Dolly Dodge's Heater

[DollyDodge]

I think I have been working on this heater for nearly 5 years-it was the first thing I took out of Dolly when I started working on her! I am getting close to having it completed.  I found a new 6V heater motor.  It is a bit smaller in diameter than the original, if you look close at the photos I made some shims and it seems to work well.  I fired it up this weekend and it runs well, the rheostat switch works well too.  The only issue is the fan blades got out of alignment so it vibrates a bit.  I might have bent them when I took off the fan.  I hope I can get it a bit smoother.  I found two companies to work on the heater radiator, one is on the east coast and they fix the old one.  I found a guy in CA that completely makes a new one following the old design.  He is expensive (almost twice as much as the other guy) but might be the better route.  The heater case had a lot of rust on the inside and it took a lot to clean it.  I use my little sand blaster and glass beads.  Plus lots of elbow grease.  I can't believe I am this close.  An exciting side note to the heater work this weekend is I think I found my electrical problem.  As some of you might remember I have been having trouble getting the truck to charge correctly, turning on headlights caused the truck to stop charging, and intermittently it would stop charging.  When I hooked up the heater this weekend I used the screw I have as a ground for the voltmeter gauge I installed in the truck as a ground for the heater.  The heater was working fine, then the heater stopped running and I noticed the truck wasn't charging, and the volt meter dropped to below 6, I took one of my wires from the ground screw for the volt meter to the frame and the truck started charging and the volt meter read above 6 volts.  I checked the screw and it was quite loose, so I cleaned it, tightened it and all seems well, the heater worked, the truck was charging, the voltmeter was reading correctly, I can turn the lights on and off and the charging works correctly.  I hope that little ground issue was the problem.

[NiftyFifty]

I just put a new heater in my truck, and pretty happy I did after this weekend trip to Regina for a big indoor car show...it's not been he best weather up here lately, and going in Friday was a pretty bad snow/sleet/rain storm. I'm not a fan of how much room the original took up for the passenger,many how it always seemed to be hot, so I installed a generic box heater, and built my own top plate for the defrost. It won't get much use, other then early driving like this, and maybe a little in the late fall..so it meets all the needs I have. Glad you got yours figured out! I'm going to toss my original and my other 2 spares up for sale...maybe they can find a better home in a cold environment

Please try not to mind the welding...I got a piece of sheet metal from Canadian Tire up here, and it's just garbage metal..I bought it one weekend when I was desperate to finish a job, and I stopped using it because of how junk it was...didn't remember that until I was 1/2 way into this project. I'd show a picture in the truck, but all you see now in maybe an inch of the bottom under he dash.

Edited April 18, 2016 by 4mula-dlx

[DollyDodge]

4mula-dlx did you find a source for the defroster hose?  I had one located and now can't remember what the company was named. 

[John-T-53]

I think I have been working on this heater for nearly 5 years-it was the first thing I took out of Dolly when I started working on her! I am getting close to having it completed.  I found a new 6V heater motor.  It is a bit smaller in diameter than the original, if you look close at the photos I made some shims and it seems to work well.  I fired it up this weekend and it runs well, the rheostat switch works well too.  The only issue is the fan blades got out of alignment so it vibrates a bit.  I might have bent them when I took off the fan.  I hope I can get it a bit smoother.  I found two companies to work on the heater radiator, one is on the east coast and they fix the old one.  I found a guy in CA that completely makes a new one following the old design.  He is expensive (almost twice as much as the other guy) but might be the better route.  The heater case had a lot of rust on the inside and it took a lot to clean it.  I use my little sand blaster and glass beads.  Plus lots of elbow grease.  I can't believe I am this close.  An exciting side note to the heater work this weekend is I think I found my electrical problem.  As some of you might remember I have been having trouble getting the truck to charge correctly, turning on headlights caused the truck to stop charging, and intermittently it would stop charging.  When I hooked up the heater this weekend I used the screw I have as a ground for the voltmeter gauge I installed in the truck as a ground for the heater.  The heater was working fine, then the heater stopped running and I noticed the truck wasn't charging, and the volt meter dropped to below 6, I took one of my wires from the ground screw for the volt meter to the frame and the truck started charging and the volt meter read above 6 volts.  I checked the screw and it was quite loose, so I cleaned it, tightened it and all seems well, the heater worked, the truck was charging, the voltmeter was reading correctly, I can turn the lights on and off and the charging works correctly.  I hope that little ground issue was the problem.

 

Is the heater core leaking? You might just be able to take it to a local radiator shop and get it pressure tested and recored with a modern tube and fin core if needed. Would be a lot cheaper than sending it across the country to get an exact V-cell core replica. The heater core is not visible.

If you don't have any good shops on your side of the Sierra, We have a good one in San Jose (San Jose radiator) where it could probably be sent to.

[NiftyFifty]

I actually used heat riser hose, the cardboard stuff from the manifold to air cleaner.

[DollyDodge]

Hey John, the core is not leaking as far as I could tell, but the intake/outlet pipes are fairly beat up and out of true, and it leaked around the hoses.  The shop back east I found that specializes in heaters for vintage vehicles, wants around 250 to recore and fix my old one.  The shop in Paso that makes new cores and fixes up the tanks wants about 350- If I wanted an exact replica of the old one built completely new it was even more.    A lot of money for a little bitty radiator.  We don't have a good radiator shop here any more, at one time we did.

[Jeff Balazs]

I have a heater I took out of my truck that you can have. It is not a Mopar Truckmaster but is in decent shape and the 6 volt fan works. I will take a picture if you are interested. As far as duct material goes my local independant parts store was able to get it in any size. I think mine was 1 1/2" or 2" diameter.

 

Jeff

[Frank's 49]

Radiator shop here in Rome GA rebuilt the core for my 49 for $200.  But now the fan motor has gone bad.  Where did you find the 6 volt motor?  I located one on ebay, for $79.  It is supposedly "universal" and fits ford, buick, dodge, studebaker and chevy.  But with out actually holding it, I can't be sure it will fit.  Did you find a NOS, or get lucky and find something used?  

[TodFitch]

Radiator shop here in Rome GA rebuilt the core for my 49 for $200.  But now the fan motor has gone bad.  Where did you find the 6 volt motor?  I located one on ebay, for $79.  It is supposedly "universal" and fits ford, buick, dodge, studebaker and chevy.  But with out actually holding it, I can't be sure it will fit.  Did you find a NOS, or get lucky and find something used?  

 

Ditto for information on where you found a new 6v motor. The one in my car is pretty weak despite my ministrations (or maybe because of them).

[DollyDodge]

Radiator shop here in Rome GA rebuilt the core for my 49 for $200.  But now the fan motor has gone bad.  Where did you find the 6 volt motor?  I located one on ebay, for $79.  It is supposedly "universal" and fits ford, buick, dodge, studebaker and chevy.  But with out actually holding it, I can't be sure it will fit.  Did you find a NOS, or get lucky and find something used?  

I got it from Vintage Power Wagons, the the same one is available form www.caparadiator.net It was a just a tad smaller in diameter than my original. 

[DollyDodge]

I have a heater I took out of my truck that you can have. It is not a Mopar Truckmaster but is in decent shape and the 6 volt fan works. I will take a picture if you are interested. As far as duct material goes my local independant parts store was able to get it in any size. I think mine was 1 1/2" or 2" diameter.

 

Jeff

Thanks Jeff but I almost have mine done.  I will stick with the one I have.

[Jeff Balazs]

No problem. I know the feeling.....you get in so far and then you don't want to give up.

I respect that. It is sort of the story of my truck and my life for that matter. Got to hold the line somewhere even when everyone else gives up or thinks you are crazy..

Be sure to check the heat that the control switch puts out once it is all working. Some of the repops and old units get way too hot and could cause a problem behind the dash

 

Jeff

[Frank's 49]

Thanks for the link to Caparadiator.  That looks like the unit on Ebay, but a little cheaper.  If I can't get mine repaired, I will probably get one like yours.  But then it is almost summer in Georgia, so I won't need it for a few months  .

 

Mike