My New Air Conditioning Book is Now Available on Amazon

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thehackmechanic
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My New Air Conditioning Book is Now Available on Amazon

Post by thehackmechanic »

Hey, fellow shark people, sorry that I'm not on here a lot. I'm grateful to PTFunk for cross-posting my shark-related articles here.

Many of you know that I recently did a from-scratch retrofit of a/c into my '79 Euro 635CSi. So I wanted to let you know that my new book, "Just Needs a Recharge: The Hack Mechanic Guide to Vintage Air Conditioning" just went up for sale on Amazon. The link is here: (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0998950718/re ... 969&sr=1-5).

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In writing the book, I tried to strike a balance between providing as much BMW-specific a/c information as possible while not making it entirely a BMW-specific book. But I captured a lot of the shark-specific and M30-specific content in the book, including:

--Information about why you want to get rid of that boat anchor York compressor and its bracket, why what you usually want is a Sanden 508, and why the bracket issue has gotten much more complicated than it used to be. I went into most of the detail I delved into in my epic post "The Great Sanden Bracket Mystery" on the E9 forum, including the recent solutions involving the bracket for the E28 wing cell compressor, and the adapters from Will Nolan and Layne Wylie.

--Info about the largest parallel flow condenser you can fit, using photos of the actual installation of the condenser in my E24.

--A discussion of what it takes to install an evaporator assembly into a car that never had one, including drilling the holes in the firewall and the transmission hump of the E24.

--Info on that getting the evap assembly interfaced to the rest of the a/c ductwork, including that clip-on blocking plate up under the dash.

--Info on replacing the heater panel with a climate control panel so the a/c is turned on and off from the temperature switch like it's supposed to be.

--A fairly detailed case study-like discussion of the a/c retrofit I did in the E9, as well as the a/c rejuvenations of the Bavaria and tii.

But in addition to the E24 and BMW-specific content, the real value of the book is that it is the only book out there specific to the a/c needs of a vintage car. It tells you everything, soup to nuts, you need to know to resurrect the a/c in a long-dead car. That includes chapters on theory, tools, refrigerants, oils, legality, fittings, the recipe for R134a conversion and why from a practical standpoint it's little different from resurrection, compressors, evaporator assemblies, expansion valves versus orifice tubes, receiver/driers versus accumulators, condensers, auxiliary fans, making hoses, flushing, pressure-testing with nitrogen, leak detection, evacuation, recharging, troubleshooting... everything.

If you want to buy a personally-inscribed copy from me, you can do that at http://www.robsiegel.com/newcarstuff.htm (and, as you'll see on my website, for another $5, I'll throw in my new singer/songwriter CD :^), but I don't yet have inventory of the new books at my house, and probably won't have until the start of May. So, since driving season is already upon us and I've had people asking me when the book will be out, it's out right freaking now on Amazon; due to the wonders of Print On Demand (POD), they can get it to you in like two days. I will also have the book available at The Vintage, and at Oktoberfest where I will be giving an a/c talk (https://ofest.bmwcca.org/events/rob-sie ... ning-talk/).

Thanks. End of commercial. Stay cool.

Yours in totally not being an R75/2 guy...

--Rob

(PS If you like the book, please consider posting a review on Amazon. Thanks!)
Author of eight books available on Amazon or at www.robsiegel.com

1979 Euro 635CSi
1972 2002tii, 1973 2002
1973 3.0CSi
1972 Bavaria
1999 Z3M Coupe, 1999 Z3
1974 Lotus Europa TCS
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PTFunk
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Re: My New Air Conditioning Book is Now Available on Amazon

Post by PTFunk »

I can vouch for the quality and readability (as expected for Rob) of this book. It’s a great resource for those who need a “nudge” to finally fix that long dormant A/C system. All of the necessary tools and supplies are described, as are the typical bugaboos in not just resurrecting but improving your A/C system.
"Sabine": '88 M6 Royalblau/Silber
SLS delete, Wizard Cooling radiator, BavAuto Strut bar, M-Technik steering wheel, Conforti chip, Bilstein B8s / H&R Lowering Springs, BBE stainless cat-back exhaust
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randall977
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Re: My New Air Conditioning Book is Now Available on Amazon

Post by randall977 »

Great title!
GRNSHRK
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Re: My New Air Conditioning Book is Now Available on Amazon

Post by GRNSHRK »

Great title, like one of his other books, "It ran when parked" or something like that #-o

Rob is a great read, can't say that I've gotten into his books yet, but always read his monthly article in the Roundel, and now also in the Hagerty rag, which by the way has been greatly updated to include a lot of great stuff and info =D>
:mrgreen:
Bobbo
1980 633 CSi Cypress Green/Pearl Beige
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baders
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Re: My New Air Conditioning Book is Now Available on Amazon

Post by baders »

I went to order from Amazon Rob, but their usual exorbitant international shipping fees made me delete the order. I'll check out Book Depository.
1986 635csi LOCUTUS / Arktis Blau Metallic / Pearl Beige / S38B36/ Close ratio dogleg 5sp
2002 E46 M3 / Topaz Blau Metallic / Black Nappa / 6 speed SMG software tuned / Bilstein PSS10 Coilovers / CMP RACP reinforcement
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ericono
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Re: My New Air Conditioning Book is Now Available on Amazon

Post by ericono »

Got my copy in today. Looking forward to the read. I found one interesting detail at the end of the book:

Image

Hard to get a fresher copy that that.
'85 M635, '00 528iT, '98 Z3
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Re: My New Air Conditioning Book is Now Available on Amazon

Post by bpoliakoff »

Rob Put them on ebay. They have a weird shipping deal. You pay US postage, send it to their terminal in Kentucky and then they ship international. Shipping label printed through them as well as pmnt. I just shipped a 6lb, box new, BMW fire extinguisher to Thailand for $18.00
81 Euro 635 M90 with motronic. Currently under a complete nut and bolt restoration. Pictures at
flickr.com/photos/bertsphotos.
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nick88highline
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Re: My New Air Conditioning Book is Now Available on Amazon

Post by nick88highline »

Got my copy yesterday in the UK and already reading it! Looks good and is certainly more useful than some of the other generic a/c books I have. Thanks Rob!
I'm lucky enough to have a full suite of a/c equipment in my garage, but unlucky enough to recently discover a leaking compressor shaft seal. #-o
Interestingly my copy says "Printed in Great Britain" which suggests to me that they may be printed locally in some territories to save on shipping?
Nick
BMW 635CSiA (1988)
BMW i3 (2016)
Jeep Grand Cherokee V8 (2000)
Morris Minor 1000 (1968)
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sansouci
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Re: My New Air Conditioning Book is Now Available on Amazon

Post by sansouci »

Nick,
Does the book cover rebuilding the compressor or replacing the shaft seal?
--Ken
Sansouci
84 E24 633Csi Auto, Bronzit/PearlBeige 6997510
93 E32 740il M60 Auto, Alpenweis/Ultramarine
60 528i M30 5-speed Green/Beige (crushed)
71 240Z 4-speed White/Blue (rusty & sold)
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ericono
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Re: My New Air Conditioning Book is Now Available on Amazon

Post by ericono »

nick88highline wrote: Thu May 17, 2018 8:06 am Interestingly my copy says "Printed in Great Britain" which suggests to me that they may be printed locally in some territories to save on shipping?
Nick
That is interesting. It certainly meshes with why mine was printed less than 100 miles away.

It would be cool to see how many different places the book is actually printed at.

Eric
'85 M635, '00 528iT, '98 Z3
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nick88highline
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Re: My New Air Conditioning Book is Now Available on Amazon

Post by nick88highline »

sansouci wrote: Thu May 17, 2018 12:32 pm Nick,
Does the book cover rebuilding the compressor or replacing the shaft seal?
--Ken
No it doesn't, but then I didn't expect it to as that sort of work is highly specialised and not something that I would attempt...well actually I might do, but I'd rather let someone else do it.
Nick
BMW 635CSiA (1988)
BMW i3 (2016)
Jeep Grand Cherokee V8 (2000)
Morris Minor 1000 (1968)
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