<VV> A/C Questiion

[Bill H.]

	                                                          B"H
Charlie:  I had a situation up until two weeks ago where my 66 Monza was overheating terribly (loud engine ping with the compressor engaged, even at idle) with the factory A/C on.
Now thank G-d my car will run on a 90 plus degree day in heavy city traffic without overheating.  Here's what I did:
1.  removed top and bottom shrouds, cleaned a bad accumulation of what looked like shredded insulation from the engine lid.  It had blanketed the top of the oil cooler and was wedged in the corners of the engine compartment.
2.  De-flashed aluminum webbing from the cylinder heads on both sides.  Vacuumed the entire engine to remove any remaining dust, dirt, etc.
3.  Replaced torn fresh air hose that runs from the heater plenum to the top of the turkey roaster near the #6 cylinder.
4.  Cleaned the entire engine compartment of dirt, dust, grease, etc.
5.  Cleaned and re-gapped spark plugs
6.  Sealed the condenser at its top and bottom edges as was originally done at the factory with foam strips.
7.  Connected dual pull-fans, one at each end of the condenser.
8.  Replaced shredded old engine insulation on the lid with a new pad.
9.  Installed oil temp, oil pressure, and volt gauges to get accurate information from the goings-on in the engine room
10.  Ensured there are no holes or openings in the engine compartment that will reduce air flow through the shrouds
11.  Re-assembled the engine but left off the bottom shrouds.  Will put them on after the summer (heater hoses need replacement and I misplaced one of the damper doors LOL)
I'm now driving the car in 90 plus heat, A/C on full, in heavy NYC traffic.  No pinging and oil temp run around 220 degrees (max) which is an acceptable value.
It seems to me that a clean sealed engine compartment and ensuring that air can flow in all the places it needs to flow, should solve your problem :=)
Remember to use synthetic oil (e.g. Mobil 1), it can handle extreme heat better than conventional oil. 
Good luck, it took me two weeks to get all that done...Bill Hershkowitz 66 Monza Sport Sedan 110 PG A/C