Car swamp cooler thoughts

D

decling

Senior Member
I am rebuilding a 38 1/2 ton truck. I live in Arizona. There is very little space under the dash to have an AC unit and I think it would take away from the looks both in the cab and the engine compartment. I like the looks of the old swamp coolers that go on the window. My question is do they cause any issues over time by introducing moisture into the cab or other issues?

If I want my wife to go with me I will need some way of cooling.
Any other ideas other than the Vintage Air Mini unit or possible solutions someone may have come up with that take up less room would be great.
 
As the dashboard passes engine heat through to the interior, seal any holes, and insulate against that heat source. The cowl vent brings in as much air as desired to help keep that area cool also.

The old window mount coolers were very good in the era, no reason they would not be so today. Ice is used in those coolers, or better yet, dry ice if you can find it. I seriously doubt that Arizona in the summertime could support a condition of moisture or humidity.
 
The swamp coolers only would seem to work in arid areas. Any chance there is under seat room to reverse mount an old under dash type unit. Blow forward and upwards with the vents. It was just a thought of mine for an early 50's F1. I worked in a shop that did AC installs for years, did many conversion vans. Rear heat and cool. The unit basically looked like an old under dash unit but with flexible hose connections and vent assemblies you mounted wherever. Just a thought.
 
jimTN said:
Swamp cooler will break a window in a heartbeat!
Click to expand...

No, not at all. The window secures the cooler against the door without any issue. I have an old original cooler, and have used them on old cars for fun.

They are not highly effective, because the pad needs to be wet to work efficiently. It's tough to rotate the pad into the water while going down the road, it tends to blow the water into the car. They are also fairly noisy. They are no substitute for AC!
 
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