Harrison Heater

[pfarber]

Here's an official CJ3 part manual photo. Note how much of the passenger foot well is eaten up by the heater. All this space was recovered when the Willys designed heater was put in place:

Here is the Willys heater.. notice that other than the fresh air inlet at the side the passenger foot well is pretty open, and this heater includes defrosters, baffles, and a fresh air option:

This is why the Military heater was short lived, and was used as a quick drop in solution.

[retro-roco]

Well, it seems the plot thickens...

Here is an interesting ebay auction, by a seller who seems to know his heater history...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1941-1942-1946-1947-Chevrolet-Super-Deluxe-heater-Restored-/150972059441

His heater:


his description says:

This item is a genuine factory correct, model #H-02-46 / 1946-1948 Chevrolet Super Deluxe heater. This heater is the original factory 6 volt. Although specific to the 1946-48 Chevrolets, this same heater was first introduced in the later half of the 1941 Chevrolet model year and was available from mid 1941 and all during the 1942 Chevrolet model years, when it was called a model #H-173. The only difference being that the H-173 was painted Chevrolet rose tan, whereby the 1946-48 H-02-46 you see in my ebay ad was painted a textured bronze / grey. Therefore, this heater will fit perfectly and look great in all Chevrolet automobiles from 1941-1948.

Please note, that this heater will NOT fit 1941-1946 trucks, but will fit all models of 1947-48 Chevrolet trucks.

As you can see from my ebay photos, this heater has been totally restored to show car condition. All components have been rigorously tested and you now can be assured that this heater will provide you with a reliable source of warm driving comfort for many years to come.

This heater has a very revolutionary design. For the first time, this heater is equipped with a built in windshield defroster blower feature that is operated by the damper control knobs you see in my photos on the front panel which allows the operator to divert heat to the floor, or to the windshield or a combination of both. Note the bakelite damper control knobs and the aluminum Chevrolet directional trim on the front panel which have been restored to a bright shine and new color detailing

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO MAY ALSO BE INTERESTED, I also stock the correct factory dash mounted 3 speed heater switch for this heater. All 41-48 Chevrolets have holes predrilled in the lower lip of your dash between the steering wheel and driver's door to mount his heater switch in less than five minutes. Price on this factory heater switch is $95.00. I also stock a correct set of underdash windshield defroster vent outlets. Left side and right side sold as a matching pair for $125.00. The switch and pair of defroster vent outlets are not part of this auction but are available to purchase separately after you purchase this heater in my ebay ad. Just tell the seller that you want to purchase these extra items and I will add the cost of them to your ebay invoice for one convenient payment. THERE IS NO EXTRA SHIPPING COST IF THE SWITCH AND DEFROSTER VENT OUTLETS ARE PACKED IN THE SAME BOX WITH THE HEATER.

If you are looking for a very powerful, upgrade 1941-1948 Super Deluxe heater that already has a built-in windshield defroster blower feature to compliment the restoration of your vintage Chevy, this is the one you have been waiting for. Own it today while you have this rare opportunity.

My 1948 Chevrolet Master parts list also lists one "Super Deluxe" hot water Heater Unit for 1942-48 All Passenger cars, part number 986062.

I also came across a CL ad this morning for a 1942 Chevrolet Two Door Fleetside Special Deluxe. I just talked to the current owner, who bought the car from the original owner in 1988. She was a single woman, never married, who bought the car new in 1942, with all the dealer installed bells and whistles, including turn signals, radio upgrade, and under dash Super Deluxe heater. The heater is visible here:


http://bn.craigslist.org/cto/3610425339.html

The current owner says he knew the previous owner, as she was friends of his mother. He indicates that she bought the car, and then did very little to it other than maintenance until 1969, when she parked it and bought a new car. He didn't see to know for sure if the engine was locked up when she parked it, or if that happened over time as it sat in the barn...

[pfarber]

VERY Interesting!

But when I look at the Chevy Master Parts list for 1929-1941 (cars) here is the heater listing:

From that list we can rule out 985519 (its under the front seat), 985712 (front and rear.. nope), 985660 (SUPER DELUXE! Shows promise!, but read on), 985661 (One a DELUXE heater, doesn't match), 985659 (nope, under the front seat).

So we can look at 985660.. its a 1941 part, but looking

But the 1957 edition of the Master Parts list shows no part number 985660 -

You get a single 41 heater core - and its for under the seat. Not what we are looking at. And the heater PN 985660 is never cross referenced to a harrsion part number.

And to be honest, I unless I see a bill of sale with item listing as heater, I will not believe anything anyone ever says was original equipment on a car. Plus the statment the first seller makes that the heater will not fit in a truck is hard to swallow. The Closed cab is essentially the 1/2 ton truck cab.. and the military heater fits pretty good.

[retro-roco]

Maybe I wasn't clear. I didn't say anything about the heater being indicated for 1941. the listing specifically says 1942-48. Why would you expect it to be included in a master parts book that only lists through 1941??

please see attached...

Chevy 1942-48 heater

[pfarber]

Here's a list of 'SUPER DELUXE HEATERS' I could find in about 30 minutes:

Then look at this... look familiar?

Just simple DELUXE heaters are more numerous.

[pfarber]

Maybe I wasn't clear. I didn't say anything about the heater being indicated for 1941. the listing specifically says 1942-48. Why would you expect it to be included in a master parts book that only lists through 1941??

please see attached...

Chevy 1942-48 heater.jpg

From the seller:

"this same heater was first introduced in the later half of the 1941 Chevrolet model year and was available from mid 1941 and all during the 1942 Chevrolet model years, when it was called a model #H-173"

Master parts catalog shows ONE possible match... but no Harrison number. I guess that's the secret decoder ring we need... the Harrison to GM part number x-ref.

[pfarber]

"Here is an interesting ebay auction, by a seller who seems to know his heater history...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1941-1942-1946- ... 0972059441"

Sold for over $420 ! E-bay fight!

[retro-roco]

The latter half of '41 (at least Aug) would have marked the introduction of the '42 model year. Regardless, the image that I posted above, from a Master parts book that actually covers the time period in question (42 - 48) lists one super deluxe heater that fits passenger cars from 42 - 48. I have posted a photo of an ebay auction, in which the seller posted his heater as a '46-'48 super deluxe, and also posted the tag number which lists 46. I also posted pics of a supposedly original '42 chevy with a super deluxe heater. Whether it can be confirmed as a true 42 is immaterial, as it matches the one shown on ebay, and both fit the ONE category from my Master parts manual which shows ONE super deluxe heater part number covering '42-48.

This PROVES that the bosses likely came into being sometime during '41 or '42...

This will be my last post on this subject.

[pfarber]

I will agree that there was a civvy version of the heater. That part is undeniable. And I also agree that the basic stamping was used in the Military heater... but again, YT-4336 shows no boss. None. Not even a question of a bad photo hiding it... its simply not there.

Unless that photo can be shown to be wrong, its the single document we have of a proper, Military style Harrison heater installed in a CCKW. And there is no boss. I really don't care what cars in 1941 had in them. The heaters they use have the boss, and YT-4336 clearly shows that is not correct.

Even if the new timeline is:

Pimped out Model H173 heater with baffles, defroster and boss THEN the Military heater WITHOUT THE BOSS, then a 45 version again with the defroster, baffles and boss, then the CJ version WITH the boss but WITHOUT the defroster and baffles... the bottom line is the Military version HAD NO BOSS.

Please show me where there is even the slightest hint of the boss:

[pfarber]

In case the above scan is not clear enough:

tmheaterclear.PNG (142.76 KiB) Viewed 11075 times

Still no boss.

[pfarber]

I found this:

http://g503.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=155488

And if I follow it correctly it seems that this is Gopans (Bend Me Over and fill me with your CCKW knowledge) truck. Its also suggested that this is an NOS heater.

OK, look at this and spot the error (hint, its not the boss on the heater... its something simpler):

WRONG.PNG (240.05 KiB) Viewed 11075 times

I'll post in two or three days so everyone can pour through their copy of YT-4336 and master parts books.

[retro-roco]

Paul,

Knowing your insistence on literal interpretation of the installation manual, and the photos it includes (which clearly show no boss, in an undated photo, and which we know has NOT been doctored, except perhaps the gear shift lever??); you must be referring to the fact that this heater is installed in a closed cab, and from other photos that I've seen of Joel's truck, I don't recall him having the under hood battery heater!

Both are in direct conflict with the instructions and photos in the manual. It says for installation with the auxiliary battery heater, and even shows the under hood heater. The photo of the cab interior also appears to be an open cab, and not a closed cab...OMG! Or did you spot something else??

[pfarber]

No, not the closed cab thing.. I would assume they installed it it any truck it would fit in to. That truck is so screwed up that I don't expect anything to be period correct (silicon brake fluid? really?) but the statement is that its an NOS out of the box CCKW heater kits that is installed. Look at whats in the kit, and look at the photo and find the difference.

The provenance of any CCKW part has to start with actual TMs of the era. Of course they could be wrong, but until proven by another TM then you have to go with the official period documentation. I'll solve the mystery tomorrow.. so tune in again... same bat time, same bat channel!

[retro-roco]

So you don't think that's an original heater switch? BTW, So you're convinced that that GM kept two sets of heater housing dies, so they could continue producing military heaters without bosses, even AFTER they added bosses for the civilian heater housings? Ok, got it.

[pfarber]

I cracked open my heater today to see if there was any sort of stamping that could help. THERE WAS!

On the fan motor shell:

The complete text is:

Delco Appliance 476(5?)29
Rochester, NY USA

That's it. But it IS a motor number... but it didn't cross reference with the two Master Parts manuals I can get to online.