News:

Due to a technical issue, some recently uploaded pictures have been lost. We are investigating why this happened but the issue has been resolved so that future uploads should be safe.  You can also Modify your post (MORE...) and re-upload the pictures in your post.

Main Menu

1935 Lasalle heater question

Started by Blàçkpøwdër, April 04, 2022, 01:44:24 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Blàçkpøwdër

8D13713F-A173-455A-A00F-A1617E623138.jpeg33939F88-3367-47F9-8FC1-E3921631118C.jpeg33939F88-3367-47F9-8FC1-E3921631118C.jpegB2AAA4FD-127F-48CD-8547-A2A5ACE3215B.jpeg    Hi, my 35 Lasalle has a heater box, but the holes in the firewall for the coolant lines of the heater box look non factory ,crude drilled.
    I'm wondering if the 1935 Lasalle came with a factory heater box? Or was it an Option? Maybe they came with no Heater and someone installed one?
If it didn't come with a heater box from factory, I will Remove it and weld the holes in the firewall.

If it did come with a Heaterbox from Factory, What type/Brand would it be?

Would anyone know about this? Thx

z3skybolt

#1
LaSalle and nearly every automobile of that era did not "come" with heaters.  They could be ordered as an option from the factory, installed by the dealer after purchase or some aftermarket brand at a later point.  Few persons ordered the cars with a heater.  Understand that only a couple decades earlier folks were riding around in open horse drawn buggies and wagons. Given your description one would imagine that an aftermarket heater had been installed at some point. Factory heaters for later LaSalle were Cadillac branded and placarded on the heater box.  Don't know about 1935.


I have owned two 1940 LaSalle.  Neither came from the factory with heaters.  However my coupe had Cadillac under seat heaters installed at some point.  They worked wonderfully. My sedan has an ugly aftermarket heater under the dash.  Works pretty good though.

Good luck,

Bob R.
1940 LaSalle 5227 Coupe(purchased May 2016)
1985 Lincoln Town Car Signature Series. Bought New.

Tom Boehm

Can you post a picture of what you have? That would help determine if it is correct for 1935 Lasalle.

bcroe

From my own experience, I do not see how a car could be
driven in winter without a heater, the windshield would fog
over.  Bruce Roe

z3skybolt

Bruce,

As a child(I am almost 75) my parents always drove ancient cars from early 30 models to early 40s.  Some of them did not have heaters.  But I recall small electric fans with rubber blades that blew air on the windshields to help clear a bit.  Driving with the window down a little helped also. Most commonly though....dad just kept wiping the fog off with a large cloth.

  And by the way.....my 1940 LaSalle 5227 had a separate defroster under the dash. The under seat heaters that did not put any warm air on the windshield.  Both were installed when the vehicle was restored and were not from the factory.  My current 1940 5019 has an aftermarket heater that puts a tiny bit of warm air on the windshield. Perhaps some of the cars came with defrosters and no heater.  But I know that my parents old cars had neither.

Life was different "in the day".

Bob R.
1940 LaSalle 5227 Coupe(purchased May 2016)
1985 Lincoln Town Car Signature Series. Bought New.

wheikkila

My 40 LaSalle model 52 has the deluxe front unit. It pulls outside air and has heat for the defrost. I also have the heaters under the front seat. Both of these unit were extras. In this era, all you got was a basic car. almost everything was extra. These units work very well. Not that I need them much in Texas. When I was growing up in Michigan. I drove a VW bug. In the winter you bundled up and rolled the windows down. Unless you were traveling a long way that car would not warm up.   
                       Thanks Wayne 

bcroe

Its hard to believe, that 5 years after closed cars were used
in all weather, heaters, defrosters, and wipers were not at
least always factory options.  I did get one of those 6V fan
motors, put a crutch tip on the front of it, and used it to
start my model airplane motor.   

Had experience with the VW heater, it worked decently new,
but not after the engine was serviced.  I looked under there,
the sheet metal cooling air shrouds around the engine were
only approximately in place, with air gaps.  I pulled them
together and secured with sheet metal screws, the heater
worked again.  Bruce Roe

Blàçkpøwdër

Quote from: z3skybolt on April 05, 2022, 10:19:33 PMLaSalle and nearly every automobile of that era did not "come" with heaters.  They could be ordered as an option from the factory, installed by the dealer after purchase or some aftermarket brand at a later point.  Few persons ordered the cars with a heater.  Understand that only a couple decades earlier folks were riding around in open horse drawn buggies and wagons. Given your description one would imagine that an aftermarket heater had been installed at some point. Factory heaters for later LaSalle were Cadillac branded and placarded on the heater box.  Don't know about 1935.


I have owned two 1940 LaSalle.  Neither came from the factory with heaters.  However my coupe had Cadillac under seat heaters installed at some point.  They worked wonderfully. My sedan has an ugly aftermarket heater under the dash.  Works pretty good though.

Good luck,

Bob R.

Thank you for your input , im thinking the Lasalle came with no heater now, someone suggested posting a pic of my heater which I will do, thanks

Blàçkpøwdër


Tom Boehm

#9
Hello K, thanks for posting the pictures. That is for sure an aftermarket heater. Cadillac did not make that heater. Because of the art deco styling of the box, it was probably installed in the 1930's. As a period accessory, I would consider restoring it and putting it back in the car. The holes are already there. You would not change anything by re-using it. The drawback to that idea is if you want to show the car at a Cadillac and Lasalle Club Grand National you would lose points. The judging standard is the condition it was delivered from the dealer to the first owner. That does not include non-Cadillac aftermarket accessories.

Previous posters are correct. Most Cadillacs and Lasalles of the prewar era did not come with heaters. Cadillac did offer a list of GM manufactured accessories including heaters that could be added at the dealer. I'm going to take a wild guess and say that 1/3 of the prewar Cadillacs and Lasalles I see at shows have a heater.

I'm sure the Authenticity Manual published by the Cadillac and Lasalle Club for the 1934-1936 Lasalles would have more specific information on this topic.

79 Eldorado

The first picture you can see McCord at the bottom of the box. It would be interesting to approach the research from the heater box manufacturer side. If information can be found it may reveal what years they made heater boxes. I doubt it would say that and in addition the McCord company also made heater boxes which could be ordered as a dealer installed option recognized by LaSalle... but who knows. I doubt it but my point is if something like that would have occurred it would have been special to that company more so than to the car company. The former Harrison Radiator Engineering building has an old heater box in part of a historical display area.

I wonder if McCord is the same company which was later known for making gaskets?

Even if not driven in the winter a heater can certainly extend the season as it helps for visibility/safety. I remember when I first realized I had a heater failure in my 68 Impala I looped the hoses temporarily. Well in late September and early October there were a fair number of mornings where a heater would have been very nice to have; morning condensate on windows after sitting all night.

One other question regarding the holes for install being rough. How big are the holes and in 1935 what would the dealer have for creating a "largish" hole in sheet metal? We have step bits today but a proper large hole in metal can be a challenge so my point is even if a dealer did it in 1935 what would it look like? Did they add a hole and use a two-piece die to flare it to make it look a little more finished?

Scott