Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

My car is a '39 1700 4-DR touring sedan VIN series 1282. The car has a factory heater unit, but I cannot find any evidence of a fan motor, or any switch controls. I have liaised with other owners and have been advised that the switch (or switches, if the 'deluxe' version is installed) is/are located underneath the dash on either side the steering column. I don't have any evidence of wires or switches there and wonder if it is possible Packard produced an 'ambient air' version?? There is a petcock on the head where the heater hoses go through the firewall, so the heat can be turned off in summer and there are ducts leading to the defrost ports. I can't imagine wafting air being sufficient to defog windows. My 90 year old Dad says there absolutely would have been a forced air fan motor as his '39 Ford had one, and 'Packard was far superior to Ford' (his quote) yet nothing seems obvious to me - can anyone shed some light on this??? Thanks.

I'd be tempted to agree with your dad. Don't recall ever reading of a Packard hot water heater that did not have a fan. If a switch is not hanging under the dash edge in a mount with the knob facing you it is possible the switch(es) were mounted in the dash edge with the knobs facing downward. Packard did that in 37 and maybe some later years.

There were different types of switches. For a simple heater with a separate optional defroster and blower there could be one or two switches. A single switch could work both at once or if a customer wanted separate operation a second switch could be added. Just off and two or three speeds. Could be fixed speeds or a variable rheostat. Some were lighted so the center of the knob would glow and the faster the fan was going the brighter the knob.

The Deluxe heater/defroster had a single motor which was reversible and controlled both heater and defroster. The 4 wires came directly out the motor in a single fabric covered bunch and went to a single switch. Turn the switch one direction and two fixed speeds with air mostly coming out the heater doors. A small amount of air went to the defroster. Turn the switch the other direction - again two speeds but the motor was reversed so the air output was mainly to the defroster. If the rotary type, that switch was also lighted. Not sure about the slide type where a lever moved side to side.

The motor is mostly inside the deluxe heater box and uses a thin fan blade for the heater portion. There is a small open space where air can enter the box and then a blower housing is supported by the box with the blower wheel operated by the other end of the motor shaft. That housing would be about 2" thick and have two outlets where duct hoses could attach.

Here is what the vertical knob and two switch arrangement looked like on the 37 and maybe used as late as 39.

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Thank you Howard. I certainly agree with you (and my Dad) that there should be controlled, forced air but, for some reason there is no evidence of any switching or rheostat mechanisms anywhere that I can see. The car's interior has been re-done and, as such, all the interior metal has been spray painted. I don't know if the dash was removed to be painted, or done in place, but maybe the heater switches were unserviceable, were removed at the time of painting with the intention of being repaired/replaced, and this never got done. The strange part is I can't even see any 'stray' wires that don't go anywhere that might have been the control connections. I'm thinking I may take the heater unit right out of the car, identify the fan and motor, and go from there. I appreciate you taking the time to respond, and the configuration drawing attachment.

My 38 has some aftermarket switches for the heater/defrost under the dash. BUT I did some research on two extra knobs by my radio controls and it seems they were used for the heater.

If your heater is shaped like the one in the drawing that Howard uploaded, the motor should be obvious and at the top (you would have to stand on your head under the dash to see it) but if it's the heater that is square, then the motor is behind it. I'm going from ancient memory here but I seem to recall that either my '39 Six or one of my 1940 110s had the heater that Howard showed but it had two motors. There was one on top for the defroster as shown in the drawing and another at the back for the heater and there were separate heat and defrost reostats that clamped to the lower edge of the dash and labeled appropriately. They were not reversible in the case of my car, which isn't to say that reversible switches were not available but my motors had only two wires. I may still have the heater so will check when I go to my Oregon shop in a couple weeks.

I should add that the clamp-on switches that mine had were aftermarket but I still have an original somewhere.

At my advancing age, I should know better than to go by memory and maybe one of these days it will finally sink in.

I do not know which year this deluxe heater is for but believe it is 39 or 40 -- maybe 41. It has one version of a lighted rotary switch which mounts on a bracket under the dash with the knob facing the driver. Other years had different plastic covers or nomenclature pieces.

In my other post I described the operation of the reversing motor properly but erred in describing the motor location. The motor is not inside the box but rather it is entirely within the blower section and the fan is all that is inside the box. The motor is totally hidden from view if the heater is mounted on the firewall. Unless the wires have been cut off they should be exiting at the back and visible.

These photos will give you an idea of how things go together. One of these days I will get around to refinishing the box and put if back in one piece but until then these are the best photos I can come up with... I did not take any photos showing the back side when the unit was intact.

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Thank you Phil & Don (Don, I also emailed you) for the input. Going from memory the heater in my car sure looks like the one from Howard's drawing. It has 2 opening doors on it that reveal the core fins behind. I will feel around on top and see if the motor is there. It's possible the whole thing was extracted as a system, to be repaired at some point and that never got done and the parts didn't 'accompany the sale'to the next owner. If that's the case, I will have to start tracking the components down, but at least I have a base line of info from which to start. It's not so much that I need the heater as I only intend on driving the car in the summer, but I am a fanatic for having things right, complete AND functional, so I will get this addressed. Will report back, and thanks again for the help.

The picture is of a 1940 heater with a reversible motor.
1938-39's had two motors one for heat and one for defrost if so equipped. G

Howard, that looks exactly like my unit. I can see from your photos that the motor is entirely inside the 'box' or body of the heater. Mine IS mounted on the firewall and I will try and track down the cloth-covered wire bundle. I will also take some photos and post them so you can see what I am talking about - that always seems to clarify detail better than verbal descriptions!