A proud Texan and Civil Engineering grad...

[mechmike0034]

Faced with exorbitant costs to fix a car air conditioner, Scott Dawson was literally left to his own devices. (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,292809,00.html)

http://media.myfoxhouston.com/news/2007-08-08/coolcar/carac1.jpg

Slide show here (http://media.myfoxhouston.com/news/2007-08-08/coolcar/slides/carac1.html)...

Let's all hope he doesn't get a job as a bridge engineer for the Department of Transportation in any state...

[johnnymk]

My kind of guy!!

[Showtime]

It took a little while to load the pic since my dsl sucks very badly lately. But when I read ac + car + tx, i knew it would be something like that. He should have made some sort of spoiler to divert the air a little at high speeds. I hope the bolts hold cuz that strap won't do much.

Being not from Texas, I would have mounted it on the trunk with x-straps/some cushioning, pulled one of the small rear windows out, and routed the air through that hole. That would leave no real damage to the car.

Or I would have just found a cheaper way to fix the ac.

[LPMiller]

leave it to a texan to be creative in the worst possible way. Air conditioners condense. I would imagine that water must drip out of that thing into the car - if not, it will after awhile.

[Napoleon54]

LOL, brilliant!

I bet that puts a serious draw on his alternator.

[bachviet]

LOL, brilliant!

I bet that puts a serious draw on his alternator.
Flux capacitor would help. :P

[johnnymk]

Roof mounted air conditioners are nothing new. Busses and RVs use them. Refrigerated food vans utilize them.

Heh..his is a bit primitive, but I am sure it works. Plus I have heard of $1200 bills to repair automobile air conditioners. This probably cost around $100. Sure, it could be more efficient. But it's his car and he did it. I give him credit.

As to moisture, I am sure that it evaporates while travelling.

And the A/C is probably a 4000 BTU unit, consuming about 6 amps at 110 volts which equals about 700 watts. A standard alternator would do the job. At idle there could be a bit of a strain, though.

[renovation]

i replaced the air unit in my truck .and getting a replacement compresser at wholesale $350. plus $50 - $75 for the oil and freon and installing it with a friend . 2-3 hours labor latter we had it installed i say $1200 .was a fair price .and mine was a easy swap out .my daughters car need a compresser and they saying $1800.00 to R & R her car im not doing it. just so cramped under the hood on her olds with the NorthStar v-8 :(

[Markel]

The condensation drips (or sprays) out the back of a window AC unit, which in this case is at the back of the roof. I doubt that it would find its way into the car.

[uncledaddy]

A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. Very clever.

[Kevster]

Note: Civil engineering graduate. :heh:


An ME would have found a much better way than a civie.

[nhbilly]

I would of rigged it in the trunk, my 2 cent...

[MrGreg]

Does he have to get out to turn it off/on?

[shaggyucla]

I would of rigged it in the trunk, my 2 cent...
:stupid: yea, way better for aerodynamics... and would be more aesthetically pleasing..... maybe even throw a couple racing stickers on it...brings a 'cool' car to a whole new level

[Showtime]

Didn't you read the news dude, he said that the condensation might be bad so the inside of the trunk wouldn't work.

:)

[thresher]

I bet he moved here from somewhere else. Looks like something one of those Alabama boys would cook up. (trust me, I went to Auburn!) :)

[mechmike0034]

I bet he moved here from somewhere else. Looks like something one of those Alabama boys would cook up. (trust me, I went to Auburn!) :)

Naah, an Auburn-educated engineer would have mounted it in the passenger-side window...

An engineer from the University of Alabama would have knocked out the windshield, hung the unit in the windshield opening from the roof pillars and then duct-taped plastic around it.