What Is This Heater?

[hudson29]

Years ago when I bought my 1939 Cadillac 6127 Coupé it came with a heater. The heater worked and it produced plenty of heat & noise when the blower motor was running. The build sheet for my car listed a heater from the factory & I thought this heater must have been the one it rolled off the assembly line with. It looks old & somewhat scruffy just like much else on the car and it even says Cadillac right on it.

Some years ago I bought the Authenticity Manual and the heaters shown didn't look like the one on my car. Is this heater an aftermarket replacement or is it from another year Cadillac?

Vintage Paul, curious . . .

[joeceretti]

 interesting Cadillac logo,  that doesn't look like any I have seen before.

[Bob Hoffmann CLC#96]

Paul,
It's a 1937 heater for Cadillac Or LaSalle. The script style  is correct for the era.
HTH, Bob

[hudson29]

Thanks guys, it looks like I had better leave this one alone and look for the proper heater for a '39. Once I find a replacement I'll bet someone with a '37 project would like to have this one.

Vintage Paul

[joeceretti]

If you can find the right core, I have two of the decorative covers for the 39 heater. Only need one for my car and I am sure they don't wear out.

[hudson29]

If you can find the right core, I have two of the decorative covers for the 39 heater. Only need one for my car and I am sure they don't wear out.

Terrific, thank you! I'll see what I can find. I'll also need to find the controls as those are missing from my car as well. Some previous owner replaced them with a simple modern plastic toggle switch in the same location.

Cadillac offered two under dash heaters that I can find reference to. One was called a ventilating heater and used outside air from the right kick panel someplace. Were the covers different?

Vintage Paul

[joeceretti]

Not 100% sure about the 39's. The 38's had an option for a heater that was apparently not very good. Many 38's ended up with the heater from the 39. The 38's do not have provision for the fresh air vent on the passenger side. Mine has a 39 heater. It has a reversible motor with a combination fan and blower. The fan blows air into the cabin and when reversed blows air up through the entirely not sufficient defroster ducts.

I have rewired mine and use a switch that fits into the stock mounting bracket, to accommodate fan speed control, as well as a hidden double pole double throw switch to reverse the direction of the modern motor I have installed. I have a diagram of the wiring. I can find it and post a photo of it if you need.

The stock motors on the heaters were a complicated, and in my opinion ingenious configuration that I don't think can be easily duplicated with a modern motor.

This is from my research and may be entirely or partly incorrect. I have found the information on these heaters to be sketchy at best. A large number of these cars didn't come with any heater at all, at least that applies to the 38 year models.

[hudson29]

I have rewired mine and use a switch that fits into the stock mounting bracket, to accommodate fan speed control, as well as a hidden double pole double throw switch to reverse the direction of the modern motor I have installed. I have a diagram of the wiring. I can find it and post a photo of it if you need.

The stock motors on the heaters were a complicated, and in my opinion ingenious configuration that I don't think can be easily duplicated with a modern motor.

This is from my research and may be entirely or partly incorrect. I have found the information on these heaters to be sketchy at best. A large number of these cars didn't come with any heater at all, at least that applies to the 38 year models.

I would love to see what you came up with. In SoCal we have little use for heaters but the build sheet says the car was built with it and I would like to get as close as I can to factory original. The defroster would be an asset once in a while. Do you have any pictures of your installation? I would like to see how the heater mounts to the body & connects with the defroster hoses in addition to the wiring.

Vintage Paul

[Brad Ipsen CLC #737]

Heater options are covered extensively in the class 10 Authenticity Manual for those with a Cadillac and Class 5 for those with a LaSalle.

[hudson29]

Heater options are covered extensively in the class 10 Authenticity Manual for those with a Cadillac and Class 5 for those with a LaSalle.

Yes, I have that book and it is a good start in trying to sort these matters out. It helps deciding what is correct but it is very far from a restoration manual. This forum has been terrific at filling in the gaps.

Vintage Paul