When the summer is gone and the crisp days of fall arrive to announce the steady approach of winter, we as rodders are reduced to two distinct groups: those who have heat and those who wish they did. Many of us are content to sweat our way through summer cruises because we view air conditioning compressors as thieves wishing only to rob us of valuable horsepower.
Such logic may get us through the summer, but that sort of rationale doesn't work very well when the temperature drops. Trying to enjoy any seat time during the winter without a full-blast heater will provide your significant other with all the evidence they need to confirm their suspicions concerning your mental health.
There are a lot of guys out there driving early cars who don't think they have any options when it comes to installing a heating system. Most think they need to throw down a big wad of cash on a new aftermarket system that does not really fit the character of their car, but options do exist. Steve Frisbie of Steve's Auto Restorations in Portland, Oregon, turned us onto an old solution that keeps his toes warm in style. He collects and restores aftermarket hot water heater systems from the 1920s, '30s, and '40s for cars built at his shop. Literally thousands of cars of all makes and models were equipped with the easy-to-install heaters, and many are still out there somewhere ready to be dug up and rejuvenated. Not only are they period-correct for many early cars, but they also just look cool.
Technology has advanced so rapidly that it is incredible to think that federal guidelines were implemented only 37 years ago requiring all passenger cars, trucks, and buses sold in the United States be equipped with a windshield defrosting system. Heaters were not even standard equipment on GM cars until 1962, and prior to 1959, they were highly model-specific and shared no common tooling. As bizarre as it sounds today, the 1960 Chevrolet Corvair used a gasoline heater that siphoned fuel from the carburetor (as if Nader didn't already have enough to complain about). The heaters we use in our cars today may not have changed much in recent years, but the road to develop a reliable heating system has been a long and curious one.
Early automobiles were designed with virtually no consideration for driver comfort or protection from the elements. Motorists could only hope for specially made clothes such as storm aprons, which resembled big rubber trash bags with heads poking through holes in the middle. As public interest in the automobile grew during the early 20th century, so did the demands for comfort. The earliest attempts to combat the cold were simple improvisations that included placing heated soapstone, hot bricks, and lanterns on the floorboards. Eventually portable coal-burning stoves were introduced to the market. Can you imagine your 16-year-old daughter navigating her way through traffic on her cell phone while stoking the coals? It is almost too scary to think about. Although these early methods provided marginal relief from the cold, they required special preparation and were not very safe considering many cars had wooden frames and inner structures. Attention was soon focused on developing sources of continuous heat to eliminate the hazards and special preparation required for portable heating elements.