Dash Mounted Fan

[TooManyCars]

Pictured is the interior of a 35 Ford Coupe. Notice the dash mounted fan. Found one of these fans amidst my pile of parts and I’m wondering if they were common aftermarket ad ons? Or standard equipment on some vehicles? In what range of model years would they be used? 
 

thank you to all. 

[auburnseeker]

I don't think they were factory on anything,  just a popular accessory.  Some might have been sold by the dealer (I've seen some with GM) on them,  but most were aftermarket.  This one is barely visible in the picture of my 33 Plymouth.  It's mounted to the steering column. 

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

Used a lot in the 1930s, 1940s.  There were rubber bladed ones with no cage over the blades.    Still used in trucks into the '70s at least.

 

  Ben

[Oldtech]

Up here in the cold country they were used to try to clear the fog / frost off the windshield in cold weather. Could also keep the driver cool in hot weather. Definitely accessory.

[studeboy]

My school bus had several when I was in elementary school.

[Oldschoolantiqueauto]

Defroster fans, It's a shame some one drilled holes in the dash to mount it.

[1942aerosedan]

23 hours ago, Oldschoolantiqueauto said:

Defroster fans, It's a shame some one drilled holes in the dash to mount it.

Some factory accessory ones came either dash mount or steering column mount 

[Oldschoolantiqueauto]

On 2/6/2023 at 9:55 PM, 1942aerosedan said:

Some factory accessory ones came either dash mount or steering column mount 

Yeas, I have had a few of both mounting styles. I just hate drilling a permanent hole in my dash, LOL. But I guess back in the days, the defroster was more important. Were ever you mount those big fans, they are always in the way,,,

[Oldschoolantiqueauto]

On 2/5/2023 at 6:18 PM, studeboy said:

My school bus had several when I was in elementary school.

Do you think the fans were more for the kids to stay cool on hot summer days, or for the driver to have more windows stay frost clear on cold mornings? I never had to ride the bus to school, but I would guess the driver would need to go out an hour earlier to worm it up enough to get the windows defrosted enough so as not to run them kids over at bus stops, LOL...

[Bloo]

They're defrosters. If that one in the coupe is mounted so it can't be aimed the other way, It's probably a modern add-on. In the early to mid 30s, quite a few cars had heaters, but no defroster plumbing yet. Defroster fans like that were available electric or vacuum powered. By the late 30s the dash probably had slots, and you could usually get defroster plumbing on a factory supplied heater if you wanted, but a lot of aftermarket heaters still wouldn't have had any. Then there were trucks. They kept putting these fans in trucks for what seemed like forever. Most of the antique ones mount to the steering column. You can easily twist the fan around backwards to blow on your face if you like, but that's not why it exists.

 

Edited February 9, 2023 by Bloo (see edit history)

[1942aerosedan]

19 hours ago, Oldschoolantiqueauto said:

Yeas, I have had a few of both mounting styles. I just hate drilling a permanent hole in my dash, LOL. But I guess back in the days, the defroster was more important. Were ever you mount those big fans, they are always in the way,,,

They're actually not that big