The weather has turned cold her in sunny SoCal (it's 47 degrees right now) and it got me wondering about puting a heater in my car. Do any of you run one? If so, how did you do it? Did you try to hide it or leave it visible for all to see?
No offense man, but suck it up and get a jacket or something. I drive my rod around here in the winter, and not only does it not have a heater, but I don't even have the cold air vents hooked up, and the hood is off, so it's constantly getting a heavy breeze in the cockpit! 47 degrees is like spring or fall weather around here. Get a longer skirt and buy a jacket. (jk) big mac
I like heaters, why be uncomfortable? If you get a late aftermarket type, , like a tractor heater for example, hide it up under the dash. Or if you find an old style, you can something like this:
My wife says when it requires a carhart suit to drive my tub it's time to put it away for the year. I am also thinking about a heater, but that won't get me through the snow.
i live in wisconsin so my 53 will have a heater in it. You guys in Utah can suck it up I would rather be toasty warm when i cruise.
I'm fine with suckin' it up at 47 degrees, but in Wisconsin in the winter, you better have a heater or yer nuts will freeze to the seat. big mac
if space is tight you can run one of the trans coolers with the electric fan built in. just plumb it to the normal heater hose locations.
I'll be running a MoPar Model 36 under dash heater in my '31 Plymouth up here in the Great White North, and I fully intend on driving it year 'round if the roads are plowed and somewhat dry...to each his/her own, do what you gotta do to make driving enjoyable...
I know a man on this board who just finished restoring a heater..... He says it works, I personally wouldn't know....damn car's in Australia. I think if I remember right and my memory is fading, but I think it's a Firestone product....but you'd have to ask Rat Bastad.
Screw that! I live in Bakersfield and it's been about 40 deg. when I leave for work......Just grin and say "I am what I eat".
That's what I'm talking about! I have seen many of this type and this is what I was thinking of running. I know 47 isn't that cold to alot of you but when you're not used to it it's pretty cold. And believe it or not it gets alot colder here in the winter.
I know, the older I get the less tolerable I am of the cold. This old biker guy once told me that the biting cold feeling he got when he rode in the cold was just there to remind him he was alive!
I use the same line when I'm running around the yard on a forklift in the morning......but it sure don't make the stinging feeling go away. I'd ask Rat Bastad how much and how for that heater. I know he got it off Ebay. It's got to be the prettiest heater I've ever seen and beautifully corresponds with his interior. ***I just noticed that the vent actually swivels around the sucker to help direct the heat, I thought they only flipped up and down.***
Thanks Brandy, I'm searching ebay as we speak!! I've seen ones similar for pretty cheap. It seems worth it for the minimal investment in time. money and space.
Check with Vintage Air. they make a sweet compact heater that can be adapted to just about any car. Fuelpump put one in his '50 2dr and it was toasty warm even here in anartica....er, Michigan Frank
I like it. I'm REALLY funny about under dash heaters and a/c units. I'd rather sweat or freeze vs having some abortion hanging there.....but that Firestone unit is REALLY nice.
don't know what your insides look like, if your seats are done? But what about seat heaters. I know it sound lame, but the wifes new convertible has them and it is nice when it is cold out and the tops down. Hide the temp dials under the dash and no one will know your ass is toasty. I think speedway maybe has some or search the junk yard for late model stuff. Vintage heaters are cool but $$$$$$ for restored ones.
Vintage heaters look at home in any hotrod, street rod or old car and it is nice if they work well too. Easy to plumb, easy to wire, easy to mount. There are also underseat heaters used in the late 40s-50s which are nice(the hoses come in from the bottom). No sense in being uncomfortable in any old car for any reason, especially to prove manhood.
HEAT- Is that a serious question? Why roll up the windows and sit there shivering inside? I turn on all three heaters full blast and roll the windows part way down. That is the only way to enjoy the outdoor breeze and not make the ride miserable. Rather than make room for a big heater and blower, and controls, and wires, ....and... I simply attached a few cheap junkyard heater cores and fastened one to each fresh air vent where they couldn't be seen. Total weight is less than 8 lbs. They take up no room, require no electricity, and give out so much heat that I get a nice warm spring breeze whenever the truck moves more than 5 mph. Try it. No blower noise, no cloudy windows, and no shivering in the winter. Just a nice warm spring breeze blowing year round. Get some $5.00 heater cores from the junkyard.
those seat heaters work great. plumb in one under the seat,my 55' pontiac wagon is built that way. depends on your room restrictions but rear heaters from mini van may be option. some are heat/ac units. time to build another hot rod with a top this time.
Hey guys, that heater I fotted to the coupe is a Firestone and I bought it offa Ebay years ago for like 15 clam$. Recenlty Ive seen em go for a shitload more than that - really freaky. I removed the original fan, it worked but pished bugger all air anyways and replaced it with a 7" OD electric cooling fan that pumps a HEAP more air. Blasted the case, flaked and cleared it and re-routed the core outlets to suit my setup...all in all piss easy and vintage kool to boot. Its one of my fave things that Ive fitted to the deuce. Glad I did it after freezing my ass off during the winter as i like to drive her even when COLD. Rat
This old biker guy I met with 2 weeks ago (Michigan - he rode his bike to a business mtg), showed me the wires hanging from his jacket. Impressed the world he was riding with the temp in the 40s, roasty toasty in his heated clothes. He said it added 2 months to the Michigan riding season. You can have it all, the look AND the comfort. http://cozywinters.com/heated-clothing/?source=go&gclid=COXl5tTViZACFReQGgodLD7Osg
I installed a small heat/air unit under the bench seat in my 32 pickup and with 4 vents blowing out I can keep these ol' bones warm on any cold day,,,, I don't have a heater in the roadster and I have a small electric heater in the mor-door,,,It don't put out very much heat but will keep you from freezin' to death.HRP
I live in MI, my wife and I drive a Roadster PU all year in any and all weather conditions. I use a Flex-a Lite MOJAVE hot water HEATER. It is small in size and sits on top of the dog house under the cowell behind the fire wall. It's only 10 1/8"X 9"X 5" and has a 3 speed blower and puts out 12,000 BTU. If you look at the top left corner of the fire wall you can see where the heater hoses come thru. from the top of the dog house. Bob PS. I also have a set of side curtains that I put on in bad weather.
I am restoring,and going to be using a Southwind gasoline heater. Please PM me if you have the carb tubes for one..Thanks
I have a fork lift heater under my dash........It aint cali temps where i live. Even in the summer it can be down right chilly!
1954-'56 Buicks (And Pontiacs, from what I've heard and seen) had factory under-seat heaters. The fan can goes through a hole in the floor, and has a squirrel cage fan on it. A circular heater core sits in the housing, with a pair of 90-degree tubes going through the floor. The fan sits in the middle of the core. The housing is open on top, with hardware-store 1/4-inch square wire mesh, so the heat can rise up through the seat. The housing is built so it has ducts coming off the sides that direct heat over toward the passenger, and behind to the back seat area. On the Buicks, it had it's own seperate heater switch on the dash. These were in addition to the conventional heaters located on the firewall that fed air under the dash and to the defroster ducts. I'm going to get one and put it under the seat in my '62 Suburban. The Suburban has a heater that was designed for a pick-up cab, not a 10-foot long cargo area. And even for the pick-up cabs, I've been told they're not real great. American Auto Wire has a three-position heater control switch. I'm going to intstall that in the dash, with chrome Deluxe-model radio knob, and nobody will know any of it is there. One thing I need to work out: The Deluxe heaters in the truck had a heater control valve, while the standard heaters were plumbed to have water circulating all the time. The Buick heater is plumbed that way as well. If the fan isn't on, it isn't circulating heat, but with hot water running through the heater cores, it's still a heat source in the cab. That sucks in an Atlanta summer. -Brad ps: I leave for work most days with frost on the glass, so it's in the 20s-30s here in Atlanta in the winter mornings. No heat, no weather stripping, and the kick-panel vents are stuck open. Like my friend at work says--"You gotta suffer for your art. And your art is driving a '62 Suburban every day." If it gets in the 40s, I just put on the heavy jacket, roll down the window and pop the vent window a bit to move the air around the door glass hole, hang my arm out and enjoy the truck!
If ti gets cold where you are and you want to drive it then why shouldn't you put a heater in it. Hide it, give me a brake is it a show car or a hot rod? That said 47 is T shirt weather. The Pusher has a heater, but it doesn't work the only time I don't drive it is when there's an Ice Storm and I have no way to keep the widnshield defrosted. And I've driven it in that weather also because I had to get home, I just stuck my head out the window and pretended I was on a murder cycle.
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