Spider A/C

["Bain, Bill" <Bill.Bain@domain.elided>]

John sayeth:

>I believe Bill is right, but only for the Bosch cars. I do have factory kit
>parts lists and installation instructions for US-made Behr systems in the
>early Bosch Spiders. For the Spica-era cars, it is hard to prove a
negative,
>but I will go a step further and doubt that there was ever a
>dealer-installable factory system, or other aftermarket system, applicable
to
>a Spica Spider. Both the factory systems and factory-supported
>dealer-installed systems for Bosch engines could be fitted to a '71 along
with
>a Bosch engine, and could probably be installed on a carbureted car
(whether
>factory carbed or retrofitted) but not on a Spica-equipped car, as the
rotary
>compressor goes in the space dedicated to the Spica pump. The space used
for
>the piston-type compressor on 115 Berlinas and GT Veloces and Alfettas
extends
>above the Spider hoodline, and the below-hoodline part is I understand
>partially used for the air-pump in the Spiders of that era; the Alfetta
coupes
>and sedans had room for the air pump next to the Spica unit, but 115 cars
do
>not.

I had an '81 Spider with A/C, and it was listed on the original window
sticker.  The A/C compressor was a rotary unit (Sanden) that was mounted to
the massive front bracket that one sees in the Alfettas with the two large
studs coming out of the head.  The rotary unit was attached to the lower
part of the bracket with very elegant rubber bushings in aluminum mounts to
convert the threaded holes in the bracket plate to holes that the rotary
compressor mounting holes could mate to.  The air pump was mounted outboard
of the A/C compressor on a bracket that ran from the large bracket and also
was mounted to the outboard mounts on the compressor.  Since the compressor
mounts were through bolted, the bracket included a mechanism to allow the
air pump belt to be adjusted.  There was just enough space between the air
pimp and the air filter canister (remember, this was a single butterfly
SPICA system) to allow access to the air filter for changing

All those "extra parts" made doing anything on that side of the engine a
real chore, and the SPICA plumbing made it a real problem on the other side.

There was way too much engineering in the A/C mount system for it to be
anything but factory supplied parts, at least.  When the aluminum A/C mount
cracked, a German machinist in our company's shop made me a new one and he
was insistent that the original had been cast, not machined and further that
"the reason it's aluminum is that the mold cost for an aluminum part is not
too expensive, but for a steel part, it would be only worth it if you were
going to make thousands of the parts."  And we know that Alfa wasn't selling
1000's of Alfa Spiders with A/C.

The interior fitment of the A/C was exactly the same as on my '83 so it's
likely that the interior vents, and ductwork, etc. were also factory parts.

Another data point . . . .

Bill Bain
AROC Atlanta
'83 Spider
'87 Milano
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