a set of gauges, fittings, and hoses 
that I got from AutoZone for ~$90.  That setup seems to work fine, 
although aircon pros have told me that I should really have a very 
precise digital manometer to determine whether or not I've really 
eliminated all the moisture--apparently an almost-imperceptable 
change in pressure while you're holding a vacuum can indicate that 
you haven't gotten all the moisture out.  For refrigerant, I strongly 
recommend a hydrocarbon refrigerant.  I usually get the stuff from 
http://www.autocool-refrigerants.com but it looks like the 
competitor, http://www.duracoolky.com also sells tools, including a 
set of gauges like mine, and an affordable vacuum pump.  I advocate 
the hydrocarbon refrigerant because it works as well as R12 (better 
than R134a) without any of the health or environmental side effects 
of R12 or R134a.  It's also affordable, compatible with OEM 
compressors and hoses, compatible with multiple oils, and can even be 
mixed with R12 or R134a (handy if there's still some refrigerant in 
your system and you don't have the equipment to recover it safely). 
If anyone's interested, I did a presentation on this refrigerant for 
school, and I've posted it on the web at 
http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/~jee/refrigerant/.

-Joe


At 5:08 PM +0000 7/19/04, alfa-digest wrote:

> Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2004 12:45:53 -0400
> From: "Jay T Hinton" <jhinton@domain.elided>
> Subject: [alfa] GTV6 2.5 vs 3.0 and AC equip
>
> Now that the GTV6 is rapidly becoming a 25 year old classic,  I need to
> figure out which way to go with Tazio, the 1983 2.5 litre, 3.4 ratioed
> GTV6.  Tazio lost his original leather interior some time ago,  with a
> set of Verde Recaros and the rear seat cushion removed, with just a
> carpeted area in place.  I still  have the original seats.  Other than
> that, very few modifications at all.  But,  I have a spare 3.0 Verde
> motor now and the wiring harness to go with it. 
> I am inclined to swap in the 3.0 and its harness.  But doesn't this
> lower the value of the car, quite a bit.  Sure,  its going to be much
> quicker and pleasant to drive,  but one day, Tazio will be moved on down
> the road to another owner.  I doubt I would want to replace the original
> wiring harness, though replacing the original 2.5 motor would not be
> difficult.
>
> And,  with more cars needing AC work,  I wonder if anyone might suggest
> some AC equip to pull a vacuum on the system once its repaired and
> bolted up.  I would most likely work with R134A gas, but would welcome
> other suggestions as well.
>
> Thanks, Ciao,
>
> Jay
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