Behind every great hot rod is a great pickup truck.
Maybe it's a tow vehicle, or a shop truck, or just cool daily transportation. Maybe it's another build project, like the '47 Chevy pickup that STREET RODDER Editor Brian Brennan has been thinking about for years and talking about a little more lately.
This is the Vintage Air Compac...
This is the Vintage Air Compac GEN II heater/defroster (PN 506101) that's going to keep us comfortable in the cab of our Project Shop Truck '47 Chevy pickup-once it's installed. Two 2-inch defrost tubes will provide air for the defroster, and the servo motor-controlled air door at the bottom of the box with provide heat to the lower area of the cab.
Our plans for Project Shop Truck were laid out in the November issue, where in addition to telling you about the mechanical components we'll be using on the buildup, we also explained the unusual concept of the project. In case you missed it, the idea is to build a nostalgia-style '47 Chevy pickup that GM never touched, sticking to parts readily available from the aftermarket. The whole thing is already well underway at Hot Rods by Dean in Phoenix.
We're using a fully assembled steel Dynacorn Classic Bodies '47-53 Chevy five-window truck cab, which we got from Chevs of the 40's, riding on a Fatman Fabrications truck chassis. It's a great combination, and its turning into a pretty cool pickup. Cool, with heat.
Since the Chevy isn't going to be overladen with automotive bells and whistles, we decided to forego A/C, but a reliable heater/defroster is one of the creature comforts we definitely wanted to install. We're planning on driving this truck, and on cool mornings and evenings we'll be glad to have a heater feeding hot air into the cab and a defroster to eliminate condensation on the windshield.
Vintage Air's Compac GEN II heater/defroster seemed like just the product we needed. The box's integral floor outlet is actuated by an electronic servo, and opens to drop heat down toward our feet; from there, like all hot air, it will rise. A pair of flexible hoses feed the defrost ducts mounted at the stock dash openings.
Tearing open the box from Vintage Air, we were impressed by the size of the unit. It definitely is compact, but we wondered if it would move enough air to do its job in the '47. No problem. If it can warm up a street rod interior, we know it can heat the cab of Project Shop Truck without breaking a sweat.
On this application, the installation was a simple procedure. The biggest challenge was finding the optimal spot for mounting the heater box on the firewall. On the '47, the only obstacles we had to worry about were the cowl vent and the windshield wipers-and the only visible part of the system is the small three-knob control panel. Jonathan Williams at Hot Rods by Dean had the upgrade finished in no time. The average-skilled home builder should be able to finish the job between breakfast and lunch, using tools he probably has lying on his workbench right now. For builders with less-than-avarage skill, add 10 minutes.
It didn't take long for Jonathan...
It didn't take long for Jonathan at Hot Rods by Dean to locate the optimal location for the heater, which measures approximately 10 inches wide, 10-1/4 inches tall, and 6 inches deep. He mounted it as close to the center as possible, so that hot air will be evenly delivered to the driver and passenger. He also needed to avoid interference with the cowl vent and windshield wipers.
Once the ideal location-high...
Once the ideal location-high up under the dash-was located, the heater attached to the firewall with four bolts.
As you can see, the firewall...
As you can see, the firewall has a lot of contours and no flat areas as large as the heater. Jonathan used a 3/16-inch and 1/2-inch spacers where necessary to fasten the heater.
Vintage Air has universal...
Vintage Air has universal defrost ducts for all standard openings as well as these ducts, designed for '47-53 Chevy pickups, and with the 2-inch-diameter flexible hose.
The only modification made...
The only modification made to the dash was to slightly enlarge the existing mounting holes on each side of the defroster openings.
Jonathan opened up the existing...
Jonathan opened up the existing holes in our new cab to fit the screws supplied by Vintage Air. The ducts lined right up and fit perfectly.
The 2-inch diameter flexible...
The 2-inch diameter flexible hosing was installed and routed to the ducts. If this was being installed on a finished project truck, under-dash obstacles such as gauges, wiring, wipers, a sound system, and others would be obvious. In this case, those things had to be anticipated, so that there will be no interference with the heater hoses when they are added later.
There is no need for any excess...
There is no need for any excess hose-no room either-
so after figuring out how...
so after figuring out how the hoses would be routed to the vents, they were marked and cut, then hooked up to the ducts.
Using a Vintage Air heater...
Using a Vintage Air heater hose kit, including hoses, bulkhead fittings, and clamps, the hoses were routed from the heater core, through the firewall (using the original firewall holes in this case), to the engine, where the incoming pressure line (upper/right line on this installation) attaches to the intake manifold heater connection and the outgoing suction line (lower/left line) attaches at the water pump. Note the position of the heater control valve on the pressure line.
The electronic servo heater...
The electronic servo heater control valve features an integrated ECU module and is installed in the pressure line on the inside of the firewall, as shown in the previous photo. This is a one directional valve, as indicated by the arrow on the unit that points toward the heater.
This unit features a three-knob...
This unit features a three-knob control panel, which is attached at the bottom of the dash in Project Shop Truck. The part comes with mounting holes pre-drilled on top of the case, and access holes in the bottom.
The knobs can also be installed...
The knobs can also be installed directly into the dash.
After locating the proper...
After locating the proper mounting spot below the dash, Jonathan marked the mounting holes, using the upper holes in the control panel case as a template, then drilled them out. The rest was as simple as turning a screwdriver, using fasteners included in the kit.
The end result looks pretty...
The end result looks pretty clean. The knobs on this control operate fan speed (three settings), heater/defroster balance, and temperature. When Project Shop Truck is ready for wiring, our new heater/defroster will be wired according to the instructions provided by Vintage Air.