kingrudy Posted October 24, 2020 Share Posted October 24, 2020 I have noticed many under dash heaters for the 37 and 38 Buicks, but not much info on the hearer for a 40. Did they make an under dash for the 40 Buick, or did they use the under seat. My car was built in California and spent all of it's life there with an after market heater, but I haven't heard, or seen a heater for the 40 made by Buick. Information would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil morse Posted October 24, 2020 Share Posted October 24, 2020 I don't know the answer for sure, but I'm thinking that since they used the same "C" bodies for the Super in both '40 and '41, the heater options were probably the same for both years. If that's the case, they offered an under seat heater and an under dash defroster. That's what my '41 has. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Best Posted October 24, 2020 Share Posted October 24, 2020 I know my 1940 Special 4 door sedan has a heater as a defroster under the dash . It's on the right side . Also a under the seat heater . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgreen Posted October 24, 2020 Share Posted October 24, 2020 I’ve seen Buick’s with no heaters but the factory heater was under the seat with a separate heated defroster under the right side of the dash. Any firewall mounted heater would be and aftermarket or customer modification. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted October 24, 2020 Share Posted October 24, 2020 Heaters were optional and customers in warm climates often didn't order them. Dealers could still install an under-dash heater they way they always had if a customer wanted it (or a customer could do it himself) but retrofitting the under-seat heater was unlikely. My father's 1941 Super coupe was originally purchased in Florida so it had no factory heater or defroster and the dash knobs were just the plain ACCESSORY dummy knobs. He ultimately installed a gasoline-fired Southwind under-dash heater for winter driving as he drove that car daily, year 'round in Cleveland, from 1977-1985. I don't know why he preferred the Southwind to a conventional hot water heater, but I do remember he was constantly monkeying with it and always came home from Hershey with another one for parts. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Posted October 24, 2020 Share Posted October 24, 2020 My 36 Pontiac still doesn't have a heater. As for the southwind, they are very effective and most likely put a hot water heater to shame, particularly if that hot water heater is in a prewar car with a fairly cold thermostat. In 1960s and 1970s cars you can sure tell a difference between a 195 degree thermostat and a 180 degree thermostat in the winter. Most prewar cars came with 160 degree thermostats (or less, or none at all) due to the alcohol antifreeze in common use at the time. Southwinds burn gasoline and I am not quite bold enough for that these days. I think I'll stick with lap robes. How about you guys? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil morse Posted October 24, 2020 Share Posted October 24, 2020 31 minutes ago, Bloo said: Southwinds burn gasoline and I am not quite bold enough for that these days. I think I'll stick with lap robes. How about you guys? Sure sounds like a recipe for disaster to me, but I guess from what Matt says that at least his Dad survived. Did the heater get gasoline from the main tank or did it have a separate tank that you had to fill? Also, didn't it stink to high heaven? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingrudy Posted October 24, 2020 Author Share Posted October 24, 2020 (edited) Back in the 80s I had a 52 Special that had a gas heater. I was still in California at the time and I rarely used it, as it sure heated things up. Thank you all for the replies. Edited October 24, 2020 by kingrudy Forgot something (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil morse Posted October 24, 2020 Share Posted October 24, 2020 Well, like everything else these days, the answer to my questions can be found on YouTube. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morgan Wright Posted October 25, 2020 Share Posted October 25, 2020 My 1940 Special had a heater under the passenger seat. It was rusted stuck and didn't work so I disconnected the long hoses to it. It was made by Harrison, the same company that made radiators. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingrudy Posted October 25, 2020 Author Share Posted October 25, 2020 Thanks for the additional information. As the car did not come with an under seat heater, but was fitted with a HaDees under dash unit from the forties, I will try to dress this up and make this functional. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonMicheletti Posted October 25, 2020 Share Posted October 25, 2020 Great video Neil. My parents had a South Wind heater in their 1940 Pontiac when I was a kid. I lived too. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deac Posted October 27, 2022 Share Posted October 27, 2022 Yes I am injecting life into this old thread. I have a 40 Super coupe and it does have a heater under the dash. However it does have an under seat heater. It is hooked up to the engine cooling system but when I turn the fan on it is noisy! My question is if I find the motor do I have remove the front seat to get at the heater unit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil morse Posted October 27, 2022 Share Posted October 27, 2022 5 hours ago, deac said: My question is if I find the motor do I have remove the front seat to get at the heater unit? Yes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted October 27, 2022 Share Posted October 27, 2022 Here's what it looks like under the seat. I believe you can reach the motor from under the car, but to remove it you have to remove the seat to get at the fan. Usually noisy heaters are due to crud building up in the heater area and hitting the fan as it spins. Bent blades are also a common issue. Both are easy to fix. Your lower front seat cushion should just lift out--pull up the front edge first, then slide it towards the front of the car to remove the whole cushion. Easy! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deac Posted October 27, 2022 Share Posted October 27, 2022 (edited) I had to remove the whole seat to get at the core in my 57 Pontiac and hoping to avoid that process in the Buick. Lifting out the seat bottom and opposed the the whole is a big difference. Thanks for the advice! Edited October 27, 2022 by deac (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daves1940Buick56S Posted October 27, 2022 Share Posted October 27, 2022 My 1940 had an aftermarket as well. It was in a hammertone finish common in the 50s. The fan was frozen so I pulled it, stripped it, fixed the fan, cleaned the core, and repainted in a black wrinkle more appropriate to the period. It still works fine today. A little research revealed the it was made by Hupp Manufacturing, successor company to the Huppmobile. As of 3 years ago they were still making this model heater. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morgan Wright Posted October 27, 2022 Share Posted October 27, 2022 I took my heater out, hoses and all, and sold the car to a guy in Florida who lives in Puerto Rico. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Roth Posted October 29, 2022 Share Posted October 29, 2022 (edited) My 1937 Roadmaster Phaeton 80C (convertible sedan) has its factory-original combination heater/defroster mounted on the firewall at the front passenger's toes . There are two separate motors, one each for the heater and defrosters, but then, this convertible was delivered to the City of New York as a parade car for Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, and saw parade service into the mid-1950s. Now, after 85 years of faithful service, the heater core developed a bit of seepage. Fortunately a trusted friend was able to source the proper replacement core which will be installed shortly. Edited October 29, 2022 by Marty Roth Add comment and photo (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now