There are two Vintage Air Compac GenII (see climate control options post) dash interface options worthy of consideration: the Vintage Air Streamline 4-knob analog horizontal panel (491229), or the Dakota Digital digital push button oval (DCC-2300).
Vintage Air Streamline
Vintage Air Streamline interface
The Streamline interface provides basic HVAC functionality — multiple mode heat, defrost, and A/C — but cannot monitor or control the cabin temperature like a modern HVAC system. The knobs provide illumination to the labelled backplate. The dash space required is 5.3″ wide by 1.0″ high.
The four interface switches are wired directly into the Compac unit as shown below. The red highlights indicate the switch connections.
Vintage Air Streamline interface wiring diagram
Dakota Digital DCC
Dakota Digital display functionality
The Dakota Digital interface enhances the Vintage Air Compac GenII functionality by enabling real time monitoring of cabin temperature with automatic adjustment of hot and cold air flow. Instead of just three fan speeds, the DCC unit provides seven speeds plus an automatic setting that works in conjunction with the temperature setting. This added functionality mirrors what is available in current factory HVAC systems. The dash space required is 6.0″ wide by 2.7″ high.
DCC components
While the DCC installation requires drilling and fitting three new temperature sensors into the Compac GenII unit itself, the wiring is actually simplified somewhat since the switches themselves are not directly connected. In addition to the oval display, a central control unit handles most of the wires and a separate fan module pigtail attaches to the blower fan.
DCC wiring to Compac control
The DCC wiring diagram shows a binary safety switch that controls the air compressor. For the LS3, we will install a trinary safety switch instead that incorporates the radiator’s dual fans via a programmable fan controller like the Entropy LSX system.
The footprint of the DCC is slightly larger than the Vintage Air Streamline panel, but the attractive digital display and oval chrome surround work well with the Dakota Digital HDX instrument display.
Dakota Digital DCC 2300 interface display
The DCC interface text color options are blue (show above) and teal; the HDX-2018 unit has programmable theme colors that will match either choice.
