Vintage Air Heater

[rayfour]

I have a '46 Mercury that came without a heater when my Dad bought it. I am considering installing a compact Vintage Air heater in a Southwind heater shell that I have, or buying the Streamline heater that they sell that looks like a Southwind. Either way, the blower motor is 12 volt, and I will continue with the original 6 volt system.


Any suggestions for operating in a 6 Volt word?

[ford38v8]

Why not buy an original equipment Ford heater? No BS modifications to make and probably an economical way to go anyway.

[rayfour]

I haven’t been able to find an original heater. Do you have a source?

[Daves55Sedan]

My '55 Ford sedan came with the dealer installed recirculating air heater which was offered to dealerships in the southern states for customers who wanted heat and windshield defrost. That exact same heater was factory installed in trucks going back some years and also offered to dealers for truck installation in southern States. They were very common in cars in southern states for a number of years but even more so in trucks.
If you can find a boneyard that still has a lot of antiques, look for '49 thru '56 Ford trucks first. If you are in the south, look in cars of that era too.
If nothing else, they can be found on e-pay periodically.
The recirculating heater was very simple and self-contained. It consisted of a plenum/housing with elbows for defrost hoses, a core and blower motor. The housing was mounted on the inside of the blank plate over the rectangular hole in the firewall that the factory installed on southern cars. It required punching two holes for the heater core inlet and outlet tubing. There was an under-dash control cable to allow hot water into the core and there was a rheostat switch under the dash to operate the heater blower motor. For the water control, simply use either of the systems (the vacuum type or mechanical type) that came with the donor car.

[swedishsteel]

I believe there are invertors that give you 12v output from 6v input. Don't how much amperage they are capable of though.

[38 coupe]

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Rayfour, what region are you located? Someone near you may have a spare heater they would sell for a reasonable price. I am used to seeing old Ford heaters from the 40s at local swap meets in Texas.

[tubman]

Originally Posted by 38 coupe

Rayfour, what region are you located? Someone near you may have a spare heater they would sell for a reasonable price. I am used to seeing old Ford heaters from the 40s at local swap meets in Texas.

A good reason why members should include their location in their profile. If you're concerned about security, knowing which state you're in helps a lot.

[mcgarrett]

rayfour,
The heater for your Mercury would look something like this...

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/ujEAA...851/s-l500.jpg

check local swap meets if possible, or craigslist, or Facebook marketplace. They are still out there and affordable. I have seen many that could be put back in service fairly easily and inexpensively. As a bonus, they will have 6 volt blower motors.

[tomcarman]

Originally Posted by swedishsteel

I believe there are invertors that give you 12v output from 6v input. Don't how much amperage they are capable of though.

I was just researching voltage conversion on an unrelated project and there are many converters that are compact that will transform 6V to 12V. If you already own the air heater and are not concerned with originality it may be your most effective option. Just go to Google and type in 6V to 12V converter and start looking.

[rayfour]

Sorry everyone, I’m located in New Hampshire where heaters are required!
My Dad had two Southwind heaters for this car and used to rotate them out as the injector got leaded up. The car now has a heater from a 50 Ford but the core is leaking and I’d like to go back to something more original.
Not too many flea markets around here.

[Dad250]

Guys - My 32 B Truck 4 Cyl has a TropicAire heater in the cab that appears to been operational at some point. It's wired up to a switch to run the fan, but the hoses are not connected.

Does anyone have pix of how their heater tapped into the cooling water lines ? I'd appreciate the photos so I can begin to figure a way to get heat into this truck for winter operations here in PA!

[rayfour]

If anyone has one of these recirculating air heaters they wish to part with or knows someone who has one they want to sell, please let me know.
If I can’t find one I will probably go with the Vintage Air product.

[Ggmac]

Will check tomorrow. Ive got 4 or 5 , some 6 volt some 12 .

[rayfour]

Thnks!

[Krylon32]

Vintage Air has a new early art deco heater part# 660066 Modern heater in a vintage case.

[TJ]

The stock heater for the Merc is the same as the Ford heater of that era. I see those at the swap meets all the time.

[Ggmac]

Checked and all the 6 volt heaters have damaged cores and the 2 12 volt are more modern .

[JayChicago]

Speaking of heaters: I got this old aftermarket heater in a box of parts that came with my '40. Appears to be a junkyard find. Will give to anyone who wants it, you pay shipping. I never tested core or fan, so you should assume the worst.

[38 coupe]

To me that looks like a Ford heater with a tag stuck on the top.

[rayfour]

Originally Posted by JayChicago

Speaking of heaters: I got this old aftermarket heater in a box of parts that came with my '40. Appears to be a junkyard find. Will give to anyone who wants it, you pay shipping. I never tested core or fan, so you should assume the worst.

I would give this heater a try. The old looking Vintage Air is $330.00!
If you want to check the shipping rate to 03301 I’ll gladly take it.

Ray Fournier