39heater

[jstrez5]

I am putting a 1939 heater in my 39ford deluxe passenger car.i do have a few questions. My first question does the heater sit in the middle of firewall,in front of the gear shift close to the gas peddle or dose it go more on the passenger side? My second question is does the heater hoses come through the firewall or do the heater lines go through the firewall to the engine compartment and then hook to the heater hoses? As you can see i am having problems figuring out the correct way to hook up my heater, it seems that there was never a correct 39 heater installed in the car. Thanks! Any feedback is appreciated!

[Mike in AZ]

welcome to the 'Barn....hopefully someone will be able to answer your questions....got pics??....'39 Merc heater was in the middle and hoses were outside the cowl, if memory is correct.....Mike

[Kube]

Originally Posted by jstrez5

I am putting a 1939 heater in my 39ford deluxe passenger car.i do have a few questions. My first question does the heater sit in the middle of firewall,in front of the gear shift close to the gas peddle or dose it go more on the passenger side? My second question is does the heater hoses come through the firewall or do the heater lines go through the firewall to the engine compartment and then hook to the heater hoses? As you can see i am having problems figuring out the correct way to hook up my heater, it seems that there was never a correct 39 heater installed in the car. Thanks! Any feedback is appreciated!

There's a guy from PA. selling a template on eBay. I'll send you one for free.
PM me your address.

[jstrez5]

Originally Posted by Kube

There's a guy from PA. selling a template on eBay. I'll send you one for free.
PM me your address.

Thanks! That would be great, I will message you now.

[Charlie Stephens]

I don't have a '39 so I can't answer your question but I have a suggestion. You might buy a copy of the restoration guidelines for your car from the Early Ford V8 Club (earlyfordv8.org). I have a '32 and a '37 and their books answer questions that I didn't even know I had.

Charlie Stephens

[jstrez5]

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Originally Posted by Mike in AZ

welcome to the 'Barn....hopefully someone will be able to answer your questions....got pics??....'39 Merc heater was in the middle and hoses were outside the cowl, if memory is correct.....Mike

Thanks! I will post pictures shortly.

[jstrez5]

Originally Posted by Charlie Stephens

I don't have a '39 so I can't answer your question but I have a suggestion. You might buy a copy of the restoration guidelines for your car from the Early Ford V8 Club (earlyfordv8.org). I have a '32 and a '37 and their books answer questions that I didn't even know I had.

Charlie Stephens

I will definitely look into that, thank your for you suggestion!

[G.M.]

You are going to need thermostats for the heater to work. Bob Shewman [email protected] 1-610-933-6637 makes the only thermostatsts I know of that allow a full flow of coolant through the system. This isn't to important in cold weather when the air comming through the radiator is cold. When the temperature gets 80 and higher the engine needs the full unrestricted flow of coolant or the engine will run in the 200 range. Bobs stats have flow openings almost the size of the hose which is 1-1/2", modern thermostats have a flow opening of 1" or less and don't allow enough coolant flow in hot weather. I have several 39 Fords with his 180 stats in and they run 178 to 182 in temperatures from 50 to over 95. They are heavy duty stats that fit in the hoses and should allow your heater to put out warm air. I just called him yesterday to order another set for another 39. I'm in Penna and drove this one on Sunday to a show 45 miles away. It is getting cooler here and the engine temperature wouldn't get over 150 going to or comming home from the show. I like the way the engines run at 180 everything is at they same temperarure and they run consistantly smooth all the time. G.M.

[Seth Swoboda]

Please post a picture of a 1939 heater. I am interested in installing one in my 1939 pickup the we just completed this spring.

[ford38v8]

GM, What do thermostats have to do with the heater? Without stats, it just takes longer to warm up, that's all.

jstrez5, The '38-'39 book has complete instructions and diagrams. Be sure to take note of the revised instruction about the hoses going through the firewall rather than butting up just to it. Also, the routing of the upper hose around the front of the carburetor.

[Kube]

Originally Posted by ford38v8

GM, What do thermostats have to do with the heater? Without stats, it just takes longer to warm up, that's all.

jstrez5, The '38-'39 book has complete instructions and diagrams. Be sure to take note of the revised instruction about the hoses going through the firewall rather than butting up just to it. Also, the routing of the upper hose around the front of the carburetor.

Hey Alan, I am mailing the fellow a "real size" template as well as the instructions to install his heater.
As an aside... did you know that Ford went to pushing the hoses up to the cowl in 1940 as a way of creating a weather seal at that point?

[G.M.]

NO Allan thermostats have EVRYTHING to do with the heater. In cooler weather, even 75 degrees the old Ford engine being properly cooled won't get over 160 degrees. It will run even cooler on 50 to 60 degree days. 150 degree or less coolant through the heater core won't provide any noticeable heat. On the other hand 180 coolant will put out nice warm air and maintain it. G.M.

[jstrez5]

Originally Posted by Seth Swoboda

Please post a picture of a 1939 heater. I am interested in installing one in my 1939 pickup the we just completed this spring.

I just uploaded 2 pictures to my albums !

[jstrez5]

Originally Posted by Kube

There's a guy from PA. selling a template on eBay. I'll send you one for free.
PM me your address.

Just received the template Monday, would like to thank you again for helping me out on this one! Thanks, Jim S

[Lawson Cox]

Originally Posted by jstrez5

I just uploaded 2 pictures to my albums !

Well, post 'em here so we can see if you have a real 39 Ford heater.

[Tom Walker]

This funky little number is bolted to my firewall, but not sure it came out of a Ford emporium??!!