How well do the heaters in 40s work?

[MtnClimber]

Just wondering how much heat the heaters put out when its ridiculously cold out. I'll be moving back to Maine soon and their winters can get as cold as -30, but usually no colder than -10-15. Granted I had a hard top, how well would the heater do it's job? Would it be something worth upgrading? One of my buddies has an old Diesel Blazer from military surplus, and he had actually fabbed a second heater core and fan into it. The original setup works like normal and the second one is to blow heat to the rear of the truck. Works really well. He did it because the original heater didn't work well enough to keep the kids in the back seat warm during these cold -20-40 Montana winters. Seems like an idea worth considering if heating becomes an issue. Any comments?

 

[Bret]

My first '73 had a front and rear heater. It kept the truck warm enough for me, but I would have some defrost issues sometimes. The door gaskets and such were in pretty good shape, heater cores were clean etc. The rear heater was the round one that fits in between seat. This was in Montana and Colorado.

 

[yellowstoner]

Properly working front and rear heaters put out a lot of heat. If your doors and top fit tight, you should be okay. Also, having a headliner to help insulate would probably help. The defrost on my various Cruisers has never been stellar.

 

[amaurer]

mine sure works well in the summer!

 

[77cruiser77]

So far its only getting to -5 C here but about to get a lot worse. My rear core hit the can so I diverted the lines so only the front works. Not to mention I haven't gotten around to fixing a smashed rear window in my hardtop but overall I'd say it's "sufficient". With a rear core working fine and no broken glass I think you ought to be just fine. One complaint that I don't now about you guys though - that heater spews an enormous amount of heat on the drivers foot at times...

 

[1979fj40]

Mine will run you out of it.... but Im only heating half the space.

 

[HappyGilmore]

Live in Iowa and it is Zero today. With both front and rear going at the same time, I still have yet to put the hardtop back on!

 

[mophisto]

I am really going to need to look into getting a heater going in my BJ. for a while I was considering getting a radiant heater and a 12v inverter... Hill-Billy engineering to be sure. But I'm Scotish, the OG Hill-Billies.

 

[steverb]

i replaced my rear heater with one a lot bigger. has a 3 speed duel motor for the blower. and it still fits under my drivers seat. now there's no way of going cold unless your rads hooped.

 

[CruiserStuff]

I plow snow in the mountains with my 40's and I would actually break a sweat in the truck with both the front and rear heater going. I put a toggle switch on the rear to turn it off. I agree that the defroster can't keep up sometimes, but that's in pretty extreme weather. You'll get a lot of draft in if your weatherstripping isn't good...get a good seal around the doors and you'll stay toasty.

 

[MtnClimber]

Sounds good guys. I didn't realize the 40s had dual heaters. This no0b is still larnin'.

 

[Cruisertime]

I just finished the F**D escort fan upgrade and dont have the defrost issue anymore..... FAQ you'll find the mod. I replaced the heater core with one from napa. Now its like a freaking blow dryer. I just need to figure out how to keep my contacts from drying to my eyeballs.

 

[CruisinMT]

I have yet to find the felt that goes between the vents in my front heater that directs air to and away from the defrost. I have the odd duckling heater. If i could find replacements for this part it would make my defrost 10x better but at the moment I always have air leaking out of the floor heat when in defrost position. As for now I just let her heat up all the way with the fan blasting. It stays pretty toasty unless going down the highway but that due to my s***ty CCOT weatherstripping.