Thread: Battery-Powered A/C?

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I took the 350/350 out of my '36 Ford and I am replacing it with a 351/AOD. I have a stock firewall so putting the 351 in will be very tight. I bought everything to use the short water pump and serpentine belt system. I also have the alternator mounted on the right side of the engine. I don't have power steering and I didn't plan to have A/C for another year or two. I didn't want to put A/C in it now because of the expense and the room needed to install it. There won't be more than a 1/4" gap between the engine and the radiator, and I have two fans mounted in front of the radiator.

Last week my wife asked me why I wasn't putting A/C in the car and I told her it was too expensive. I figured the overall cost would be @ $2,000. Then she asked if I really thought that an additional $2,000 means much compared to what I've already spent on the car. Personally, I'd rather buy aluminum heads than A/C. So, I'm looking for a way to get A/C without changing everything I have.

I read about a company, eCycle Inc, that's making battery-powered A/C units to reduce truck idling. These, however, are designed to run all night on a bank of batteries or APU power. So I thought it wouldn't be hard to run a battery-powered unit with the engine running. Electric cars and some hybrids have battery powered A/C. Then I found an article in Popular Mechanics about an Aptera, which is a three wheeled battery powered vehicle. The Aptera uses a heat pump for heat and A/C. I never found a battery-powered system for my car.

During my search though, I discovered that for 2009 there are @ 30 makes of cars that will have seats with A/C and heat built into them. You can tell that I haven't been new car shopping for a couple of years. So, what is the answer? Do I buy the standard type unit, put two more batteries in the car and use an AC converter to power the compressor, buy new seats, or say it can't be done and order the aluminum heads.

Thank you,
Bill