Adding air conditioning to the roadster has been a custom job. It’s not part of FFRs standard setup, I mean who puts A/C in an open top roadster? It’s builders who may put a soft or hard top on later, or just want some cool air while driving. We’ve owned a few Miata’s over the years and having that A/C cool air blowing on you during a hot day can make the difference between a nice drive and a miserable drive.
I purchased the kit intended for the the Type-65 coupe. In hindsight, maybe a custom kit would have been easier – but learning as you go is a huge part of the process here. There are several differences in the setup, and one is the condenser setup. On the Type 65, the condenser is mounted top forward, and bottom inward – opposite of the roadster. It was a simple enough change, just had to swap the mounting arms to the top of the radiator and mount the bottom to the radiator (with spacers).
The larger #8 port goes on the top of the condenser, so on the pic in the left, it’s the FFR recommended setup, but had to flip. See the right picture, the bars are on top. Just a mirror setup from the FFR config and it worked out well. I simply attached the bars to the Breeze Radiator hinge.
Since the clearances are much different between the roadster and the coupe, I had to order a new fitting at the bottom. The provided fitting was 45* and I needed a 90* fitting to clear the 3/4″ bar. I ordered the Vintage Air 35832-VUG Beadlock O-Ring Fitting 90 Degree No 8. I will need to find something new to cover the radiator now since the condenser is involved now – will probably go with a Nomex Honeycomb Radiator Guard Protector Screen Mesh, 18 x 22 and paint it black.
