Garden Bench with heater option

[wborh]

Spent most of the day looking for a garden bench design with an optional heater for the better half.  I ended up at the US Patent Office and found this very functional design. I found a patent by Studebaker for heaters under the front seat submitted in 1938 with possible production in late 1938, 1939 or 1940. 

 

The better half was overwhelmed with joy for my find.  With that said, I was wondering if fellow owners could post photos of the heaters and routing of the supply/return hoses. 

 

[rbk]

In which car do you want to install this.

I have complete original Studebaker heater kits sold by Studebaker for cars that did not have a heater installed 

 

Robert Kapteyn

studebaker@mac.com

[KURTRUK]

Indeed, this went into production.  Used in most of their cars until around 1962.  Was located on  the passenger side.  Many claim Studebaker's Climatizer system (of which this is a part of) was the best in the industry.  Some claim the under seat heater worked too well and roasted their legs.

[Twisted Shifter]

My father's 1950 Buick had an under-seat heater. I think it was a much more compact unit than the above drawings appear to indicate. You might look into finding a Buick unit if Studebaker parts are difficult to find and/or repair. The plumbing was routed under the floor from the engine to the heater location.

There are lots of electric aftermarket compact car heaters that can be hidden under the seat of an older car too. Might take some engineering to get it to run in a 6-volt car...?

BUICK HEATER:

 

 

Studebaker Heater:

Edited July 25, 2022 by Twisted Shifter (see edit history)

[John DePrey]

15 hours ago, KURTRUK said:

Indeed, this went into production.  Used in most of their cars until around 1962.  Was located on  the passenger side.  Many claim Studebaker's Climatizer system (of which this is a part of) was the best in the industry.  Some claim the under seat heater worked too well and roasted their legs.

Prewar climatizers were under the drivers side. Loved my 41 and 42 Commanders in winter, it's what i drove in high school. If your legs get too toasty turn the heat down. 

[8E45E]

On 7/24/2022 at 11:11 PM, KURTRUK said:

Indeed, this went into production.  Used in most of their cars until around 1962.  Was located on  the passenger side.  Many claim Studebaker's Climatizer system (of which this is a part of) was the best in the industry.  Some claim the under seat heater worked too well and roasted their legs.

Only on the GT Hawk was it used until 1962. 

 

Larks had the core on the inner RH fender until 1960, and then it was relocated under the dash until the end of production.

 

Craig

[starlightcoupe]

Parts with application from the 1940 Body Catalog.

 

[starlightcoupe]

 

Don't know why this next page gets entered upside down. I've flipped it in my PC and it still posts upside down. 😪

Edited July 27, 2022 by starlightcoupe (see edit history)

[GordonKern]

Combining a garden bench with a heater option sounds like an amazing idea, especially during those chilly days. It's great that your better half loved the find.  I'd love to see some photos of these heaters and how the supply/return hoses are routed. It's always helpful to learn from fellow owners' experiences. Maybe someone can share their insights and help you with this. By the way, I have a great website where I found more details about the design.

Edited October 20 by GordonKern (see edit history)