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FEATURE INTERVIEWS:

Vintage Air Summer Special – Rick Love:

This week is finally an episode I look forward to every year, the annual Vintage Air Summer Special interview with President Rick Love. Vintage Air has been a long time sponsor of this show, and their name is synonymous with cutting edge air systems in classic vehicles. Rick Love has been at Vintage Air full time since 1998 earning the company awards for service, support and technology. These results reflect the positive attitude put forth by Rick and the staff at Vintage Air.

Great Education …and a “Worst Job Ever” 

Education is very important and Rick majored in electronics in college. He pointed out that his training in that field was instrumental in the development and release of cutting edge technologies at Vintage Air. The electronic controls and brushless motors in all A/C systems are a testament to learning and implementing knowledge gained from education and experience to practical situations. He previously traveled around the world selling and servicing driving simulators with a lot of electrical controls and gained real world experience in how those systems work.

Rick has had some memorable jobs, but he did have some aspects of jobs he would like to forget and his time at a movie theater is one of those. He says he makes sure all of the facilities at Vintage Air are clean and ready for visitors so there is no bad experiences. He believes a great work ethic is made at home and through experiences even at bad workplaces. A work ethic is not something that can be taught and comes straight from how someone is raised and a great attitude comes from within.

New Changes and Updates:

Vintage Air is always updating and improving the systems they offer. Rick said they are now offering the Gen5 systems exclusively and no more Gen4’s are available. They work hard to make sure that you can upgrade your old systems if you want the latest and greatest without throwing away all of your previous hard work. The old sure fit controls still work on the new Gen5 systems and makes upgrading the rest of the system easier. The new Gen5 systems offer upgraded electronics, faster motors, and a compact size that the old OEM systems could not even dream of back in the day. The sure fit systems are still available in all of the flavors the Gen4 offered plus as always Vintage Air is always developing new applications for future release. The universal Gen5 compact system was debuted at SEMA last year and sets a new bar for compact A/C systems that can be installed everywhere else. The future of electric cars is uncertain but surely are here to stay and many people are converting old cars to electric power. Vintage Air offers systems to go in these EV’s as well with all of the demands an EV vehicle entails, like electric coolant pumps to circulate the fluid through a heater block for cabin warmth. They are always thinking and coming up with solutions for future systems.

Low Volume Manufacturing:

Low volume manufacturing is finally here and some companies are creating some great vehicles. Vintage Air is proud to partner with these companies to provide systems they can install in these low volume productions and have cutting edge tech along with proven reliability. It is also nice when a customer can look at the dash not not even realize they are looking at a  cutting edge, state of the art, A/C system because the controls look like they belong in a classic vehicle.

Basics Of Air Conditioning:

When building a classic car or truck there are many things on the mind of the rebuilder from paint like glass, to power that pulls for days, and suspension that can handle hair turns or put traction to the pavement. Those of us who grew up with old cars that have been around all of the blocks, we are used to wind noises, air leaks, and warm floorboards and that was just part of the deal. When you add your Vintage Air A/C system you are dreaming about ice cold air blowing in your face after a long hot day outside at the car show or race event. Rick made sure to say that all of those leaks or uninsulated parts of the car are putting a heavy burden on the A/C and it may just not be able to keep up. Installing new seals, insulating the roof and floors, and making sure all of the firewall holes or other openings are sealed up will go a very long way to helping your air conditioning go a long way to keeping you ice cold. One of the other big issues the tech lines sees is incorrectly filled freon in the system. Over filling or under charging an A/C system in very detrimental to maximum performance and will cause the system to work harder to put out the same results if it is even possible.

You can learn more about Vintage Air, or simply follow what they are up  to on the web at VintageAir.com  or on Instagram at Instagram.com/VintageAir. Don’t forget to check out Vintage Air TV on YouTube at YouTube.com/@va197653. If you are in San Antonio, stop in and visit them in person or look them up at the next show they attend, and don’t forget to tell them you heard about it here at The Muscle Car Place.

Thanks Rick!

This episode featured the Dallas Kibbe Legends Car Racing Update segment! Dallas joined the show himself after his last race on June 13 at Hawkeye Downs in Cedar Rapids, IA. Long story short…..he won! It was his first win in a Legends car, ever!!

To follow Dallas Kibbe Racing you can watch his stats and other racing information here. Check it out!

https://www.facebook.com/DallasKibbeRacing

https://www.instagram.com/dallaskibbe_13/

https://www.tiktok.com/@dallaskibbe_13

MyRacePass.com/drivers/178661.