Thanks, Nash-Kelvinator Corp. of Kenosha, Wisconsin.....

[36 Ply]

Hi Bill,

I hope you're enjoying Toronot; I imagine that it's quite different from Vancouver.

Regards,
Pat O'Connor

[Chrycoman]

Nash came out with the fresh air heater in 1938, followed by Studebaker with its Climatizer in 1939.  The Studebaker system drew its air through the vent on the passenger side - there were small doors in the kick panel on both sides, but the passenger side was also used for the heater.  The heater core was under the front passengers seat and thus heat could be spread to the floors front and rear.  A second core was mounted behind the instrument panel for the defroster. 

Ford, for one, did not adopt a fresh air heater until 1949. 

The fresh air heater almost cured the problems with drafts.  Drawing air from the outside and forcing it inside created a slight increase in air pressure inside whcih helped reduce cold air coming in through the cracks.  Improved body sealing and higher engine temperatures also contributed to better automotive heating systems.  By the 1960s there really was not much difference between the various heaters available.

But Nash, followed by Studebaker and Mopar, made the biggest step forward.

Bill
Toronto, ON
(formerly Vancouver, BC)

[36 Ply]

I never got to take advantage of the Nash reclining seats, but the back seat in my '47 Plymouth 4 door was fairly spacious....

Pat O'Connor

[plym_46]

I was always more impressed with thier reclining seating features,  But the defroster in my mother's 62 Rambler wagon did seem to work rather well clearing the windows in certain situations...

[36 Ply]

Jim-

I just learned something. All this time, I thought that the '49 was the first Plymouth with a fresh air heater.

Pat O'Connor

[Jim Benjaminson]

I remember reading an early Nash brohure - believe it was 1940 - that extolled the virtues of the "Weather-Eye" heating system I believe it was called.  It made an impression on me although Dad's 1940 Plymouth (which I still have) was equpped with the dual MoPar heaters - one on each side with a vent that pushed hot air into the back seat.  That car was always toasty warm and proved to be so years later after a drunk driver wiped out my Dad's 1965 Pontiac (o.k. at least it started with a "P"!) in the early winter of 1967.  While the folks waited for the new car (a '68 Bonneville that arrived on my Mother's birthday November 30, 1967) that old Plymouth saw daily use and kept everybody toasty warm.  Of course the '40 hasn't been out in winter since then but the heaters.  The Plymouth heater used fresh air as well.  Plymouth published a booklet on it (I have one of those if anybody wants a copy).  I also have the '68 Bonneville, too!!!!

[RC Drown]

Go, thanks for posting your story, always good to hear those type of memories.

Pat, Dad bought a 1954 Ford brand new, hated it from the git go, I remember sometime around in or around 1957 Dad and I were over to my Grandparents during a bad snow storm, the radio had quit, and been removed proir, so he had me sticking my hand and arm thru the radio spot to operate the vacuum wipers as they didn't work fast enough to remove the snow

My brother was born in Oct of '51, at that time Dad had a '51 Ford, he says he remembers listening to Bobby Thompson hit the home run leading the Giants over the Dodgers in the Play off game, in the meantime my Mother is giving birth to my Brother.  Needless to say that didn't go over very well.

[Go Fleiter]

I always like the nice storys here!I Driver?s licence here is limited to 18 up. So, I got it in only 1969.
School endet 1970, a couple of friend bought a cheep VW Microbus and made a 6-week holiday to Austria, Yugoslavia, Italy, France.

Beginning to study afterwards and living near my Alma Mater in K?ln, I couldn?t afford a car. No parking places, no money and family moved for 7 years duty to Argentina. My father left me his 8 years old Opel, I sold it immediately - it was rusted to a swiss cheese configuration.

Public transport service here was very good, so no need for a car then.

After studies, 1977 I  served as dentist surgeon captain in N?rvenich AFB, near K?ln. It was there I met a lot of US comrades and got interested in US plus US cars (and trains).
My first real car: a good quality Ford K?ln 1969 P7, 8 years old.

[36 Ply]

Hey Bob,

I'm thinking that my next topic may be "what happens when the 0Z4 tube goes bad in your mother's '50 Chevy radio".

Pat O'Connor

[RC Drown]

Thanks for posting that Pat, good reading and very truthfull.  I had a '56 2dr sedan that was darn fast, put no heater, my girlfriend at the time hated that car, then I upgraded to a 61 VW bug, again she hated that car, no heater also, but the price was right, wasn't long after that, I was in Texas in basic training, didn't have to worry about my girlfriend or the heaters, it was darn hot there even in Dec-Feb for someone that grew up just below the NY-Quebec border in northeast NY.

Thanks again for sharing your memories and thoughts, this could be an interesting topic to see how many respond.
Bob

[Frank]

Enjoyed your Post Pat. Brings back memories.
LORD BLESS,
Frank

[36 Ply]

This is how I remember it, some of you may remember it differently.....

As I walked the 3 blocks to the post office this morning, in my Carhartt coat, in damp, cold, raw weather, I thought back to earlier times.....

I turned 16 in 1960 and eventually got my first driver's license. I mainly drove my mother's '50 Chevy, and later on, my '47 Plymouth. A very important accessory for a teenager's car was a working radio, so we could listen to Buddy Holly & the Crickets (my appreciation for Elvis came later). When winter came to north central Illinois, a working heater became equally important. Most cars that a teen could afford back then had recirculating heaters. In the dictionary, "recirculating heater" is defined as " a device, that when in good condition & working properly, will warm the big toe of the driver's right foot AND NOTHING ELSE". (I did own one car, a '38 Ford, that had a Stewart-Warner "Southwind" gas heater. (I believe that Corvairs & the original VW Beetles had a version of this; maybe as an option). That device would either not work at all, or blow you out the back window when it did work). The first car that I owned that had a "modern" fresh air heater was an 85 dollar '54 Ford in 1963. If I remember correctly, an article I read a long time ago said that the 1937 or '38 (not sure which) Nash was the first American car with a fresh air heater, where you could slide a lever or turn a knob to get more heat. We are still using the same basic system to this day, thus today's teens don't have to freeze their asses off in winter, as we did. Again, if I recall correctly, fresh air heaters didn't filter down to Chevy, Ford and Plymouth until about 1949.

So thanks, Nash-Kelvinator, I reallly appreciate what you introduced.

Pat O'Connor