Wondering if anyone has added an Air conditioning unit to a Mk8. Plenty of room under the bonnet!

 

I considered adding this very nice A/C kit to my Mark IX: Jaguar Mark VII-VIII-IX Air Conditioning Kits | RetroAir, Inc.

Ultimately, I didn't do it due to the extensive investment I've already made, and the relatively expensive installation expense that I'm anticipating (not to mention $3K for the system itself). My car still has the original generator (positive-ground), so it would entail purchasing the full system with an alternator, as well as (I'm guessing) replacement of various positive-ground ignition components. And in fact, my car handles Southern California weather quite well without A/C except on the hottest days. So I've held off. If you opt to proceed, I'd sure like you to keep the forum posted!

 

Hi DB48,
Here are a few snip its from the JCNA A/C Judges' Guide (pg 9):

MK VII, VIII, & IX
The big saloons were the first treated to air conditioning.

In the boot, a rather large box (evaporator) painted semi-gloss black was nested against the rear bulkhead. There would be 2 ducts blowing cool air on
either side of the box made of formed round duct hose, and a central duct, which was
rectangular in shape and made of sewn material, which provided return air.

Here is a trunk unit that could work form Vintage Air in Texas.
https://www.vintageair.com/custom/pr...?pn=685000-VUY
You would still need to figure out a condenser, hoses, compressor and controls. Vintage could supply the components but you would have to figure out how to mount them.

Jaguar used trunk mounted A/C up to and including Series 1 XJ6.

George Camp - Thank You for your work on the A/C Judges' Guide!

 

Fair enough, and certainly important for someone interested in having the car judged. I wasn't aware that Mk IXs were ever available with A/C. I don't recall seeing any references to it in the Owner's Manual. I can say, with absolute authority having owned a 1969 Series I XJ that was fitted with the described rear-deck A/C, is that having A/C in the rear deck is a miserable solution. The blower wasn't really strong enough to blow air forward to the driver / front passenger, and the cold blowing air hitting the rear passengers in the head and neck is really annoying.

 

Some more snippets from there JCNA A/C Judges Guide (Pg 3):

There is a clear factory connection with air conditioning. It is clear from the research that the Factory was very involved with the development and use of air conditioning (even though the effort was spearheaded by Hornburg - the largest single distributor in the world for Jaguar at the time).

Very little seems to have been written about early Jaguar air conditioning. This is a direct reflection of three facts and a conjecture.

First, most secondary works on Jaguar, such as those by Paul Skilleter and others, are concerned with European forms (specifically right hand drive) of the car, and rely heavily on direct access to factory documents, which are (for the period) scarce and vague.

Second, air conditioning was a North American desire and effort. Factory installations of air conditioning systems were direct result of research and development work carried out in the Southeast and Western United States.

Third, the literature and documents that cover these efforts (including factory publications) are rare and seldom available to the public. Indeed some of the documents that will be used in this guide are likely the only copy that is in existence.

Again, Thank You George for your work!

 

Thanks Bob. That is very interesting info indeed. It seems that original system may not have been very effective and quite cumbersome, so If I do anything at all I might go with something more compact under the bonnet and dash.
cheers David

 

I'm disappointed to learn that the magnificent Series I XJ had a boot mounted AC.. I always thought that it was integrated (in with the face vents) from launch.
I did see a YouTube video of some bloke dropping a JV12 into a Mark X that he was going to trek somewhere and that car did appear to have an evaporator incorporated in the engine bays' heater/blower system, up near the top of the firewall. Likely was a later fitted modification.
Many of us at the Triumph Stag club here suspect that our cars well designed integrated AC borrowed heavily from the similar vintage Jaguar XJ. Must have therefore been the Series II XJ.
My Stag didn't have integrated AC but someone around 1975 had fitted a crudely made but effective and reasonably well hidden under dash evaporator/blower/TX assembly.
Definitely possible to fit under the dash in your Mark 8, DB48.