(G) My black uno is an OVEN!! help

hello, ive had an uno for a while now. a 93 mk2 uno start 1.0ie. been looking at the forums here for a while.

wanted to ask is there anyway to cool the car down? can i drop an air con unit in from a scrappie? doable? full blower dosn't really do much.
please help! cheers

Welcome to the forum - or at least welcome to posting on the forum! I noticed that there are no posts at all for last several hundred members up to page 598 of our members list (when sorted by post count)!

Putting air conditioning in an Uno is no mean feat. I should know; my Uno Turbo had air conditioning fitted in Hong Kong as an aftermarket accessory. I've removed half of the gear as I'm concerned about its weight (particularly considering that it wasn't working and would cost a few hundred $ to get working again).

Basically, the system comprised a compressor on a heavy steel bracket bolted under the engine sump on my engine bringing the compressor to the front next to the air filter; the engine crank pulley has an extra groove for a second V-Belt. For your FIRE engine the location would be different.

There was a standard cylindrical receiver/drier (filter), and there were two front-mounted condensor radiators - one in each corner of the front bumper complete with electric fan on each one! (there's no room in front of the engine cooling radiator, unless you hack the bumper DuncUnoTurbo-style)...

...and then the pieces I haven't removed - an evaporator radiator built into the 'stretched' heater box (enlarged by having an extra section plastic-welded in), and a replacement heater fan that can run on a super-slow speed with the aircon switched on. In addition, the ducting is changed so that the centre fascia vents blow cooled/warmed air. The aircon switch itself is actually a hazard-flasher switch with a 'snowflake' symbol printed on the upside-down triangles, placed below the heated rear window switch.

The engine fuel injection intake system has a fast-idle valve to maintain the engine idling speed constant as the compressor cuts in and out (controlled by the anti-freeze thermostat located on the evaporator inside the car). This is easy with fuel injection (the valve just adds extra air before the airflow meter) but with a carburettor, the fast-idle would operate on the throttle (and would need an over-riding linkage so that the accelerator pedal was not hindered in any way).

A car air-conditioning specialist will be able to craft such an installation in your Uno, but I suspect that the cost will be near the value of the car (probably 800-ish in your money?)

As for whacking in a system from a wreckers... it is possible, but you'll still need the help of a specialist to de-gas/re-gas it, and there is the engineering work of fitting the compressor to the engine and the evaporator within the heater box (one potential location would be in the heater chamber within the engine bay, but this would need to be insulated well).

This is assuming the simplest - 'manual' air conditioning, like mine is. Most newer cars have 'climate control', meaning you set a temperature and the system strives to maintain it. These systems need three temperature sensors; one outside the car, one inside, and one measuring the air temperature at the vents. Heater output (when needed) is usually on an air-blending basis rather than the arbitrary water-valve control that the Uno has. You wouldn't believe the logic required for operating such a system; regulating the temperature and fan speed, directing the air when necessary - the air-conditioning is truly a bespoke piece of engineering in the modern car. Transferring one of these to the Uno would be, shall we say, a challenge...

So my advice is, buy yourself a more expensive car if you want air conditioning - or simply put up without (try wearing just one item of clothing - swimshorts) for the few weeks of the year (in the UK) when you actually need it.*

-Alex


PS. * Yes, I know that the air conditioning is incredibly useful for winter de-misting purposes, but the timing of this forum posting tends to suggest the main motivation here...

Also I have another good idea. When you park, cover the entire outside of the car with tinfoil - solves any unsightly rust issues as well.



-Alex

tinfoil? what like the kitchen stuff? that must take a while. i had no idea air con was so complicated. my car is all black- even the seats (i put cheap covers over those horrible multicolour ones :-) might take em off for summer. prrobaly need a wash anyway. cheers for the reply. are there even many mk2 out there with aircon for sourcing parts?

What about buying a commercial portable aircon unit, wiring in a 240v plug and sticking it on the back seats? On second thoughts that is a crazy stupid idea.

Liking the sig Alex, what is the next car gonna be. I see from the Stilo forum you are thinking Stilo Abarth......

cheaper option buy a few cans of that magicool stuff give it a spray when you get in.

BarbarianBeast - No Uno, even the Mk2, came with aircon except in India, possibly Brazil, and maybe South Africa... though I think some Tipo models may have had air-con since there are holes for the pipes in the bulkhead.

Now, thepottleflump (and sorry to hijack your thread, barbarianbeast )...

I'm still crying every time I see my signature...

I can't believe "she's outta my life", as Michael Jackson once said.
"and I don't know whether
to laugh or cry"
"I don't know whether
to live or die"
"and it cuts like a knife"
"she's outta my life"
"it's outta my hands"
"it's out of my hands"
"to think for two years
she was here"
"I took her for granted"
"I was soooo cavalier"
"now the way that it stands"
"she's outta my hands"
...
"damn indecision
and cursed pride"
"kept my love for her
locked deep inside"
"and it cuts like a knife"
"she's outta my..."
"...life"

<<really crying now>>
All in all a very appropriate song really.

I first acquired the 164 for NZ$8000 in January 2004. Fitted a new cambelt, treated it to six litres of full-synthetic 10W60 oil and a new thermostat. New belts and a clean; it really was beautiful under the bonnet, I even polished the 'Alfa Romeo' script on the camcovers. It was a full year before I got the paint really shining, and the air-con fully working - and only last September that I got the dashboard completely stripped to return full functionality to aircon ducting/direction (kinda on-topic again, these systems are hugely complex!)

Today I parted with it for $4000 (£1328) to a keen owner a 3.5-hour drive away. I met him at the bus station (must have been a 4-hour bus ride for him...) and we repaired to my place for a refreshement and a chat, and to inspect the car thoroughly. He was well-impressed, even though I only ended up with time to vacuum the carpets and clean the outside, particularly the wheels; no time for polishing. I gave him a new bottle of black-coloured TurtleWax polish (easily the best product I ever used on the car).

Earlier today I received a speeding ticket while overtaking a truck - 115km/h (71.5mph)- the first ever ticket in the 164. $80 for being 15km/h over the 100km/h (62mph) limit. Priceless happy memories of huge speeds 200km/h+ (50km/h or more over the limit is car-confiscation, dangerous-driving conviction, 6-months license loss, and $1200 fine.)

I demonstrated the 'faulty' left-rear electric window (used to buzz to a halt) - which worked perfectly the first time, completely dead the second time (fortunately, the buyer didn't notice the second time I operated the switch). I also explained how the wipers usually stop off the bottom of the windscreen - then upon switching off, they make a final bigger sweep to park off the base of the windscreen. Well guess what? Today, they just stopped off the edge of the screen each time (I've never seen that before). And, switching on the headlights caused the parking brake light to flash (even though the parking brake was not on).

In a way it's nice to leave Alfa Romeo ownership behind, and cleaning the front wheels after every drive, but hell I will miss the driving experience of that car... and that perfectly-proportioned shape...

Anyway. I'd best get to bed.

-Alex

Asides from the countries Alex has already mentioned, I think some of the other Asian countires also had the A/C option (Indonesia, Philipines, South Korea etc.). I'm sure we used to get a guy from Jakarta on here who had A/C in his Uno.

I also think that it was an option in some European markets, but is very, very rare. As far as I know it was never available in the UK and I've never seen a Uno with one fitted either on the road or in the scrappies.

BabarianBeast, your best option is to buy one of those plug in fans that connects to the cigarette lighter power socket. I survived with one of those when I was staying in Miami Florida and I had a big old '77 Buick V8 with busted A/C to drive around in. Not only that, but this was in mid August when humidity was 100% and the temperatures were 95 - 100 degrees Farenheit. Anyone who knows south Florida will remember the Interstate crossing from Ft. Lauderdale to Naples (I-75), also known as 'Alligator Alley' because it crosses from east to west through the Everglades. I used to have to drive across that in mid summer with no A/C. You'll survive, but boy will you sweat a lot...



I thought you were selling your X1/9, not the Alfa????

Are you selling off your vehicles to save enough money to do a Dunc style rebuild on your Uno turbo?

Chas

Yeah come on, what a great idea, get a load of cash together and get a full as new restoration carried out on the Turbo. Don't buy a Stilo, put the money toward the resto.

^^ i like the idea of the air con on the back seats! already got the invertor powering the hi-fi in the boot that turns on through the alarm on ignition. also got it to turn on with 3rd button on the keyfob. (my stereo got knicked and i just didnt buy another one, and saw a big loud hi-fi in my room, also nothing is vissible from outside) lol

ROFLMAO!

Sorry, figured it deserved a mention -- that's pure genius Alex!

Thanks - but I didn't do this, I just found the picture on the 'net

-Alex

I figured

The inspiration for wrapping the car, I believe, is obvious:
http://www.christojeanneclaude.net/wr.html

hi mates, sorry i am late, being outoftown for awhile.
it should be not that difficult to add a/c system to your uno. all unos here in indonesia had it as a standard option. i think it just a matter of finding similar type and then bolt it onto your uno. You can get sanden 505 or 507 as its widely use here on uno, another brand that should possible are ND (nippondenso) but I dont know what type is.
I can post some pictures where each a/c component located next week if u wish. Since my uno still in restoration (and its out of town), I just can see and doing inspection on week end.