1925 Dodge Sedan Back Seat Heater

[cahartley]

I have the heat exchanger, control lever and floor grill.

What I don't have is the actuating mechanism for the heater louvers or how the control lever regulates the dampers.

Also, is ALL the exhaust routed through the heat exchanger or is it a parallel setup?

I NEED this to actually work like I need an extra hole in my head but I like things to work......

[cahartley]

I managed to find out the heater was a product of the "Bovey Automobile Heater Co".........and that's about all....... :confused: .......so obviously an add-on.......albeit kind of a neat one.

[Pete K.]

I don't know about the firm "Bovey", but I have a cast iron heat exchanger out of an early Dodge brothers car. The control rod has a detent "jaw" to set the amount of heat sent through the unit from exhaust pipe. All the grills I've seen have a hand operated sliding affair in the cabin to adjust heat flow. Usually a round outflow grill in rear floor that part of it turned to adjust air and a rectangular sliding type slotted grill in the front floor. Inside the cast iron heat exchanger has a butterfly valve like a carburetor would have. A pretty hefty thing at best. I do believe the hot air heaters were offered by the dealers back then, some were added later from the independent parts jobbers. I don't think Dodge actually made any of these heaters.

Edited August 11, 2013 by Pete K. (see edit history)

[cahartley]

Thanks Pete.......

I forgot to photograph the control lever thingy.......but it, somehow, opens and closes the louvers below the heat exchanger.

I think I'll just forget about hacking up the rear floorboard and let it be.

The grill isn't in the best of shape anyway so I'm afraid someone might step through it if I had in installed anyway.

Just today I took the Dodge and 4 passengers to a church event about 11 miles south of here. I would have hated for someone to have stepped through the grill....... :eek:

[Pete K.]

If you keep your car on the road all year, as I do with my '31 Model A pickup, You'll be glad you have some sort of heat going on. The Ford uses an original Autolite manifold heater which is a lifesaver in Oct.--on thru Spring here North of Boston around the Cape Ann area. My '25 Dodge is an open touring, no windows (no curtains either) and NO heater! They DID put that front heater grill in a strange place, right at the passenger's feet albeit nowhere else to put it I guess. I just can't picture myself wearing one of those huge raccoon coats with a hat pulled down over my head. I think the Dodge shall be a fair weather driver when I finally get it on the road.

[cahartley]

Pete......I have a '29 Model A and just THURSDAY cut the firewall for the heat control....... ........the car had an Autolite heater manifold so I bought a "look-alike" heater on ebay to fit.

After installing new points and condenser this evening I took it for a 9 mile ride........opening the heater flapper is like lighting a torch.......

[Pete K.]

ah HA! You DO know how well those crazy things work! I don't know what body style your "A" is, but in my pickup, I have to roll the doggone windows down on a December day when the "blow torch" Autolite door is open. It's immediate heat too, which is a good thing. I installed one of those aftermarket oil filler/breather flex tubes and ran the breather tube down to the hole in the top of the drivers side motor mount, just to insure no fumes spoil my day. Having your engine splash pans in place make a huge difference too. Unfortunately, my heater for the Dodge was pulled off a parts car somewhere along the way and it's borderline junk. If I was to spend countless hours restoring it, I don't think it would come close to the Ford heater. I also have another Model A, (for years an on-going project), has an "OTWELL" heater. It's a strange bird, whereas it is one single piece of cast iron, making up both, the manifold and the heat exchanger. The trick is to have the right heater DOOR for these type of heaters. By luck I have them. Most of them stayed on the cars being junked, but the engines/heater manifolds were saved somehow. The reproductions they sell today don't really fit nor work as efficient as the real McCoy's

[cahartley]

Both the heater manifold and the heater are old.......and you're right about the nearly instant heat.

Why waste time waiting for entire engine to get warm......

My A is a Tudor.

My '27 T is a Tudor as well.........my favorite body style.

Might as well throw in my '19 Touring T and get it over with.

A year ago last December on a 40ishº day I drove it about 17 miles, one way, to visit an old friend and have lunch.

I was quite comfortable behind the windshield and the heat coming through the pedal openings helped too.

[Pete K.]

Well, Here's the little truck with the big heater. It's sort of like an enclosed bumper car. Luckily, the Autolite heater cover comes right off when it's summer. I sure do like your set of cars!! Hope you keep the "A" tudor the way it is. Looks great! I thought I'd better insert a photo of my '25 Dodge so as the moderator doesn't kick us off and tell us to scoot on over to Fordbarn.com. Old Fords are fun.

[cahartley]

Beautiful Pete!.......

LOVE the black and RED A truck! and the wood wheels on the Touring.......OLD cars just don't look "old" with anything else........

[Pete K.]

The truck is a cleaned up WWII revamp (at the time), with '35 Ford wires on it. No one could get the 19" tires during the war. Brush painted, a farm truck out of New Hampshire originally. The "baloney skin" spare is the 19" factory original. My real spare is in the bed. I still keep the old N.H. inspection sticker on the windshield, along with the Mass. sticker. If I ever have a "T", your 1919 tourer would be the one I'd want. It is really nice.