[SCG] Were gasoline heaters really an option after 1960?

[Bill Hubbell]

Bill,

 

I have all the Factory Assembly manuals 1960-66 and it is not shown in any
after 1960, so I suspect it is a dealer-only option after 1960, but I am
eagerly waiting for any confirmation one way or the other!

 

Bill

 

  _____  

From: Wrsssatty at aol.com [mailto:Wrsssatty at aol.com] 
Sent: Thursday, December 03, 2009 12:02 PM
To: whubbell at umich.edu
Subject: Re: Were gasoline heaters really an option after 1960?

 

Hey, Bill, thanks for your response and your shared interest in this
subject.  I cross-posted to VV and SCG.  Did the msg. go to SCG?  I get SCG
via digest form and have not received any digest confirming that the msg.
went there.  (It came as I was typing this!)  I think it's the SCG that
would have greatest interest and, probably, greatest expertise in answering
this question.

 

BTW, I'll check my accessory brochures on the availability of the gasoline
heater in '61 and '62.  I think it was, indeed, a factory and
dealer-installed option through '62 on passenger cars.  My '63 Assembly
Manual does not show the gasoline heater for passenger cars, however, I have
a full line dealer accessory installation manual for '63 which shows the
gasoline heater as a dealer-installed option for '63 FCs.

 

~Bill Stanley

 

In a message dated 12/3/2009 11:53:50 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,
whubbell at cox.net writes:

This post about a 1962 w/gas heater raises an interesting issue: under what
circumstances, if any, did GM offer the gasoline heater as an option after
the 1960 model year?

I had always assumed that they did offer it - at least up until mid-1963,
based mainly on the presence of the rear access hole cover on the right side
of the trunk, and on what others had told me.

However, it is never listed as an R.P.O. option after 1960 and there seem to
be no instructions for installing it in any of the Assembly manuals after
1960.  Additionally, beyond 1960 it would have been necessary to cut at
least two additional holes in the body in order to install the heater.  The
1961 Assembly manual contains page 3.00 in the Body section showing the
covering of these additional holes and the page is marked "CANCELED" as of
10-10-60, leading me to believe that at least that early in the 1961 model
year these additional holes were no longer cut into the body by Fisher,
probably because the gas heater was no longer being offered as a Factory
option.

I am aware that Clark's Corvair Parts sells gas heater installation manuals
for 1961-1964 cars and 1961-1965 FCs (although I have not bought these), so
perhaps the heater WAS available as a dealer-only option?

Does anybody have documentation from the era (dealer accessory brochures,
etc.) which could shed some light on this subject?  If so, I would really
like to see such information and I think it would make a good subject for an
article in the next edition of our newsletter (which will be published
whenever I get some material)

Thanks

Bill Hubbell
President, Stock Corvair Group

-----Original Message-----
From: scg-list-bounces at tiger.skiblack.com
[mailto:scg-list-bounces at tiger.skiblack.com] On Behalf Of Wrsssatty at aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, December 02, 2009 4:09 PM
To: scg-list at tiger.skiblack.com; virtualvairs at corvair.org
Subject: [SCG] '62 with gas heater

I looked at a '62 Monza coupe today which had a gasoline heater.  I  
noticed that there was a horn inside the trunk mounted on the driver's side
where 
the jack normally would be.  The jack was there but kind of angled  more 
inward.  Also, the bottle for the anti-freeze solution for the  optional 
2-speed windshield wiper with washer was mounted there.  Is this  placement
of a 
horn, the washer solution bottle and the angling of the jack  stock when a 
'62 was equipped from the factory with a gasoline heater?

Thanks!

~Bill Stanley
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