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.../....the "dealer installed air-conditioning".../...1) I doubt the dealers ever did that back in the day.../...
Frigiking A/C in W113I met the guy who designed the A/C for the W113's. An elderly buddy of mine had to visit an elderly buddy of his to look at a Model A engine. I was invited so I could drive. Arrived to see the A engine and I was introduced to the man and told he used to work for Frigiking in Dallas. Asked what he did, he designed systems for cars, what cars, he listed a few and included Mercedes, which models, he says the 230SL etc. So I ask for the story.M-B contracted with Frigiking. M-B put a new W113 in a crate, shipped it to Dallas and Frigiking put it unopened into a room accessed only by this fellow and 1-2 others. In complete secrecy (you know those Germans) he custom fabricated the system, Frigiking tooled up for it, and the car was re-crated and shipped back to Germany. The units were then sold by and installed by MBNA dealers all over the US.My -71 has an inline fuse near the receiver dryer. The location can vary as they were installed at the dealership, and each mechanic had their own way of doing things.For those with a Kuhlmeister underdash unit, that was designed by John E. Mitchell Co. on Main Street in Dallas. At one time they had a service dept right at the plant and I went there to have my Fintail A/C worked on. /Will SamplesI offer a little background info/history for what it is worth. About 8 years ago a retired friend of mine wanted me to drive him a distance to offer tech help on a Model A engine. He said I would enjoy meeting the Model A owner.After introductions were made I found out the A owner had retired from Frigiking in the Dallas/Ft.Worth area. (The other maker of A/C units for Mercedes was John E. Mitchell Co which made Kuhlmeister in downtown Dallas. I was able to visit their firm before they were bought and dismantled by the competition and took advantage of their service dept)The Model A guy was the actual person who designed, engineered and developed the A/C for the W113. He had a room that was off limits to everyone but his team. The Mercedes factory would crate a W113 or other Mercedes and ship it to Frigiking where they would remove the car from the crate inside their room, execute the A/C design, re-crate the car, and ship this samle car and the A/C unit back to Germany prior to the official launch of the car. /Will SamplesAir condition dealer installed in USThe A/C units for the W110, 111, 112 chassis cars were all installed in the US. Most of them were installed by MBNA at the vehicle preparation centers in the US. However, some of them were dealer installed. The same thing was true with more radios. On my 1966 250SE coupé, both the A/C and car radio were dealer installed. I know this because I worked at the local dealership in 1967 and was doing the dealer prep on the new cars. /Bob GunthorpFrigiking, sometimes Germanized to "Kuhlmeister," was factory air for the W113. Technically, they were not installed at the factory in Germany, but were installed by the dealer in the US, given a kit and instructions. They were built by Cummins, in Austin, Texas.
../... Just to clarify my comment.....
