...Plus the car will be wired correctly- large gauge wire from alt to battery and the electronics powered off the battery.
Richard
To the best I know, it's best to power the electronics off the alternator, not the battery. That being said, I was surprised that Classic Air wants their AC unit to be powered off the battery. Talking to them, it appears the AC unit itself has self contained the logic circuits that control the unit. They are apparently sensitive to power line transients; voltage spikes, alternator noise etc. Picking power off at the battery relies on the battery's capability to damp all this stuff out. (Crudely speaking the battery acts as a giant capacitor. The many feet of cable between the alternator and battery apparently results in RF isolation between the two.)
I'm planning on making an RFI filter and running my Classic Air directly from the alternator. If you run your ac from the battery, the AC current will appear as a charge current to the battery..effectively ruining the ammeter being able to tell you if the battery is charging or discharging.
Apologies if I sound preachy. Looks like you know what you're doing. A beemer V12 powered Corvette. Looks fun and interesting.
Don't want to come off as an ass...
I was sorta in the 12Velectronics industry for 20+ years... Yes -the battery does act as a filter-one of the BEST- cleans up the AC ripple not filtered by the alt's diodes AND it dampens the voltage surges...Same reason you have (or should have)a battery back-up surge protector on your computer....
If you look at say a BMW 750IL ($100K new) they -BMW engineers- felt it best to run everything electronic off the battery..And since the battery is mounted in the trunk-even put a jumper terminal up front under the hood to keep the electronics from surges when you have to jump the car...
Think of it as this-
The alternator is your INCOME..The battery is your BANK ACCOUNT and the smaller the cabling -the more fees they charge. You would NOT want you mortgage payment to come directly out of you paycheck!!!
I am converting to a voltmeter- a lot better at telling you what's going on than an ammeter...just ask Gene...
These cars where not remotely designed to have the current draws that is expected for them to handle by adding fans...stereo...etc
Anyway- here's what I got the other day- I actually found it on eBay...I did some research and talked to the guys in Canada. This is used on 18 wheeler cabs -thanks to the no-idle laws...So should be fully capable keeping my small interior cool. At full tilt -6800RPM -it'll draw about 38Amps. Made by Cool-it.
I'm going w/ the Vintage air piece as well-
Here's the motor and controller-cost about $1k shipped-And just mocked up for fitment...
Richard