1950s A/C seal question

[Cadman-iac]

I know that it's probably not available, but does anyone know what exactly the seal that goes between the trunk mounted A/C unit and the back seat to trunk divider should look like?
I've got 3 of the A/C units and  2 of the cars that they came out of, but none of them had an intact seal on it. All I can do is guess what it should look like.  The original ones were all in little pieces on the trunk floor or tiny chunks hanging from the divider or the A/C unit itself.
Apparently the foam or rubber used back then wasn't up for the long haul.
If anyone has any pictures I'd sure like to see what it is supposed to look like.
Many thanks,

Rick

[Scot Minesinger]

Presume this a mid 50's Cadillac, but could be dual ac series 75.  Please list year and model of Cadillac.  To find out what it looked like consult FSM or attend shows with Cadillacs of same year with ac and the owners would probably please to show you what it looks like.  Then you probably will have to make your own.

[Cadman-iac]

Sorry, I thought I had added the year and model.
It's a '56 Coupe Deville.

As for looking at one in a vehicle,  it's impossible to see without pulling parts of the car apart.

If the factory had a picture,  they failed to put it in the service manual.

I've already resorted to making my own,  but it would be nice to know what the original looks like and whether or not what I made I  got close enough to it to work.
I had to guess at what it looks like and what it was made of.

So, if anyone has a picture of one that is intact that they took while the car was apart, and would like to share,  I would be eternally grateful to see it.
I'm not asking for anyone to take apart a car.

My thanks for any and all help on this.

Rick

[J. Gomez]

Rick,

Not sure as to which seal you are referring to, I think it maybe the carbon seal you are inquiring about since you mention on the post it came in pieces.   

There is a place in Houston, TX which I had dealt with in rebuilding my carbon seals http://sealparts.com/. Just mid last year I refer them to my good friend John Washburn as he had a friend in need to get his compressor fix. I got a call from the shop asking for reference on the work that was done way back then since they could not find records.

Not sure if Johnny friend was able to get his redone by the shop, maybe he can chime with updates.

HTH

[fishnjim]

From parts list.   

If it's not on here, they I suspect it came with the rear unit, and was supplied by Harrison or Frigidaire/ACDelco, etc not a Cad part.   Have to track that way.   That's not easy.
Might be in a body repair manual but those are even scarcer.   Part of why it takes so long/costs so much to restore to original is finding all the info.   

[Cadman-iac]

Rick,

Not sure as to which seal you are referring to, I think it maybe the carbon seal you are inquiring about since you mention on the post it came in pieces.   

There is a place in Houston, TX which I had dealt with in rebuilding my carbon seals http://sealparts.com/. Just mid last year I refer them to my good friend John Washburn as he had a friend in need to get his compressor fix. I got a call from the shop asking for reference on the work that was done way back then since they could not find records.

Not sure if Johnny friend was able to get his redone by the shop, maybe he can chime with updates.

HTH

Hi Jose,

The one I was looking for a picture of is the one that I'm guessing looks kinda like a big boot if you know what I mean.
It goes on the front of the evaporator case and seals it to the rear seat/trunk divider so that it draws the incoming air from inside the passenger compartment and not from the trunk.
Do you remember seeing the holes in the divider? There are 4 that were in mine that are maybe about 2 inches tall,  and are in total as long as the evaporator case, with the ends of the outer two coming to a taper the same as the intake openings on the evaporator case.

There wasn't anything but small melted chunks left in either of the cars I have,  or the one  I found in the salvage yard.
Time and heat took its toll on the seals,  and in the car in the salvage yard,  the mice didn't help either.

I'll post the picture I've got of the one I made so you can see what I'm referring too. And I'll get a picture of the trunk divider too.

Thanks for your help once again.
Rick

This pic of the seal I made shows tape on it, that's there to try to keep the shape in the rubber until it's ready to install.

[Cadman-iac]

Jim,
Yes, that's a good drawing of the evaporator case,  but I guess they didn't think that the seal was worth illustrating.

My thanks to you too.
Rick

[J. Gomez]

Rick,

Oh ok yes the original one was a cardboard type formed like a bellow screwed around the evaporator case with the same cut-outs and with a rubber seal to close the area against the rear.

Because of the angle between the rear seat frame and the evaporator the top seats closer than the bottom so the cardboard bellow was used to conformed around the odd area. Frankly I would think there could be a better way to seal the intake bents, but that is what they did back them.

HTH

[Cadman-iac]

Rick,

Oh ok yes the original one was a cardboard type formed like a bellow screwed around the evaporator case with the same cut-outs and with a rubber seal to close the area against the rear.

Because of the angle between the rear seat frame and the evaporator the top seats closer than the bottom so the cardboard bellow was used to conformed around the odd area. Frankly I would think there could be a better way to seal the intake bents, but that is what they did back them.

HTH

Ok, that makes more sense.  All I had to go by was the divider and chunks of melted rubber.
I saw the screws in the front of the evaporator case too, but it didn't look like there was anything but rubber on or under them.
I'll look again at my other unit to see if I can tell what's actually under the screw heads.

Was yours still intact when you got to it? I'm not sure where you're at, how hot it gets there,  but here in Arizona the heat will just bake everything.  I'm not surprised that the rubber was melted on mine.

My thanks once again,
Rick

[Cadman-iac]

I looked at the one unit still in the car,  but it's too hard to tell what might have been under the screws. I took a picture to show you anyway.
I also got some pics of the original trunk divider.  It's taped together so I could get a pattern off of it.

I looked for holes on the divider to indicate that there was something attached to it with screws, but there's nothing on it.
The only thing I found on the divider was the sticky stuff left over from tape on the bottom edge.  It was taped to the trunk carpet I'm guessing to finish the seal between the trunk and the interior of the car.

This last picture is all I have in my FSM that shows anything of the  system layout.
It's almost identical to the one on Jim's link.