babyhop

I'm starting to prepare my impreza for occasional stage rally use. Removing unnecessary items (rear seats, sound proofing etc.). Two questions have arisen as i proceed.
1/ Does anyone make fibreglass boot lid/bonnets for the impreza?
2/The air-conditioning system needs removing, is this a complicated task?

scoobian

my classic has a f/glass bonnet with FMIC vents at the front (I assume thats wot theyre for)
I heard that its a CUSCO, but dont know for sure as it was on when I bought the car <see 'my scooby' for a pic>
....and almost every car Ive seen has the a/c removed (except mine) so it cant be THAT hard

good luck

Yamarashi

The heaviest parts of the aircon are under the bonnet and wont be too bad a job to remove (remove the gas first though). The parts inside the car are more difficult to get out and will depend how far you are stripping the innerds out! (dash etc) ... but as I say, these parts wont be very heavy at all so if your not being too fussy with your weight then just leave them.

babyhop

Is removing the gas a specialists job (assuming the system is still sound) Are we talking CFC's or even poisonous Or is their a safe methon an untrained hammer user could try

Yamarashi

I would not advise breathing it thats for sure but its definitely bad for the environment (global warming and all that) so ideally you should take it to a garage (even quickfit do Air con gassing) to have the gas sucked out ... this would be assuming your air con still works and therefore still has gas in it ie the system has no current leaks.

911

I have done this.
You MUST legally have the system de-gassed by a pro specialist!
The fine if caught is huge, £2000 I think.

Weight saving of compressor/rad/pipes is around 9 Kg iirc.
Keep the parts to go back on later?
Graham

funkyspider

As said anyone that does aircon regassing will empty it for you. When they regass they empty the system out anyway prior to refilling it. When I took my TDi for regassing they sucked it all out, then told me the machine had detected a problem and they couldn't regass it - they stole my aircon gas.

babyhop

Cheers everybody for the helpful posts I've talked to my tame mechanic brother who pointed me in the same direction aircon wise. Guess I'll have to take it in to the local experts (9kg is definately worth losing) Thank god i havene't ripped the drivers seat out yet Again thankyou all