Thanks Glyn, thats what I though you meant but wanted confirmation.

So, if you could fit cabin air filters to the system it could greatly reduce the problem. From my experience a good filter can filter out 95% of bacteria and fungi from the air

 

To achieve the desired low differential across the filter media the filters would have to be huge. The Artic Kar vents are far more sensible. Filtration will help but impede performance. I have a friend in Thailand with an S Type & the Coolaire system & he had to redo the headlining due to those vents up close. Huge dirty plume in front of each of them.

 

Hi Glyn,
The best place for the filter is on the inlet side of the system. i.e. just before the fan inlets (need a min of 35 mm between filter and fan scroll inlet). So you should be able to get a good size filter. The Mondeo/MKZ combo filter (2016 onward) is an excellent filter. They will last for 30,000+ km.

 

I'm a Mod on MBWorld with 20,000 posts. Mann + Hummel make the high end inlet cabin filters for Benz (Blown Polyester + Activated charcoal) that claim 5 micron capability obviously nominal. Absolute must be >20 micron. They are ineffective against bacteria, fungi etc & have led Benz to micrencapsulate evapourators with bactericide & spray systems with aerosol bactericide at service to keep them clean & free of dirty socks smell. The filters do not prevent infestation. Just one spore has to get through.

 

Glyn my experience with the systems is that any dirt comes from inside the car (intake) and any other comes from the large but flat "drip" pan. A lot of water can stand in the pan and a seldom used system can be trouble. I have had success with a cup of anti fungal solution as used in a humidifier. Water is still there for a while but no growth. I have seen the cool air system on period RR and Bentley. Those vents are high and if any water remained it was always in the pan.

 

Keeping a biocide/bactericide/antifungal permanently in the system by whatever means is a good idea & will make all the difference. I'm just reporting my experience. My Thai friend ended up fitting Artic Kar vents to his Coolaire system after the headlining redo.

 

Hi Glyn,
I have worked closely with both Mann & Hummel and Freudenberg on PM 2.5 filters, So I am very well versed in what their filer can do. They both make several different grades of filter material and I have had the filters tested by independent labs. Filters can remove very fine particles. I also worker on a PM 2.5 sensor for cars before I retired. I have seen the data of in vehicle testing and the rate of PM 2.5 being removed.

 

Yes ~ I'm a global oil man as you will see from my bio/profile. Filtration has been a huge chunk of my life. From Mann to Donaldson to Hengst to Freudenberg to Pall, you name it and meeting ISO cleanliness levels from steel plants to hard drive plants & every form of industry in between. Fuel, Lubricant & Air ad infinitum. I'm well aware of what filters & media technology can achieve & can't achieve. Single pass, multipass etc. etc.

 

It really is not a big deal to relocate the battery. I know I have highly modified my car but with a good quality aluminum radiator with electric fans and maybe a few other tweaks I am sure you will have no issues. If I can run my V8 with headers can run AC in stop and go traffic you should be able to run your AC without worry of overheating? Then you can drive the 3.8s more

 

Classic Auto Air
https://www.classicautoair.com/product-category/complete-ac-systems/european-ac-systems/jaguar-ac-systems/

 

 

What about replacing the heater core with an ac evaporator core? I never need the heater, it seems like it's just wasting space. You just need to find an evaporator core of the right size. Upgrade the fan and you're in business.

 

Problem with using the heater core and original vents is you need the cool air blowing on your body and face, and the heater vents won’t do that.

I am not terribly thrilled with the classic auto air system. It fits nicely in the car, and is a neat install, but it really can’t keep up with the thermal load from the sun through the windows, Even if I UV tinted the windows, it would only still be marginal. For it to work properly, it would need to be about twice as big, and that really would not fit well. If I had to do it over, I would have skipped the AC.

Chuck

 

A/C in a classic Jaguar????????
In England on hot days we take off our winter string vest and our tweed jackets, remove our caps and place our driving gloves in the glove box then crack open a quarter light window or two. If it gets really warm one might even roll up our sleeves undo our tie and hang an elbow over the window sill but I would not let one of the servants see me in this dishevelled state no matter what temperature it reached.
The only A/C we have in the UK is either a type of electricity or some vulgar pop group called A/C D/C who plays very loud music which fortunately my in car Long wave Radiomobile wireless does not pick them up.
A/C indeed.

 

I see that the Clayton Classics AC uses a combination of a heater and evaporator in the heater box with a second evaporator behind the center console, eliminating the radio.
Link
For folks in hot places you could do a double evaporator system with one up front and separate trunk unit. A more complex system would probably more prone to leaks as well.

 

I use the Retro Air kit and it works decent. In my car the issue is the big V8 with headers creates a lot of heat so I had to try to insulate it more and change the main tubing coming out of the air handler as I was getting some heat radiating into the AC and affecting performance a little. When it is hot say 90 + I keep it full blast and it keeps the car reasonably cool but not ice cold. Some of that might be just due to my big V8? It I were to install it now I would have used Heat Shield products, Lava shield which you can cut and stick onto the air handler, etc. and wrap the hoses that go thru the firewall. I could not insulate it as well after it was already installed and I did not want to remove it to insulate it. That lava shield looks nice and really stops heat from penetrating. I would think the Retro Air is a good kit as you can see from the interior shots that the vents look clean but I would buy Lava Shield and remove the factory insulation and shield it well and wrap all hoses that are in the engine bay. I think the rear stock AC sucks and does not cool the car well at all.

https://www.heatshieldproducts.com/lava-shield

another coating that is good is https://www.heatshieldproducts.com/hp-sticky-shield