The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot '60-'66 Trucks Heater. Do I have one?

I have a new 65 C20 and I have been doing things to make it better. I installed a new fuse box and finally got the fan working. It then occurred to me that there is no heater control! There is an air/fan knob and the up down control toggle on the heater. The hoses in and out of the heater box on the firewall are both hot when running. I had a C10 in high school. I distinctly remember there being heat and a way to control it... sorta.
here are a couple of shots of my controls.
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<a href="http://s49.photobucket.com/albums/f262/magicalmisfits/?action=view&current=photo3.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f262/magicalmisfits/photo3.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Pull the fan knob out To heat truck

There are two heater/defroster systems available on your '65 Chevy C20...Thrift-Air (single pull knob/2-speed) or Deluxe-Air (three levers/3-speed). On the Thrift-Air system, the defrost is activated by flipping the lever on the under-dash distribution box. The heat/defrost is controlled, via the 3-lever dash control on the Thrift-Air system.

Hmmmm Guess I need to figure out why I don't get heat when I pull the knob. Maybe whatever is supposed to get pulled is disconnected.The old owner was clipping wires for no apparent reason and I am reattaching them as I find them!

My 65 has a lever on the on the Rt side of the heater box under the hood. My truck has the cable runing through the firewall and then cut off. The lever controls how much heat is let inside the cab

The 60/66 Factory Assembly manual would be a big help for you on your project for things like this.

Factory Assembly manual

OK I have traced the push pull cable and all is in order. Tommorow me and my Son-in-law are going to try flushing the system to see if we have a clog.

A clog in the coolant system, will not keep the air from flowing. Pull the power wire off the blower motor, below the under-hood heater box. With a jumper wire, run power directly to the blade connector on the blower motor from the positive on the battery. They motor should spin-up, at full speed, since you are giving it a full 12v. If the blower motor does not spin, this is your issue. If the blower motor does power up, it is in your dash controls.

A clog in the coolant system, will not keep the air from flowing.

I looked back and I guess I didn't present this clearly. The fan works fine I just can't get warm air. I thought the push pull cable was the culprit but it works fine. So now to trouble shoot the wet part of the heater.

In the distribution box, under the dash, there is a heater resistor, that glows, red-hot, when it is functioning properly, on High setting. Check this also.

Distribution Box

Can you elaborate?

Thanks,

John

At least a new heater core isn't very expensive, considering how long it'll last.

cm

The distribution box is the assembly under the dash, that distributes the air from the firewall/under-hood heater core assembly, to the defrost outlets & the floor diffuser. On the backside of the distribution box, between it & the firewall, the heater resistor can be found...follow the wires and you can feel it, but it is rather difficult to see it, unless you can contort yourself enough to put your eyes on it.

You're getting water flow so it doesn't need flushing.

About the hoses being hot. I'm not as sure as I was. The in and out hoses are zip tied together and I think it is possible the the intake hose might be heating the return hose and I just think its hot. So I have not totally ruled it out yet.

Thanks Tony.