Living in the tropics, in this ever warming World, I'm very much in love with A/C, both in my cars & in my home. In fact I haven't had a car without air for decades, & it's one of the trepidations I have about buying the old S-Type I'm currently looking at. I know old school quarter vents did an excellent job of shovelling air into a car, & the Jag looks to have huge flaps, front & rear. Do the rear's open? So it may not need air, though I think I'd prefer it to getting buffeted by wind constantly.
So what are the options? Did S-Types ever come out with factory air? Was it any good? Is it worth chasing a 2nd hand unit down, or are there aftermarket kits available that look period correct with modern working parts? Has anyone else A/C'd their car? How did it go?

 

www.retroair.com/

I have not found a better solution, and Lin did a great write-up on how to install on fairislepress.com/
I plan on buying the kit soon.

 

yes the factory offered a/c. It blew air from the rear, the vents were on each side of the rear parcel shelf behind the rear seat Back. The Evaporator and blowers assembly was mounted inside the trunk / boot, behind the rear seat back's panel, freon hoses stretched for miles towards the engine compartment. Very awkward, but used in all the Big Jaguar Saloons, and all the Small Saloons like the MK-II, S type, and 420.

Retroair's system is the opposite and modern in efficiency. But you will need to move the battery to the boot and run very long cables under the chassis, that's the reason why I have not done it to my S type because I just don't want a remote battery, my boot is factory authentic in every way and I don't want to butcher it. So I live without a/c.

Retroair's system requires a complete dash dismantling, front seats and center console too, so be aware of the difficulty in installing their system. However, the end result will be added value to the car, and modern a/c'd interior.

 

Hmm. Food for thought indeed.

 

A mate in our local Jaguar Drivers Club of Queensland register (Sunshine Coast) has a MK2 with the RetroAir unit. Works great and looks like factory A/C. He had it installed by someone in Sydney. Not sure about the battery placement, but I do know that they upgraded both the fan and the radiator. He's never had a problem with it overheating.

It's on my wish list. Hopefully, next year. I've got my MK2 booked in for a bare metal respray in February. These cars certainly were not designed for Queensland summers!


Stu

 

or for Florida year round !!

 

yes, the rear quarter vents or "flaps" open manually, and they can be set in any position, they have "detentes", assuming the factory hardware has not been messed with.

 

The A/C's never off in my cars either. & being only 16* south of the Equator I've never used a car heater either!

 

on my way to Nashville from San Francisco, on the day I purchased my S type, I got lost in the Sonora desert at 2:30 am. It was freezing, I discovered the best system of the S type is the heater system.

 

The battery does mount in the trunk with the Retro-Air units. It is still a much cleaner installation than the "Factory" Artic Cat systems that take up a large portion of the trunk and have the AC lines running from one end of the car to the other. No matter what system you put in, they all kind of junk up the engine compartment with components.


The kit comes with a fan for the condenser that you mount in front of the radiator. It does not require a new radiator, but most people install a new aluminum radiator to improve cooling. I just don't know if that is really needed.


The other improvement that is common, but not required, is replacing the generator with an alternator. I think I am going to stick with the generator, and will go to an alternator (and all the hassle converting the car to negative ground) only if I have problems keeping the battery charged.

 

Take a look at Lin's web entry, he's pretty well covered the A to Z on the Retro Air

Air Conditioning ? Valve Chatter

 

Right- it is an awesome reference. A-Z and beyond!

 

there is a company in the UK that uses the original Heater Box to mount the Evaporator as well as the Heater Matrix, and you don't have to move the battery to the trunk / boot.

I like that system better, however I forget the name of the company that makes it. -Seek and yee shall find-.

Retro air sells an Alternator kit which replaces the Generator and mates with the power steering "dog" in these cars, another great product from Rock Browning, with the exception of the "move-the-battery-to-the-trunk-a/c-system" which I won't do.

Rock also manufactured my Spot Lamps which you can see in this picture. They are 5¼" inches in diameter for the S type's 5½" diameter auxiliary lamp buckets, 2 inches larger than the MK-2's buckets.

I also added XJ-6 electric door mirrors to the S type, also seen in the picture, I can't live without powered mirrors.

since that picture was taken, I replaced the Amber, front Turn Signal lenses with the original Clear ones the car came with, since I was being stoned to death by the purists who wanted clear lenses in MY car !! Selfish brats.

 

Thanks for the A-Z compliments regarding the A/C install in my MK2!

Jose, I have a NOS set of the external door mirrors like yours, but I just can't decide if I want to use them or not. As you said, I certainly like the functionality but I am just not sure about the appearance - that is whether they look to contemporary.

What do others think? I have already spent the money for them. I just remain uncertain.

Lin

 

I like the fender mount mirrors, but my wife vetoed them. I have a small bullet style mirror that I plan on using- just on the driver's side.
If I was going to be driving it a lot, and in traffic, I could see the value of dual adjustable mirrors.

 

Lin,

I fully understand your indecision.

as to appearance, look at my S type, in my opinion they look awesome, but it is a matter of opinion. I have a friend with a MK-2 who saw mine and did the same, his wife loves them too.

For me it is also a Safety First issue, the old motorcycle-style Lucas mirrors, whether on the fenders or the single one on the driver's door are totally useless in my opinion.

To scare you even more, installation is serious surgery, I measured twenty thousand times before I put the drill to the metal. I even made a template so both sides were perfectly equal. You have to consider the movement of the quarter window ventilator when placing the XJ-6 mirror, you have to drill 1" inch round holes at the door's front jamb and at the A post jamb to install a rubber neck "accordeon", you have to go on a junkyard search for the right rubber accordions, (this is where the mirror's wiring goes thru the door to the interior of the car). And the dash needs to be removed for easy access to routing the new harness, dash completely out.

Otherwise, the electrical connection of the mirrors is a simple Black Ground wire to any chassis screw using a ring terminal and the Red positive wire goes to an empty space at the fusebox using a female spade terminal, it can't get any simpler.

The XJ-6 switch I installed at the door, per the picture below. That was mostly easy.

 

another option is to install the Talbot Berlin "bullet" mirrors which have some adjustment but manually, they also look awesome. Assuming you can find an original set.

 

Jose,
Thanks for the background. My car is totally apart so the wiring would be easy to do now. Still contemplating. I still have a little while before I paint, so we will see. Still have that template?
Lin

 

I think I still have it, it was used by my friend in Tampa for his MK-2, what I don't remember is if he returned it! haha!

I'll check for you.

 

Another AC option to consider is a complete HVAC unit from Vintage Air out of Texas (I'm assuming they're still in business). They combine a heater core, AC evaporator and blower in very compact units that are quiet and efficient. I was able to house this behind a shallow bumpout in the firewall where the battery resides. I scanned an old picture - hopefully you can access here (I clicked on Adobe Reader and it opened - I'm pretty clueless here). This was a lot tidier than the Retroair units I'm seeing pictured here, but it did require some metal fabrication at the firewall.

Benefits of this approach include the elimination of the heater box and its inefficient blower, and the integration of air conditioned air into the defrost mode.