Technical How well do the original heaters in a 56 F100 work?

I am looking at the parts that came with the 56 F100 and I am trying to decide on a direction to head with this thing. It's getting an under dash AC unit, but the heater is where I am undecided. It's in decent shape, so rebuilding it wouldn't be a big deal.

It has a big m***ive contraption that goes under the dash. It does have defrost and that's kinda why I am looking at trying to rebuild it. My buddy had a 56 F100 in high school, but I can't remember us ever being overall toasty riding around in it. Memories are deceiving though.

Anyone spent the time to restore the original heater in an F100? Worth a **** or should I just buy something a little more modern ?

 

When I added the ac, I just added the heat in that unit. Fit under the dash nicely and did not take up near the real estate. Th factory heater looked cool, but did sit lower, etc.

 

My only drawback was the defrost function. I just looked and Vintage Air doesn't show the heat option any more...

 

Apples to Orange but both the 56 and 57 Chevy sedans (stock heaters) will chase you out from the heat they put out. I don’t see why a smaller cab couldn’t do the same if not better.

 

Good to know. I'm gonna pull the heater box and ducting out of my storage area and take a look. I try and get a plan together, because it will make a difference on what gets welded up on the firewall.

 

I don't recall ford heaters being wimpy as long as the core isn't plugged up from too much stop leak for bad radiators. All of them I've owned would blow you out of the car or truck if ran full-tilt..

 

His would have been 6V also, so the fan probably wasn't spinning very fast.

 

I'll add that if you have the 'base' one knob heater with no temp control (it's either all on or off) adding a control valve inline with the feed hose will allow you to adjust the temp. Ford used those in the mid-'60 Trucks (and probably some cars) and used a cable control. If you have the 'Select Aire' version, there should be a vacuum valve for controlling the temp.

 

This is a current listing for the universal heat and air. It also has defrost. The stock units will work enough for comfort but the blower motors have been hard to get for a long time. Replacement cores didn't exist a few years back so had a local rad shop cut a core and glue my ends on it. I went through all that because I didn't want to add Air to my visual package. Probably not the smartest thing I've ever done. Don't think I'd do it again.
Vintage Air 68000-VUX-A Gen II CoMPAc Heat And Cool

 

P.S. your old unit won't leak until you're finished with the build and you're a Hundred miles from home. Then you'll get that sweet smell of antifreeze and the windshield will fog up on the inside.

 

owned alot of them and if all parts were good , heater motor 12 volts and defrost ducts ans so on they worked great ! but if youre adding air youll have to replace it anyway the air unit will take up the space it occupies

 

Can't speak for your f100, but the base heater I have in both my 59 El Camino and ranchero, which are similar to yours, are as good as the thermostat you run. With a 180 I'm hot, with a 160 I'm warm.

 

One more thing about the Select Aire heaters and how the temp is controlled. Ford used a mechanical/vacuum system with a cable control to a vacuum valve, and the vacuum valve operated the water valve. Up though '56, this valve was located on the intake manifold but was known for failing so you'd see a manual valve installed it's place a lot of the time. In '57 Ford moved the water valve to the heater box but kept the same mechanical/vacuum control. You need a vacuum source connected to the heater box on both of these. If you switch to a mechanical-only water temp valve, remove the valve(s) in the heater box and just get a longer control cable for the new valve.

I had a '58 Ford that I got as a roller, no motor-trans. Somebody had ripped the vacuum hose for the heater out of the firewall before I got it. I couldn't get the damn heater to work... except right before I shifted at about 6K rpm. The heater would give out a weird 'squeak' and I'd get a blast of heat for about 5 seconds. The high RPM would overpower the valve briefly. Installed the vacuum hose, had all the heat I wanted... but I froze my *** off for most of a winter before figuring it out.

 

I have a mechanical valve mounted to my inner fenders

 

I have owned a '54 Chevy 3100 pickup for 30yrs. in Denver. Have always had the stock heater w/defrost.
Converted to a 12v motor. Never had a problem not having enough volume or hot heat, even in the coldest
weather. Was my daily driver for 10 years as well.

 

Growing up on the farm, we had a 56 Ford truck to haul with. That was the water truck for the cattle in the winter. never was real good. Same with the 59 GMC. When it's 10 degrees, they weren't enough. I had a 57 Ford fairlane that was real toasty. Was the difference in the way a car was built or was the heater a better unit? Both of the Ford's were y blocks. ??? If it was my truck, it would have the Vintage Air evap unit. They have gone up in price for a Gen 2 to around $570 plus a control but that's doing it the best you can and only once in my mostly useless opinion.

 

Only for about 4 days...

I was looking at the Vintage Air replacement.
I hate the looks of the cheesy plastic ductwork on the Gen II stuff, which is why we were looking into the under dash unit.

 

If I remember right the blower actually pulls air through the core so being clean is a big deal.

 

I've kept that heater control valve he mentions on my Ebay watch list for years because it has the oem part number on it. It's a simple cable controlled valve that is easy to find locally or on line and is pretty well universal for rigs that don't have a control valve. FORD E & F SERIES & BRONCO HEATER VALVE C3UZ18495A YG133 STYLE, 1 YEAR WARRANTY | eBay

My father in law gave me a 56 long bed half ton with a six and automatic that I now wish I had kept and turned into a short bed. I never drove it enough to know if the heater put out enough heat to keep you comfortable on days like today but have to think the cab was sealed a lot better than the cab on my 48. You haven't froze your **** off until you drove a 48 Chev pickup without good door weather strips in 20 Degree Texas weather. Or 10 below Washington weather for that matter.

 

We have members on here who actually do drive their cars in all seasons and all weather than just have show cars.

 

I have the original heater in my 56. Of course I don't drive it in the salty winter but I have had it out in November. It does blow hot air but is really more like a add on heater for a tractor or combine. Mine is the standard heater which just takes air from inside and blows it right back in the cab- thru the ducts to the floor or defrost. Pretty basic. The higher cost heater used air taken in from the right cowl vent- still pretty basic. Anyway, when I used it in about 40 degree weather- you could defiantly feel the heat. I left my wife in it when I went in a store for a while and she never complained of being cold.

 

We’ll keep in mind even if the heater gets warm and the defroster works, it won’t be like a modern car. Modern stuff since the 70’s? Or so, run the defroster function through the AC part of the system so warm dry air defrosts quicker. I have the heater/defroster in my ‘57 Chevy pu, it does work, but takes time to do it’s thing. It’ll be as warm/hot as the Tstat you run on the engine.

 

I was looking at this one.
https://www.vintageair.com/heater-only/#

 

Besides, we’ve learned salt is bad for the blood pressure

 

Hey Chris , my daily driver 56 Chevy PU has the original heater. I fire it up at 0 dark thirty and roll down to the corner light at that point I turn the heater control to defrost. It does a good job of keeping the windshield clear as I make my way to the freeway. I have an 8 mile drive to work and just about the time I hit the offramp I start to feel warmth. On longer winter drives it works just fine . I haven't driven my OT C10 much as it isn't quite finished yet but I'm not really impressed with the aftermarket air and heat just yet....

 

The stock heater is great. I will be retaining the original in my 54 f100. The best thing you can do for the heat and the AC is insulate the cab really well. Keep the cool or warm air inside. It makes a tremendous difference.

 

I can tell you the heater in my Dads 1956 F100 with the 312 T-bird special would run you out of the truck in a heartbeat! He also always ran a 195 degree thermostat! Personal experience!




Bones

 

Heat our cars! You do know we broke a record cold a few years ago in our state….30 degrees below zero! In my books ….that’s cold!




Bones