55.2-59 1957 Chevy 3100 Heater

[qbeanie]

Were heaters optional for this year truck? I have what appears to be an aftermarket heat . The dash has a delete blank where the factory heater controls are located.

[vintovka]

If you go aftermarket be sure to get one thats not too big and too many BTU's. I bought a the 3 vent one from Jegs

https://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS/555/70602/10002/-1

and wish I had gotten the 2 vent one instead. I guess I has compensating for like 30 years of freezing my keister with the little box one. Anyway The 3 vent about cooks me out in minutes as i have no heater thermostat (yet). FWIW i used one vent for the defroster.

[57tailgater]

Yes there were 2 options: standard and deluxe. Deluxe has 4 control levers for fan, inside/outside air, temp and floor/defrost balance. The standard had a fan control knob in a blank ash tray looking plate with a lever in the unit for defrost/floor balance. Aftermarket ones were available too usually nothing too fancy.

[mr48chev]

Originally Posted by qbeanie

Were heaters optional for this year truck? I have what appears to be an aftermarket heat . The dash has a delete blank where the factory heater controls are located.

Heaters were optional up into the mid 60's.

As for new just heat now I'd go with the Vintage Air 506101 if I didn't spend the big bux and restore and original heater. https://www.speedwaymotors.com/Vinta...hoCvnwQAvD_BwE

Up though 59 the Standard heater in Chevy trucks was a recirculating heater and the deluxe heater was a fresh air heater.

Most of the aftermarket heaters look like a box with air outlets bolted to the inside of the firewall. You could buy them at parts stores, Western Auto or from JC Whitney or Sears or Wards in those days.

Then you get into farm country where a lot of the harvest was done between July and the middle of October and you find a lot of older "big trucks = 1-1/2 or 2 ton trucks that were only used during harvest that never had a heater. A lot of those trucks even up close to the Canadian Border were only driven in warm/hot weather for harvest and sat in the machine shed the other 9 or ten months of the year.

[dennislbrooks]

Just info. My 59 - fan switch may have been in a different place - red.

[qbeanie]

Thx for the responses. My delete plate is exactly like the one on the photograph. The heater is definitely an aftermarket unit. It looks like a space heater. The shape of the unit and core inlet/outlet configuration should be easy match up. Have to test the fan but even that should be replaceable.