The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Interiors Harrison heaters in GM/GMC trucks

Does anyone have any into on the Harrison Heaters? Like company info/history?

Trying to date a Harrison heater (the triangular type) that was a dealer option and used during the war (GM still disavows any knowledge of 1942-1945 ever happening).

I don't even have a model number. It the triangular type, with the two bottom vents that pointed towards the drivers side. No defrost... just off/on for the fan and no baffles.

Thanks!

Here is a link to some of the divisions and companies at GM over the years. I don't have specific info on the heater you describe but the GM Heritage Center might. Good Luck!
http://doonan.home.mindspring.com/history.html

http://www.gmheritagecenter.com/

Harrison [as in the radiators] is/was a division of GM is this the heater you mean? I know it was used for a bunch of years as the dealer supplied cheap version, and I've seen 2 Deco trucks with them, although might have been installed much later .... I'd put the vintage as "pre-1959", which is the latest year I've seen one in, but you might find a date code on the core

Bill

The Heritage center has told me, and many GM/GMC military vehicle owners to buggar off. GM simply does not recognize the 1942-1945 time period

Even on their web site:

http://www.gmheritagecenter.com/gm-heritage-archive/vehicle-information-kits.html

1941 Chevrolet 1942 Chevrolet 1946 Chevrolet

If you know the magic words to get anyone at Heritage to even acknowledge that they have *ANY* 42-45 Military records pleas let me know!

wow! picture posting allowed now!?

pfarber - any military vehicles were built to general govt specs by all companies, and Harrison supplied parts to all companies, no reason GM Heritage should supply information kits for military vehicles - GM will tell you there was no 42-45 civilian Chevrolets because any sold in those years were ID numbered continuously from 42, so effectively they're all 42's, no physical differences, and the basic parts of the military trucks those years are pretty much the same as the civilian trucks .... heaters weren't standard issue in the 40's so you'd have to find some accessory phamplets

Bill

Going OT but it more than just 'information kits'.

The provide NO INFORMATION WHATSOEVER. NONE.

The dirty secret is that the military trucks are pretty much direct descendants of the 41-42 civvy trucks (the first batches had civvy gauges and still sported chrome).

The line we get is that GM is a civvy car company, and to provide wartime info would hurt the PR image that GM has. Yes, this is the official line.

I'm sure that some big money collectors probably got more that what I could... but go ahead, email Heritage and ask. Don't be surprised that you get nothing (I mean NOTHING) back.

As for the heaters:

I can't find anything on the 40's Harrisons. Most of what I can find is based on 1948+ Willys CJ2A production where they were a factory item for a few months, then dealer installed.

I can't even find any historical info on the Harrison company.

Only one company built G506 and G508 (1.5 ton and 2.5 ton trucks) and that was GM and GMC, respectively. The early 1.5 ton trucks had 'Cheverlot' stamped on the engine side panels and until 1943 the GMC 2.5 ton trucks sported a GMC placard on the grill.

The original motors were still painted GM gray and GMC olive when installed in the otherwise Olive Drab chassis.

Its not like the jeep where there was a Willy's and Ford model. GM and GMC did the entire run, in house. Yet to ask them if they even exists is simply not going to even be answered. Really.

There is a little information about WWII truck heaters on page 54. There is no mention of a truck heater option or accessory in the 1941 Chevrolet Truck Data Book.

On page 55 of the link above is information about the new Harrison truck heater/defroster made for the new 1947 Chevrolet trucks "The most complete ventilating unit ever offered to truck operators", Option No. 385 Fresh-Air Ventilator, Heater and Defroster.

Do you have a photo of a 1941 GM truck heater? You mention a "triangular type" heater. A photo might help people find information on that particular heater (are the photos above the triangular heater)?

Since Harrison was a part of GM, and Harrison made inside-air and outside-air heaters for other GM vehicles, maybe there is information on 1941 (or WWII) GMC heaters somewhere?

"The dirty secret is that the military trucks are pretty much direct descendants of the 41-42 civvy trucks (the first batches had civvy gauges and still sported chrome)." This widely known fact is hardly a secret; and, calling it dirty seems an odd exaggeration.

A little more historical information is found in this document.

This style of Deluxe Heater Defroster was supposedly available from 1941-1946, and it is also listed as an accessory heater for 1947 Advance-Design trucks. Jim Carter shows this style heater and suggests (without that the heater unit and the defroster unit were separately ordered items.

Here are photos of a common heater for 1941 Chevrolet cars: Front of heater and Rear of heater. People have posted that they have found this style of heater in their trucks. There is a reproduction 1941 car/truck accessory brochure that supposedly has photos - maybe it shows heaters?

The heater used in the Chevy 1.5 ton truck was a simplified version of the available model. All the baffles were stamped, no chrome.

The 'triangle' type Harrison heater I am searching about is shown in the photos in the posts above. It was used (and can be documented) in GMC 2.5 ton trucks as part of the 'arctic' kit'. Since it never took in outside air, I don't think its the one mentioned in the above post.

None of the information in the book was not of any use, it stopped at 1933. The 'War years' were WWI.

The article was neat, but otherwise uninformative.

What I can get from period manuals is the model number for the post war 1948+ heater was Harrison Heater model number H441A. Some have suggested that 441 is April, 1941 as a possible combination. But I have no official reference of that... just people guessing.

The heater itself is GMC-3117868. This is taken directly from the installation manual provided with the heater.

Here are some other ideas for you. Portrayal Press specializing in military vehicle manuals, GMC, Chevrolet others.
www.portrayal.com
Vehicles of Victory - Tom Dienst
www.vehiclesofvictory.com
www.militaryvehiclesmagazine.com
They have a communications page where you can post questions. The editor is john.adams-graf@fwpubs.com
I also went through my 1942 Salesman Data Book, they do not appear as an index item nor is there mention of any.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/advance-design_parts_co/8374820410/in/set-72157631872034068

Portrayal is out of business (although I do have a few of their books) but none of them ever mentioned the heater.

I've beaten up everyone I know that has a WWII chevy (Tom included)... I did get some info.. not much.

I'll email MVM.. can't hurt.

I really don't want to sound like a tool... but all the easy stuff.. been there, done that.

Offering suggestions for books (most of which I most likely already own) is really not helpful. At this point I am down to emailing everyone I can think of for info (to include Delphi Harrison Thermal Systems in NY, they are somewhat connected to the original Harrison Heater company from the 1930's when United Motors bought them up (aka GM).

Please don't take that the wrong way... I truly do appreciate the any assistance... but the 'low hanging fruit' has already been picked.

If anyone wants to see what research I have done so far its all online:

http://www.tm9-801.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=638

The tool comment is warranted. Lose the chip, I'm out.

Sorry to hear that. I don't have any better way to say that basics have been covered. If you read what I have researched you'd see that all the easy stuff (aka talking to vendors, email other owners, etc) has been done.

It seems that Harrison Heaters, like Pyrene fire extinguishers are to be lost to the past. Today alone I have 6 hours into google searches, forum searches, reading pamphlets, ebay, and emailing people.

your particular heater doesn't represent the entire class "Harrison heaters", which may be obsolete items, but are documented in proportion to their production and use, not "lost to the past" .... above you point out your heater was part of the military 'arctic kit' in a period when civilian vehicles and their parts were adapted to military purposes, and which adaptations were abandoned after 1945 in favor of improvements for public consumers - sorry, but your rare military Arctic specific heater appears to be one of the casualties of the war, maybe you should be asking some govt historians that know about the maintenance of military vehicles in WW2

or try the patent office - here's one from the 30's - and one from 1941, although I doubt anybody bothered patenting limited production military items and there were as many different heater versions as there were vehicle models pre-1950's

note from the article PDF Tim linked above: "Prior to 1959, all heaters for General Motors cars were highly car-specific, requiring little or no common tooling for their manufacture. In 1959, a corporate-wide standardization program was undertaken to reduce tooling costs, make best use of the manufacturing facilities, minimize the number of service parts and simplify the operations of the assembly plants."

Bill

The heater model was used extensively in Willys CJ2A and CJ3s up to about the 60's. I can find a lot of pictures of Willy's jeeps with these heaters in them, and even a factory brochure with the heater installed. I have emailed quite a few people with them in Willys and have not gotten much back. They own it, and some have the parts books, but nothing outside of the Willy's world.

http://cj3apage.com/restoring_a_harrison_heater.htm

And here is the heater in a the parts listing:
http://www.film.queensu.ca/cj3b/Photos/Parts/JeepRight.jpg

The CJ3 was a very civilian vehicle (although it did spawn the M38... which used a different add on heater - man nothing is easy ).

In 1959 GM may have done away with add-on or dealer installed heaters.. this is what I have found... up till about 1960 dealer installed heaters were common. After that, they become standard items and integrated into the car itself. I think that is what they mean when they said 'standardized tooling' vs 'dealerships making heater X work in car Y'.

I know that the mention of military use can confuse things.. but this specific heater, while used in a specific add on kit, were very civilian in origin. Just like the S series oil filters became the 'Military Senior' oil filters. Exact same item.

Most of the Harrison patents revolve around the honeycomb cell construction.

Tuesday I'm gonna call Delphi Harrison on Lockport and see if they have any kind of historian or maybe get a name of an employee that might help. Worth a try.

Maybe, just maybe, you have a Jeep heater that someone put in GM WWII military truck because the Jeep heater was readily available, and in order to save money and keep warm?

There might be no way to either prove or disprove that possibilty.

If the GM Heritage Center had anything, they would be forthcoming. I have spoken with their representatives at shows and over the phone. They like their jobs and they like helping reasonable people. I doubt if they told you to "buggar off", even if they had been "beaten up" by you.

Good luck in finding whatever you are looking for.

In your first post, you state that the heater was civilian in origin, a "dealer option". Presumably, you are referring to a domestic-dealer option/accessory. Do you have a photo/illustation of it in a dated GM sales brochure? If so, would you please post it?

"Trying to date a Harrison heater (the triangular type) that was a dealer option and used during the war (GM still disavows any knowledge of 1942-1945 ever happening)." That statement about GM is specious (look it up).

http://i365.photobucket.com/albums/oo91/1953panel/th_DSC01742.jpg

farber, here is a pic of my heater. As far as I know, it was installed in late 40s Chevrolet passenger cars.

There is an actual GMC part number for the heater: GMC-3117868 The Harrison PN *appears* to be H-441-? where ? is a letter.

The kit it was part of did have its own designation: SSL-1276

The manual I have a copy of shows the heater but with different mounting brackets. So I am assuming that it was customized for GMC trucks. The manual is dated 1944 but I would bet they go back farther... and that is what I am trying to resolve:

When did the H-441 start production? 441 might be a date, but I have verified the numbers on the Harrison tag for two Chevrolet Super Deluxe Harrison heaters and they are the same. So either its a part number H-02-46 or the dumbest luck in the world I found two identical heaters made in the same month 70+ years ago.

It would be interesting to find a brochure or parts book that actually had the heater in something other than a Willys. Seeing that they did pop up in Chevy cars and GMC vehicles.

But the one, single thing I am trying to resolve is when the presence of the stamped boss in the lower right side appeared. The manual I have doesn't show the boss, every other Harrison model I can find does show it. The boss is for the knob that controls the passenger side baffle. The specific unit I am researching does not have any interior baffles, and no control knobs. So why would it have the boss?

My explanation is that the simplified Military version was the 'initial' models (early/mid 40's) did not have the boss/baffles, and that a 'proper' military heater would be without the boss (as it shows in the install manual). But like so many other hobbies unless you can prove it, most people will go with what they see... later models, with the boss, as being proper.

As for email GM Heritage, of course I was polite and respectful in my email. But the experience I have had (aka no acknowledgement of WWII every happening in GMs world) has been experienced by others who have tried to get information.

They will have loads of photo's/data/info on any civvy car, by ask about any 'G' series vehicle an you'll be lucky to GET a reply.

Try it. Email them something easy like 'what was the engine color of a 1944 Chevrolet G508 2.5 ton truck' and see what comes back.

Ever wonder why they don't even include 1943-44-45 on the web site? Even though they made cover a million vehicles during that time they don't even acknowledge it.

GM Heritage has the task of collating and preserving the available historical information [and providing it to you free], documentation of production from a subsidiary division isn't their primary task - the fact that they have no detailed parts info for the war years does not mean "no acknowledgement of WWII every happening", it means they don't have the info you're looking for .... plenty of reasons for that, including something that's been mentioned here in the past involving a major fire at a facility that had a lot of the stored records, maybe you should try Canadian GM [see under miscellaneous, vintage vehicle] .... I'd bet your inquiries to the Harrison company [successors] will find even less info about what that division produced at any time, let alone the war period

Bill

I beg to differ.

I've had much more important people than I be told the exact same thing I have.

You don't have to believe it. But I, and many others have come up against flat out refusals by the GM historians to even look for information.

I find more official GM Archive photos by random google searches than the archives admits to even owning.