I lifted this from the Ritter list, posted here with permission from the author Jim Mahaffey
My beloved 280SL has the original Frigiking A/C, with its 10 cubic-inch
York compressor, double belt-drive, and dual condensers, kept in
like-new condition. There's no reason why it should not be able to keep
frozen food in the tiny SL cockpit, but it doesn't. It doesn't even
keep the space cool. I can feel cold air hitting me, but the inside of
the car never cools off.
Lately, it's been a heat-wave outside. It's HOT, so I finally decided
to do something I've always wanted to do: block the air-vents on the
back of the hard top. Along the top of the rear window is a cleverly
designed, hidden aerodynamic vacuum pump, using the Bernoulli theory, to
suck air rapidly out of the cockpit, diffusing through the thousands of
tiny holes in the headliner. It was designed before there was a thought
of air-conditioning the car, and much though went into simply moving air
through the cockpit. With the front-outside vent closed, it scavenges
hot air from the trunk and from under the hood, and sends the cooled air
out the back as quickly as it is produced.
I cut a 28-inch piece of quarter-inch ID rubber tubing, and stuffed it
under the chrome strip at the top of the window. It practically clicks
into place, and it's invisible.
Went for lunch at noon. 107 degrees F on the tar. Inside, the old
Frigiking quickly brought the inside of the SL to near freezing! The
windows fogged up on the way out of the driveway! It's like a
five-horsepower air-conditioner
blowing full-blast into a telephone booth.
And, there's a bonus: When my air was supplied by the trunk and the
engine-room, the slightest droplet of gasoline would permeate the
driver's space. No longer does this happen.
Ya learn something every day,
Jim
Mike Halleck
Chesterfield Mi
71 280SL
68 250SL (parts car)
94 E320 Coupe
