(first posted 8/20/2017) Pity poor Lincoln: As I mentioned in my 1957 Lincoln Premiere CC, they were still selling trunk-mounted air conditioning systems into 1957, well after most other manufacturers had switched over to fully integrated cowl-mounted systems. The only other manufacturers still using trunk mounted systems in 1957 were Studebaker and Packard (whose 1957 cars were just tarted up Studebakers).
Lincoln had somewhat of an inferiority complex in the late 50s. As I mentioned in my 1957 Lincoln Premiere CC, they were trying to dump the perception that their cars were smaller (and otherwise subordinate to) their competitors. So the motto for their 1958 replatform must have been “Go Big or Go Home.”
As a result, Lincoln released in 1958 what remains one of the largest volume production cars ever built. CC has already extensively covered the 1958-60 Lincolns, but I can summarize in just a few numbers:
- 229: The number of inches in length. If you don’t count 5-mph bumpers on later models, this is the longest production Lincoln ever made. That go-to paragon of length and excess, the 1959 Cadillac? A mere 225 inches long in comparison.
- 131: The number of inches of wheelbase. I struggle to find a modern vehicle with a comparable wheelbase. How about that champion of wheelbase, the Maybach 57? It sports a wheelbase just 2.5 inches longer, at 133.5 inches.
Lincoln was clearly compensating for something here. Certainly, a car this large and crazy requires (nay, demands) an equally large and crazy air conditioning system? Well, you’d better be sitting down because take a look:
So how crazy was the A/C system on the 1958-60 Lincoln? With two evaporators, two expansion valves, two blowers, and two heater cores, we’re talking bat shit crazy. When was the last time you saw A/C refrigerant lines with tees in them?
Under the hood (pictured above), you can see refrigerant lines going to the separate evaporator units inside each fender liner.
As well as more plumbing than your local Home Depot (again, notice all the tee fittings).
Inside, you can see that Lincoln cleverly hid the vents in the dashboard, beating the VW Phaeton to the punch a half-century early. Only two small knobs give their location away.
Even though the air conditioning system was not cowl mounted, rear seat passengers still had their own vents by way of air directed through hollow armrests.
With all this effort put into engineering what are essentially two separate left and right heating and air conditioning systems, it seems odd that Lincoln did not think to include separate temperature and blower controls for the driver and passenger side. Instead, all this massive hardware has but a single control in the driver’s instrument panel (not a set of controls, but literally a single control). Maybe controlling her own A/C was deemed too much for the fair lady passengers of the day to handle? Whatever the reason, it seems odd that they came so close to the first dual-zone A/C system (decades before anyone else), and blinked.
Speaking of large, check out that 8 lb. charge! That is the largest capacity I’ve ever seen of any automotive A/C system, and getting into the realm of residential systems.
Lincoln would eventually come to their senses with the 1961 Continental. In addition to reigning in the excessive styling and Brobdingnagian girth, the 1961 Continental sported a more conventional A/C setup, with a single evaporator and heater core.
The wild and crazy ride of 1958-1960 may have been short-lived, but what a ride it was!
Wow, I had no idea that this system was so complex. You are right, to build a full dual system with only a single control is crazy. Even in the 50s engineers must have driven an air conditioned car with the sun beaming into one side if the car.
As late as the late 60s, Imperials were still available with true dual system A/C. The front had the cowl mounted system we’re used to today, while the back seat had its own trunk-mounted system like the old days. I think that Jay Leno’s Imperial is a ’67 and has that, even though it’s a coupe. In the hottest part of summer, that still sounds appealing.
Chrysler definitely had some interesting A/C systems in the 1960’s. I’m already planning on covering some in future Cold Comfort installments.
That’ll be “Cool Comfort”, which was (IIRC) a name mostly used for certain of the dealer-installed knee knocker systems; others (and the factory-installed setups) wore the Airtemp name. But I have no doubt you’ll dig up the details to correct whatever’s wrong in what I recall on that!
I learned plenty, Tom—nice of you to be really digging into the subject of early auto A/C for us.
I tip my hat to whoever restored the car in the photos–so many complicated systems like this to make “like new” again. And that unitized body to deal with, for better/worse….
Question: The “single control” for heat/cooling, where you just set the desired temp—was that a new thing here? I take it for granted in my ’99 Taurus, but then our Escape *doesn’t* have it.
Non-A/C Question: IIRC, the 3-carb setup for the 430 engine was available only on the Mercury (“Super Marauder”) and Thunderbird–or did anyone put them on their Lincolns?
My ’58 Mark III convertible had the three carb on it when purchased, HOWEVER, In the trunk of the car was a 4 bbl manifold and carb, which I think was original. Car was white,red interior with black top restored and totally sorted. The only issue was 10 mpg everywhere. 0-60 in 8 sec was amazing for the size/weight (would pull 7.8 with trans loaded) Had a dozen of these cars, that one was the best.
George, Henry Ford II had a `58 Continental Mark III cvt., that had the 3-duece setup. Not sure if he still owns it, but I think Joe Bortz had this car at one time. It would need all 400 horses just to move such a beast down the road!
Another question: were any of these systems able to blow just unheated and uncooled air via fan ?
Naive, I know, dumb maybe, but the ability to force feed regular air when the AC or heater are not needed and not to have to rely on cowl or under dash vents only while in motion, has been a valuable advance. Hence my question.
There is a ventilate position on the control knob.
Thanks.
If we are speaking of the ‘standard’ wheelbase and length for the cars with standard and elongated wheelbases, I certainly would say that Rolls-Royce Phantom VII (2003-2016) has the standard wheebase measuring at 140.6 inches and the length of 229.7 inches.
TWO air conditioning units?
WoW!
Always a pleasure to read you latest A/C installments, Tom.
Actually two evaporators, but only one compressor and condenser.
EIGHT POUNDS of R-12 freon!!!
Yeah, today all of that R-12 might be worth more than the parts used in the entire a/c system! ?
A couple condenser piercing accidents in these were single handedly responsible for the hole in the O-zone layer!
I see tee AC lines and coolant tubing everyday as all vans and suvs with rear heat/AC are so equipped. It is however usually done at the firewall and not so much in your face as this Lincoln.
I wonder how efficient the system worked, given the amount of duct work involved to get the cooled air back to the dash? I’ll try to find a illustration of that.
8 lbs. of refrigerant! I just had a major AC repair done on my 1700 sq.ft home. It took 6 lbs.
Most modern cars use less than a pound of refridgerant . One comes to mind. 07 Chevy Cobalt .6lbs and its 10 yrs. old.
Tom I’ve really enjoyed your comprehensive and accurate articles on the evolution of automotive AC systems. Thank You.
Yup lots of Tee’d AC lines on modern vehicles with rear AC.
One thing to keep in mind the home HVAC system is designed to maintain a temp while a car system is expected to be able to cool an automotive interior that may be in excess of 100 degrees in a short period of time.
Family member has an ’07 Cobalt, I didn’t realize how little R12 modern cars use. I found listings in ounces in a google search, Cobalt total capacity is .09 (about 15 oz). Checked my other cars, ’04 Titan uses 26 oz. and old ’86 (R12) Jetta takes 40 oz. That’s pretty amazing progress.
Meant R134, of course. R12 went away around 1993.
I just filled up my Cougar’s freshly rebuilt r134a A/C system today, only took 1-1/2 12oz cans to get up to the correct high/low pressures. I removed my underhood capacity sticker ages ago, so I bought 4 cans lol
Excessive and complicated seem to have been the overall objectives when designing the ’58 Lincolns, whether body construction method or air conditioning equipment. Moving the A/C forward under the hood, integrating it into the heating/ventilation system, finally enabled Lincoln to offer A/C optional on the convertible. At $610.70, it added 12% to a Capri, even 9.8% to a Continental convertible. Appears as if the highest take rates were for Continentals, if the number of A/C-equipped Mark III’s encountered now are any indication.
Lincolns of this age rarely had A/C in Wisconsin. However even the non-A/C Lincolns still had 2 heater cores. Owners praised the heaters and the through the door vents were quite effective at warming the rear seat passengers. Likewise the ventilation system was outstanding – especially in the Continental versions with the breeze way window cracked for an exhaust I’d assume the A/C was equally effective – but I never worked on one with A/C to check it out.
The longevity versus effectiveness was something I was curious about, myself. The system seems like overkill but would also be very good at keeping occupants comfortable, regardless of the outside temperature. Of course, that would mean little if it was prone to needing frequent repair.
Maybe it’s just me but it seems like today’s automotive A/C systems are barely adequate in comparison.
I absolutely love these AC articles!
Imagine if that system became the norm today. Imagine the repair bill!
Even today, I think AC systems are too complex, and it seems there is a way to vastly simplify such, but not being an HVAC engineer, I have no clue.
I wonder how many man-hours it took to assemble a Lincoln back then with that AC system?
I also wonder if that car ran on 14″ wheels? It’s a lead sled, for sure.
Some basic data here–including the 14″ wheels:
One thing CC has helped me appreciate is how many “new” or “all-new” models from Detroit were–under the skin–little changed.
But, wow, this Lincoln: the unitized body (and the brand-new assembly plant shared with Thunderbird), this A/C, the 430 engine and so on = lots of teething.
I see Popular Mechanics later reported that its early-production “Poor” rating was the worst they’d ever gotten—followed by the hastily-redesigned 1957 Fords and Mercurys. As a Ford Guy, it hurts a bit to hear that:
I always wondered if they were any humidity odors emitting from these early A/C units.
They were antiquated designs compared to today, and I can’t imagine them being completely odor-free. Even newer systems emit some type of odor sometimes, usually after a duration of non-use.
A good friend of my mother’s had a new metallic green 60 Continental with A/C. It was a rare car in every sense in northern Indiana at the time – almost no one had auto A/C let alone a new Continental. I can say first-hand that it worked extremely well as the car was ice cold inside on hot and humid summer days. Interior cooling was aided by the “breezeway” rear window that could be lowered to force out the hot air when starting out. I don’t recall any problems with the system during the six years she had the car (traded for a new 66 Olds Starfire coupe) but this couple certainly had the money to have it maintained/repaired as needed.
Tom Halter: what a well-written and thoroughly entertaining commentary on the ’58-60 Lincoln Continental! What a car! What a huge car at that, but actually quite handsome! FMC was determined that this car would take a “back seat” to no one. Many a garage door would not close completely with this Lincoln inside.
Everything about the car was exponential, and your description of the A/C unit bears this out.
“…getting into the realm of residential systems.” Well, these Lincolns were the size of a small house 😉
Thanks Tom!
I knew these Lincoln’s had a”weird factor”reputation, but that ac system takes it to a whole different level!
An admission.
The original headings for these a/c stories attracted me about as much one saying “Tonights Guest Speaker: Floormats – Future Directions.” But in the inimitable style of this site, I’ve had to have a look, become intrigued, and thoroughly enjoyed them all.
Thankyou, Tom Halter. Great stuff.
Two ac systems is ridiculously complex and costly, Ive seen a double up system before on a F150 Ambulance, everything was doubled AC dual compressors dual alternators twin starting batteries, the reason was understandable the vehicle in its original role had to run when required and it had to be cooled inside, a mate of mine bought it and turned it into a RV.
To clear up a few points:
The A/C control was electrically actuated in ’58 and ’59, vacuum operated in ’60. Same functionality, completely different control system…for just the one year!
George-the 3-2bbl system was offered dealer installed by Lincoln in ’58.
These systems worked very well, plus the fans were quiet, even at high speed.
People mistakenly think these were “front and rear” type systems, but as Tom points out (great article and series) they were single units.
8 lb. of freon (R-12)…what would that equal, if/when replaced with R134a??
Six years ago I finally got sick of driving in FSW Fla. with a worn-out HVAC system. The last straw was when the heater core sprung a leak and I had no defroster – mandatory, here, in the land of afternoon summer monsoons. It took me six months, but I tracked down all-new, OEM parts except the compressor. I bought a new F10 compressor compatible to my old Taurus. This new setup with R134a called for 32 oz. of refrigerant and 4 oz. of PAG46 oil. I thought THAT was a lot.
I can’t imagine a system so large it took 128 oz. of a more efficient refrigerant. Damn.
Great article, as usual! Thanks ~
The 1961-63 Lincoln system was partly simplified and partly more complicated. The AC was completely divorced from the similar to 1957-59 two heater left and right units. The AC only came out of a large three part vent which in the first year folded out. So it was really like a hang-on unit, only integrated into the dashboard. This meant there were now THREE fans.
And everything was controlled by one knob even though it was really two systems. And the temperature was controlled thermostatically by vacuum. There must be about ten miles of vacuum line in those things.
Meanwhile from 1957 Imperial (and all Chryslers) had an integrated vacuum controlled system that managed with one unit and one fan and worked fairly similarly to a modern system. And Cadillacs and other GM cars had another system also fairly similar to that in a modern car.
I think the Lincoln system got redone with the 1964 facelift but I don’t know exactly what they came up with that time.
Chrysler systems from 1957 on used the defroster vents for upper AC flipped up. So they were probably the first defroster vents that weren’t a long slot but two separate ones so they defrosted the windshield from the middle not the bottom. This type of defroster vent caught on for cars like the 1960 Falcon and ever since then.
On videos or photos of those cars you can see if they have AC or not if it’s not mentioned it by noticing those vents, flip up or not. And the additional Cool button.
Lower AC vents were under the dash. This type of system was repeated in the 1960 unit body big cars and the 1962 B intermediate sized cars for the last time. The B bodies at least also had two smaller manually operated vents labeled Floor Air to get cold air to your feet (for those that noticed them down there). They could have saved a few bucks by just having those open all the time.
I don’t think they were thinking of using dehumidified and heated air to clear the windshield, but by pushing the Cool button and leaving the vents down and turning the temperature up you could accomplish that.
At least on the B bodies there was no way to ventilate with air coming out of the upper and lower AC vents without the compressor on. But another hack: you could push the Cool button to switch to those vents and then pull it back out to turn the compressor off leaving those vents open.
Articles about those Chrysler systems and the 1961 Lincoln system would be interesting.
Probably unintentional feature of the Lincoln air channeled through the front armrests systems: heated armrests. Cold steering wheel and seats but warmed left arm.
When I was in middle school, a neighboring friend’s father bought an incredibly loaded Chevrolet Suburban 4×4 with the 6.2 liter diesel engine. It seemed like it had every option available except fancy wheels. Two-tone paint, limo-tint windows 40 years ago, a plush interior with power windows, and enough other tinsel to require that the manufacturer used two window stickers to list all of the options. On the floor of the cargo area, there was an auxiliary heater with blower firmly mounted in all of its unfinished-looking glory. In the roof of the cargo area was a large rear air-conditioning system with numerous vents. It was a large enough bulge hanging from the roof that it certainly seemed to house its own evaporator at the least. Is anyone familiar with what GM was doing at the time in their big SUVs?
Chrysler full sized unit body station wagons had a similar optional rear AC system from 1960 up until 1964. Not sure about the 1957-60 body wagons or the 1965 body. It hung down from the ceiling between the heads of the second row and rear facing third row passengers. No controls on the unit itself unlike rear units on later passenger vans.
I had a 1959 Chrysler Imperial Crown Coupe with the stainless steel roof, swivel seats and dual AC. Front and rear trunk units. It cooled that huge car on summer road trips in blistering heat like a subzero freezer! The inside of the windows would actually start to ice up! What a car!!! This was in the 1980s when I owned it.
Guys,
The “8 lb.” decal is incorrect, the system took 4 lb. for a full charge (actually quite enough). I’m intimately familiar with this A/C system!
Like the Edsel, these over the top cars didn’t sell well. Ford was considering closing Linclon. Ford lost 50 million on Edsel alone and they were loosing money on Linclon.
1961 was the last role of the dice, lucky for them they hit the jackpot!
The number of AC cars was very low, consequently in the styling stages AC was an after thought. However most of the old systems from all manufacturers were designed well and used quality materials resulting in stable long lived systems, except for potential leaks at every fitting.
With so much realestate, why didn’t they design 58, 69 and 60 with a modern dash or plenum AC system? We’ll never know.
FoMoCo didn’t really get into integrated AC / Heat systems until 1965….