Thread: hot rod without heater??

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GM cars in the 50's had a neat under the back seat heater also some school busses used them some one is building a new under seat heater so you won't need to mess up the firewall, I found that you have to seal the cockpit , no air leaks to the trunk compartment, also a toneau ? cover with a center zipper when you are driving alone helps.

Originally posted by Albrainya
well, real hot rods dont have a/c, but heat is a must here in the northeast

Fwiw - I've seen a well built Deuce roadster with A/C.
Done mostly for the engineering exercise I think, but every once in a while, when I'm cruising the Arizona highways in my 32 during the summer I think about that car.

Deuce roadsters are the ultimate hot rod to some and I'd call the air conditioned Deuce - with it's built SBC - a hot rod for sure.

Couple of days back it was 113 degrees F here.
And like you'd think I was hiding in the house.

Even so, it's common for me to run around in 100 degree plus weather in my 32.

I like heat and A/C in a cruizer, makes the road trips a lot more comfortable. They're not a necessity, but they sure are nice !!!

At the end of March, my wife and I drove the roadster pickup from our home in northern Utah to San Diego for the GoodGuys Del Mar nationals. The car has a top but no sidewindows and a small underdash heater.

It was cold but bearable on the way down through Utah, but we were snowed in on the way back. Rainx does not work in a blizzard! When we finally left Cedar City, Utah it was 19 degrees and that is mighty cold for a roadster ride, but like Jay (C9x) said that little heater really did take some of the edge off, at least in the lower extremities.

We still froze our butts off but the heater did make a difference.

I would recommend one even in an open car.

Here's a pic taken hiding under an overpass trying to thaw out!

Mick

I found a 12 volt electric heater, NIB at the L.A. Roadster Show
swap meet....twenty bucks. I haven't installed it yet, it's 105 degrees out here in Cal. right now. But the cool thing is, it will make heat as soon as you throw the switch. And the other cool thing is, I already put the switch and wiring in the dash for a regular heater fan.

Life is good,
Daver.

I don't have heat or a/c in my "55" chevy . I have been driving it that way for 20 years. I do have a small 12 volt electric portable heater ,about the size of my hand ,that helps when the windsheild fogs up . After driving 6 hours to syracuse last week in the heat a/c sure would have been nice. Carlg

Originally posted by lurker mick
At the end of March, my wife and I drove the roadster pickup from our home in northern Utah to San Diego for the GoodGuys Del Mar nationals. The car has a top but no sidewindows and a small underdash heater.

It was cold but bearable on the way down through Utah, but we were snowed in on the way back. Rainx does not work in a blizzard! When we finally left Cedar City, Utah it was 19 degrees and that is mighty cold for a roadster ride, but like Jay (C9x) said that little heater really did take some of the edge off, at least in the lower extremities.

We still froze our butts off but the heater did make a difference.

I would recommend one even in an open car.

Here's a pic taken hiding under an overpass trying to thaw out!

Mick

Hi Mick . . . and welcome.
Your RPU looks great.

Couple of things that may help in cold weather:

A pair of windwings.
They push the air that bends around the windshield and curves into the cockpit far enough back that the hurricane is considerably lessened.

The windwings in the pic are a little shorter than the stock length windwings. (About 2/3 stock length.)
Makes getting in and out of the car a little easier - ingress/egress on a topless roadster is lots easier - and are short enough that they do allow air in during the summer.
I used to pull the windwings in the summer, but the length shown works well for summer and winter.

Make em out of Lexan instead of glass.
Glass works ok, but it's heavy and tends to work it's way down and out of the windwing clamps.
Helps to to replace the slot-head clamp screws with stainless allens.

Other gadget in following post.

When it gets really chilly out these quarter windows make a really big difference.

What they accomplish is to deflect the air that curves around the windwings and wants to enter the cockpit behind the occupants.

Made of Lexan they are an easy project.
Cut to shape after making a cardboard template.
Drill them to match the #10 FH sheet metal screws that bolt the lower top iron to the oak bow.
Countersink to match unless you want to use the rounded head sheet metal screws.

(A sharp many tooth - I use a 60 tooth - carbide blade in a table saw works well for the straight cuts.
Be sure to hold the Lexan down on the table so it doesn't flap.
If it flaps you'll get some breakage near the edge.
Curves can be cut with a fine tooth sabre saw.
Sand the edges with 240 grit wet/dry using water and finish up with some 400.
Doesn't take long and makes the Lexan look like genuine glass.
Break the sharp edges slightly while sanding.

(Don't worry about having the oak in the bow deteriorate or wear out after a few install/removal cycles.
If the screw hole did get a little rough you can harden up the wood by applying a couple drops of cyano-acrylate glue; Super Jet by Goldberg is a good one, it's the watery stuff and not the gel and you can get it at hobby shops. The airplane guys use it in their building. (Be sure to let it cure before installing the screw.

(In fact, if you have deteriorated wood in an oak bow hole or body wood hole you can repair it by sanding a little pile of sawdust off a piece of wood - oak or pine, either seems to work well.
Pack the screw hole with sawdust, add a drop or two of the Super Jet wetting the sawdust completely. (You'll see a wisp of smoke come up, but no big deal, just don't breath it.)
Let it cure then pilot drill the wood for the screw.)

Sheet metal screws are the way to go and I gave up on wood screws for any kind of woodwork other than decorative long ago.

Use 1/4" Lexan for both windwings and quarter windows.
I tried 1/8" in the quarter windows, but it hummed and fluttered in the wind.

Lexan is a trade name for polycarbonate and the poly is what you'll find at places like Home Depot.
Do not use plexiglass.
Plexi scratches easily and it ain't all that strong.
Lexan is way strong and is what is used in jet fighter canopies and windshields in other aircraft.

The windwings in my roadster have been there for about 8 years and over 30,000 miles.
I wash them with a sponge and car wash soap when I wash the car.
They are unscratched except for one deep scratch that some clown put in it with a key or other sharp object.
Testing for glass I guess.

Only other caution is to note that Lexan has an ultraviolet coating on one side.
That goes toward the sun and helps to keep the Lexan from UV damage.

It is surprising how much difference these little quarter windows make in cold weather.
Do a little planning ahead and you can set up a side window that overlaps the quarter window.
Bein a roadster you're still gonna have air leaks, but the hurricane bit will be gone....

I don't even use the AC in my daily driver, I prefer cruising with the windows down.
I'd never put it in my rod.
I'm still debating whether or not to get a heater. It would be simple to install now with firewall exposed inside and out and no front body panels on. I don't want to regret not having one.

Originally posted by tcodi
I don't even use the AC in my daily driver, I prefer cruising with the windows down.
I'd never put it in my rod.

I like the windows down bit as well, but once it gets over 100 degrees the pickups A/C goes on.
Besides, I want Sweetie to be comfortable.

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When I built my 32 I left room up front on the left side for a power steering pump.
I was gonna do it just for the engineering exercise, but found it steered easy with a well set up Vega cross steer.
Steering ease was improved when I made an aluminum ball bearings both ends steering column.

The 31 on 32 rails roadster project has the left front of the engine open and a moderate size A/C unit would fit in there.
I might do it just for the heck of it.

Even without side windows an A/C would help a lot during in-town driving in summer.

A top goes on the 31 and setting up a Lexan fold down over-center sprung side window would be easy.

When the temps get over 105 out here - 113 a few days back - I ain't too worried about the 31 being a real hot rod or not.
Unlike a lot of guys, I use my roadster as a second car and drive it most days regardless of temperature.

Might even drive it on rainy days since it's gonna have bobbed rear fenders and cycle front fenders.
(Sure would like to find a 35-36 Ford spare tire ring.)

For those folks living in marginally cold areas, the electric seat heaters help in lieu of a real heater...... in the frostbite area, the electric seat heaters should be required by law in addition to a real heater!!

You can find them several places.....used to be a guy advertising on Club Cobra that had a pretty good price for the seat heaters.
http://www.cobraheat.com/warmseats.html

......but I'm looking for air conditioned seats!!!!
mike in tucson

This an old thread but maybe it is better to add to it rather than start a new thread. I have recently mounted a small heater in my '29 roadster by making a (hidden) one-of-a-kind bracket to fit the Vintage Air Compact Heater to my aluminum plate firewall which covers the hole made when I cut out the big trans tunnel. The question here is where to put the hoses? The installation diagram shows one hose running along the right bank valve cover (facing forward) but the other lower hose going forward to the water pump. On my fendered '29 A that hose would lay on the inner panel where the hood edge would come down and be very close to the header. I have looked for pictures of roadsters with heater hoses but have not found any yet. The question has two parts.

1. If I bundle the two hoses together along the side of the valve cover, is there any sort of bracket to hold the hoses to keep them from contacting the header?

2. There needs to be some sort of "Y" at the water pump, any ideas for that pipe.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

Don, remember that you dont have to use hose for the entire length....a section of metal tube (not pipe) can be used. You could also take the water lines downward to the frame, run parallel to the frame, and then enter the cab at some point low on the firewall.

One heater hose is the supply and one is the return (duh). The one on the intake manifold is the supply to the heater.
The return does not have to be to the water pump, it can be to the radiator.

Wow this is an old post, but I'll be happy to see what you did to fix your situation Don. And thanks Robot for your input.

Hard to believe that somebody from PA started this thread about the lack of a heater. I'm from PA and my 34 has no heater, and yes it can be chilly sometimes in Winter. But have yet to feel the need to install either an electric or a standard heater. Plus there is no room under the dash for an add-on heater. The A/C unit is A/C only (no heat no defrost), maybe one day I will replace that unit with a heat/air/defrost combo unit. But since I plan to retire to Florida one day, I might just bite the bullet and keep the car as is.

Heater . . . A/C . . . whazzat?