Posted by Clint Dixon on Wednesday, January 02, 2002 at 1:13PM :
In Reply to: Early PW dash question posted by Joe Cimoch on Tuesday, January 01, 2002 at 6:04PM :
Joe, in every WDX I have seen with a factory or dealer installed heater, the heater model was the MoPar Deluxe model #36. This particular heater dates back to before the Power-Wagon and was a MoPar accessory for both cars and trucks. With the Model #36, the controls for fan and defroster mounted in the center of the dash. Holes had to be drilled for these in the framed area located between the ignition switch and the windshield crank.
The knobs for the Model #36 were a tan colored plastic and remind you of the rubber ends on crutches or canes, only smaller. These knobs thread onto the controls and are held in place with set screws. Inset into the ends of the knobs was the lettering "Heater Fan" and "Defroster" respectively. (Note: The mounting of this model #36 heater to the firewall interferes with the placement of the factory radiator surge tank option. The heater mounts to the firewall by drilling only two holes through which pass large hollow threaded tubes onto which thread the mounting nuts and through which pass the copper coolant supply tubes. When mounted correctly the one supply tube tries to occupy the same space as the fill cap on the surge tank. Hence the belief that early Power-Wagons were never meant to have both the surge tank and heater options together.)
The control panel that you have pictured is part of the package for heater model #61, 62, 75, etc. These heaters first appeared to the best of my knowledge with the "B" series of trucks in 1948. These heaters are a MoPar option for trucks and fit better on the Power-Wagons. They need 6 holes to be drilled through the firewall in order to mount. (4 for mounting studs and 2 for copper supply tubes. When mounted on Power-Wagons manufactured after early 1951, this heaters mounting studs and tubes straddle and exit on either side of the surge tank. (The surge tank placement on the firewall changed in 1951). The control panel has additional holes for fresh air control and temperature control. The knobs are of a newer design.
There is one part missing from your photo. The control panel should not mount directly to the underside of the dash, but rather mount to an intermidiate bracket having a "Z" shape. This bracket attaches to the dash and the control panel attaches to the bracket. This lets the control pannel sit back slightly from the front face of the dash. I have only seen pictures of this bracket in parts manuals for the 2 wheel drive trucks, but it is listed by number in some of the Power-Wagon manuals.
Personally, I believe if a heater and control panel such as this is found in a WDX, it was dealer or owner installed after the truck was a few years old.
I will try to send some jpeg files of photos to you when I get some of my photos rounded up. Do you have WinZip?
Thanks for the Forum Joe.
Clint
Follow Ups: