I took my heater box apart to clean it up and paint it. To my surprise it still had the original heater core in it. I figured it would have been changed at least once in its life time. It is dated Feb 4 1957.



I will take down and have it tested at a radiator shop or possibly re-cored if necessary.

The blower motor works on both speeds, but I can't seperate the motor from the front cover. If anyone knows how to do this please help me out.


Any help or positive comments welcomed.

 

Perfect! You put pics up +1!! I too have the same heater for my 59', Im curious though, Did your truck come with the winshield defroster vents? I have the flex tubing to route the tubing but i look under my dash all i got is slots of where the air comes out....Was the housing to attach the hose cardboard or plastic or metal??....Sorry im babbling along...but ill keep on eye on this thread

 

Falcoon, my 59'has the optional Fresh Aire heater, and your truck looks as if it does, also.Protruding through the front housing,and aimed at the passengers knees, are two acorn nuts,which I'd assume would release the motor from the housing.Do you have the factory shop manual?It does have an exploded drawing, though it is not that detailed.There is not any drawing for the standard heater, (though there may be one in the 57' manual) but since they both use the same blower-motor,I'm guessing that mounting would be similar.



Windsor,there should be two elongated, Y-shaped, defrost outlets that the hoses attach to, one for each side.They are each held to the under side of the dash by two pressed-metal nuts.I say should,because they were made of essentially cardboard,and are usually deteriorated or missing after 50 years.Mine are, luckily,in-place, but mis-shaped,warped actually,so that there was a poor seal where they contacted the back of the dash.I corrected that by sealing the gap with 100mph tape, similar to duct tape.Defrosting is much better now.

I recently saw that there are replacement, plastic defrost outlets being sold somewhere, can't remember where I saw them.Check your vendor catalogs.I'm gonna grab a set, in case they're not available for very long, as is sometimes the case for reproduction parts for our less-popular Fridge trucks.

I know I keep harping on it, but it bears repeating frequently - Get a factory shop manual immediately you buy any old vehicle.Most questions will not even need to be asked, since they are usually covered.Generic Chilton or Haynes manuals are not adequate substitutes for the Ford Shop Manual,which is readily available. Fifty dollars is not much money for a hard copy,on disc they are about 30.00.No offense,but if you can't afford this small outlay,you really can't afford any classic vehicle.

Steve

 

+1 On the manual, I got the cd-rom version the second day I got the truck...So wouldnt you know it shows the diagram of the heater and current of air passing threw the system.

Well looks like my Heater controls are missing ....... So I have no way of turning on/off,Controlling the flaps,or speed......But Like you said buzzard were not the popular trucks and finding parts are a challenge

 

ibuzzard, yes my truck came with " magic air" I believe is what ford called it. The acorns are only covers and then there is a regular nut under them. I removed both nuts and the motor would not release. I put the nuts on loosely and tapped them lightly with a hammer , they did not move but started to mess up the threads so I quit and just put the nuts back on.





These pics are from a 1959 that was on ebay a while back, I downloaded the pics for refferance for my truck.

 

windsor8689 I have not seen the parts under the dash where the heater tubes connect to the heater in quite a while, but I believe mine are made of thin steel. Most of my parts are at mt parents house where the truck was diassembled many many years ago. My plan is to get it all to my house as soon as the weather gets nice enough.

 

Those must be what releases the motor from the outer housing, yours' must be rusted.Shoot it periodically with a penetrant such as PB Blaster ,do another task/project while it soaks.The exploded drawing does show some type of flat plate/collar between the housing/front cover, and the motor,but it's not a large, detailed drawing,so difficult to say it's function ,could just be a rubber gasket for vibration dampening. I will check my Parts/Accessories Catalogue to see if there's a better drawing, but it has to be those two nuts that release the motor.

Steve

 

That small "plate", between the heater housing/cover and the motor is indeed, nothing more than a gasket, so I'm convinced you must remove the motor by removing those two nuts.Soak it as long as it takes, checking it periodically.Be patient.Or be impatient, like me, and spend 2-3 times as much as you otherwise would have!

 

Thanks for the info ibuzzard, I have sprayed it with penetrating oil, I will spray it again and be patiant, not in a hurry.

I notice you change your avatar alot, some of them are a little freaky lol!

 

Yep,I'm a freak.

 

So comparing the 2, this one has "ventilate" and thats the only thing....would it still work??

 

That looks like a control panel from an earlier car,but it just might function identically if you've got the correct cables.Try it.

 

That is the control out of a '57 or '58. It is identical to mine.

windsor8689 if your truck did not come stock with magic air the cables may not hook up correctly.

 

I know that most controls/***** are white for 59/60, black for 57/58.That "ventilation" is what threw me off,as mine says "heat" and "defrost".Some 50's cars used a similar control panel.

 

I figured cables could be modified....but the ventilation means just air passing through from the cowl into the heater box out the defrosters/box. According to the manual i close the fresh air portion with seperate controls (which I have).. as oppose of leaving the "ventilation" air will continue to flow?....does that sound right?