Seems like people took them to a radiator shop and had the tubes modified to be like original. You could do it yourself but I'd pressure test afterwards.

 

I was going to suggest the same thing, but you beat me to it.

 

That would sure make things easy, but the last real radiator shop within 100 miles shut up about 3 years ago. I've done enough sweat soldering on copper that I'm confident that I could probably modify it myself, but it would be a bit of work. The tubes exit the new core in the end of the tank and then make a hard 90* bend. That would have then going out the side of the housing and then heading for the firewall. I suppose it would work, but I'd have to bore new holes in the firewall and that's not going to happen. The original core has the tubes exiting through the back side of the tank and going straight out the back of the heater housing. Capping the old tubes would be no problem, but getting new ones put in the correct location without wrecking the tank might be a challenge. I'm a little nervous about cutting and soldering on a brand new $50 heater core.

But like I said, I'm hoping that the OE piece is OK and this won't even be necessary. It looks pretty good with all its original paint, doesn't indicate that it has been leaking, and held water when I rinsed it out, but it wasn't hooked up when I got the truck and does show evidence of minor freeze or high pressure damage. The tanks are very slightly swelled. I guess I'll find out soon enough. Muriatic acid will liquify anything inside of there that isn't copper or solder. If a 50-year-old core can take that and still pass a pressure test, it'll probably last forever.

 

The one I suggested to you from proliance I guess is 51 unique then? Because the 399406 fit perfect in mine. What did you use Doug? Hmm it seems like the more we talk about these dumb things we are opening up more questions than we are answering.

Have you tried calling Proliance and asking them if they have the one you need? Is there any kind of a number on your old one? Just a suggestion.

http://www.pliii.com/28-radiator-replacement-cores

 

OK, I picked up the blower motor tonight that I had ordered to see if it would fit in my '52 Magic Air fresh air heater. Autozone could not get the PM354 part number that had been suggested here, but they could get an Everco/Four Seasons 35576 which is the equivalent. This is what I got:



I knew by the dimensions in the catalog that it was going to be a bit longer than the OE 6 volt motor. The length of the original through the motor housing not including the bearing cups is about 2 1/2" and the 35576 is 2 7/8". The squirrel cage did not sit anywhere close to all the way down on the shaft on the OE motor, though, so I was hoping that I'd be able to install the squirrel cage down 3/8" or so farther on the shaft of the longer motor and still make it work. Here is how the OE motor and the 35576 compare side by side:



The mounting studs are the same spacing and even the same thread size, so the only real obstacle to bolting it directly into the housing was the stud length at the shaft end. There cannot be a protruding stud at the front at all or it will interfere with the squirrel cage. I removed the studs one at a time to keep the motor from falling apart and trimmed them to length. Problem solved. With that attended to, it pretty much bolted right in. Here is the motor in the housing with the squirrel cage in place:



What I was trying to capture in this pic is that with the squirrel cage all the way down on the shaft to the shoulder, the cage sits just slightly inside the housing. You can see it towards the top of the pic. That's a good sign as the blower housing sits flush with the front of the heater case once it's all put together. Obviously, the shaft is way too long, but that could be trimmed off. I didn't want to make any other modifications to the motor itself in case I decide against using it and need to return it.

The last thing to do was assemble the blower housing to the heater case and see how it all fits. Well, it clears. Barely. JUST barely. There is a rivet in the heater case that is directly above the rim of the squirrel cage and that is the closest point. There is only about .020" or so clearance between the squirrel cage and the rivet head. Here's a pic of that:



If you look carefully, you can see that there just isn't much of a gap between the squirrel cage and the case. The rivet is the lighter orangish smudge in the rust towards the top of the cage. I went ahead and applied some juice to it and it does run, but I had no doubt that it would. The motor speed and airflow are sufficient.

But there are a couple details and cautions here that should be mentioned. The original motor had an 1/8" thick cardboard insulator between it and the housing to cushion it and isolate vibration. Skip ahead a bit and you can see it in the next picture. I did not have that insulator installed during this mockup. It would be impossible to install it without pushing the squirrel cage into contact with the case. Not having it might not seem like a big deal at first, but when I disassembled it, I noticed this:



Notice the light spot on the end of the bearing cup? The paint is missing. I found it, though. It's right here:



It got rubbed off in the dimple of the housing. This means that the motor isn't sitting flat in the housing like it's supposed to but is instead only making contact in that one spot at the very end.

So in my opinion, this particular part number will technically fit and work, but I don't think it's an ideal solution. First of all, I think that the life of the motor, the mounting studs, or both will be reduced by the fact that it only contacts the case in that one tiny spot. I also think that it would tend to vibrate a lot more than an OE motor and be noisier. I suppose that the dimple could be made deeper until the motor sits in the case right, but I'm not ready to go there yet and it still wouldn't be enough to allow installing the cardboard insulator. Beyond the mounting issues, I'm also concerned about the squirrel cage clearance. Once the motor breaks in and gets a little wear in the thrust bearing, I can easily see the shaft and cage walking out far enough that the cage will rub that rivet. That just wouldn't be good at all. The blower would also be more efficient if the cage would sit down farther so that it was centered in the air outlets and defroster duct. Right now it is offset from the outlets a little towards the case. You can see it in the 3rd picture. Also keep in mind that this motor is an Everco brand. A different brand might be built slightly differently and may fit better or worse than this particular one.

I'm going to hold on to this motor for just a bit, though. If nothing else is found, the housing could be modded to make it fit better. I'm going to try to order in the PM376 tomorrow that Ross mentioned a few posts back. It's only 2 1/2" long and looks like a perfect fit. I think I found a good source for it. They only want $40 which is MUCH better than the $60-$100 I've found it for elsewhere. If they can get it in a reasonable amount of time, then this could be the ultimate answer. Stay tuned.....

 

Good deal! Is your motor a new or rebuilt? I ask because that looks different than mine, which has the same p/n. See picture, the housing lugs that stick out on yours weren't on mine, not sure if that would matter, but any decrease in length would help.

 

You are getting so close and that's great. I don't know if yo uhad a chance to mount and run th eheater with the motor in it but what I experienced with that was a substantial amount of noise that the motor made because it was rubbing on the casing.

Also, I don't know if there are different manufacturers making these motors and the stud nuts or dimples are slightly larger from one to the next. But what you are talking about here and what I experienced was something that was very close, but just that 1/16 too long.

Great work. Hopefully you can find one that really fits and doesn't rub on the case!

 

Hey BOR, that's some great info and research you have going on.

Did you happen to see Denny's (firstrider) post about the motor that he used in his resto? It's post #33 found here: Magic Air Heater Cores - Page 3 - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums

He stated that the motor is SVF part # 8301-CW.

 

well to get back on topic.. i got the heater working right the wires needed to be reversed. red wire is ground black is power for anyone whos doing this mod in the future.

 

I've had a lot going on and haven't updated my 12V Magic Air motor research here in awhile, but I've looked at a few more motors and have come to some conclusions.

The next motor I looked at was the PM376/35595. Ross scrounged up this number by the dimensions of the old motor and it looked to be a good fit. None of the local discount chains could even cross reference that number and most of the internet suppliers showed it as out of stock. The ones that did show it in stock wanted around $100 for it. I finally tried cross-referencing it on the NAPA website and amazingly, they had it available for only $40. Their number was BK 6551687 and I was pleased to see that they could have it next day. I went ahead and had my local store order one in. When it showed up and I pulled it out of the box, I was initially excited and thought I had what I was looking for. The motor was the same manufacturer and design as the Everco 35576 I showed a picture of a couple posts back. The housing length, shaft size, and shaft length were perfect and it was reversible also, so rotation direction wasn't an issue.

But there was a problem. The mounting studs were on the front or shaft side of the motor and the Magic Air mounts the motor from the back end. On the 35576 I tried before, The studs stuck out both ends and actually went all the way through the case and held the motor together. On this motor, however, the studs were just on the front side and were spot welded to the face of the case. The motor was permanently crimped together on the back end and there were no provisions for studs at all on the back. I went through several scenarios in my mind for making it work, but they all required either welding or extensive fabrication. That's more effort than a simple motor replacement should require, so I passed and didn't buy it. I think that this is another situation where a different manufacturer might use through-bolts that could be reversed and allow this number to work, but with a special order part, it's almost impossible to know exactly who manufactured the part you're getting or what it will look like until it's in your hands.

The next thing I looked into was the motor that Denny (firstrider) used in his Magic Air. He used a part# 8301-CW motor from Sacramento Vintage Ford. The price was $60. Not inexpensive, but not stupid money either and the pic on their website looked promising. Although I was hesitant to pull the trigger on a mail order part that I wasn't sure of and couldn't easily return, but it looked like the best possibility so I went ahead and ordered it. Here's what I got:



And here are a couple compared to the OE 6V motor:



The case length and diameter are almost exactly the same and the mounting studs are on the right end, although they are one size larger than the originals. The only problem that creates is a need for new mounting nuts and enlarging the holes a bit in the flat washers. Not really a big deal. The shaft size is correct, although it is shorter. In fact if it was any shorter, it would be too short. But it is long enough. Here's the new motor in the housing with the squirrel cage in place:



Notice that shaft sits about 1/8" inside the hub. There is still plenty of shaft engagement in the hub, though, and the set screw is fully contacting the shaft. 1/4" longer would have been better, but this is easily workable. Here's the entire assembly with the other half of the case in place:



It's a little tough to see, but there is plenty of clearance with this motor between the squirrel cage and the case.

And so that's where it is. I credit Denny with submitting the solution and providing his pics and info. I just verified it. The SVF 8301-CW is, in my opinion, the best solution at this time. It's a good fit without major modifications, the price is acceptable, and it's easy enough to get. I ordered mine on Friday and had it the following Tuesday from 2/3rd's of the way across the country. It even looks the same as the old motor. I looked all over the box and the motor for some indication of the manufacturer or the vendor that SVF purchased it from, but there was nothing but SVF's markings anywhere. I would have preferred to have come up with an OE motor from some application that anyone could purchase locally or from more than one vendor, but for the time being I'm just satisfied that there's a motor available at all. And that's enough of that! On to the heater core......

 

Well there you go! Good detective work all around! I'd be willing to bet it's a Siemens or Everco motor made to SVG's specs.

Everyone bookmark this thread for future reference! I think it covers all Bonus Built and even most mid-50's heater fan motor questions.

 

I don't know what the number was on the one I have. The old man at the radiator shop bought it and soldered my tanks onto it.

 

That's excellent news BOR. Congratulations!

Just one question though:

Are you going to use your switch from your 6 volt set up? I know there are two types of pre 56 6 volt pull switches. One is straight contact and the other has a resistor for the lower speed. Or do you plan on converting to the 56 12 volt switch - which is available for about $25-$30?

I'm also wondering about those of us who are using the variable speed, rheostatic 6 volt switch (from the 48-50 control panel) on our later model (51/52 Magic Air)?

The direct contact type - which is almost exactly the same as a headlight switch- will work, but the ones with the reducers and rheostats won't. So, it doesn't quite "cover" all the questions! You gotta have a switch that works with your motor.

Any thoughts?