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Can anyone shed light on this penetration of the firewall in my Series 80? One photo shows the engine side: a tube which penetrates the firewall and has a sliding door on the interior side, shown in the second photo. It appears very professionally installed.
To me it brings to mind some of the early attempts at providing heat on some autos using the exhaust manifold, because it is perfectly situated to accept airflow from the area of the exhaust manifold.
If this is the function, I assume part of the appliance is missing.
Engine side
That was for an exhaust heater. The sheet metal portion on the manifold is almost always missing, as on my 1925 S80 coupe now owned by Hugh Harris. The only one I’ve seen was on a very original S80 at the 2015 Buffalo Meet–don’t think I have a photo.
Thanks, George, I would really enjoy coming up with one of those! Maybe we will be able to find a photo or even one intact somewhere. One of my favorite tasks is learning about and looking for esoterica. Pretty useless, maybe, but as a member of the Keepers Of Odd Knowledge Society, well…
Well I found two photos of the engine compartment detail but not of the car itself.
The second…
Greg Long may well know the car and its owner.
That’s great information: I can’t wait to look around.
Thanks for sharing!
Randy,
On eBay there are a number of those available in various configurations, mostly for FORD cars, but here is one that is more generic, I think.
Peter
Randy,
BTW, most Series 80 cars generate a substantial amount of heat through the front floor boards, so if you snag one of those Manifold Heater Boxes and hook it up, be prepared to BAKE.
In the warm weather you may be able to “shut it off” but remember that the steel / cast iron will still transfer heat so touring in Louisiana in the summer with such an arrangement could be a bit temperature intense.
In addition, installing such a piece might also increase the running temperature of your engine, but who knows.
Peter
I have about 40-50 of these NOS still in their boxes. All different makes and models. No P-A’s. Their slogan was “June Heat in December””.”
My Correction, the slogan may have been “June Warmth in December” rather than heat, but you get the drift
Hi, Peter, I don’t really need heat in the Pierce, but I am interested in learning useless info like this!
Jim: do you have a photo of one handy? Would you sell one?
Jim, I too would be interested in seeing a photo of a Fransisco Sheet metal heater.
The one on the Ebay link is cast iron, and not close to the Fransisco heater shown in the photos George Teebay posted.
The car with this heater is an al original Wilson body coupe located in the Buffalo area. A real survivor car.. In the Buffalo area, that heater would be welcome for about six months out of the year !!
Greg Long
There are a couple of ads for Francisco heaters being offered on Ebay. They show some different models: the manifold box we are discussing, plus a hot-coolant underdash model and one which has the exhaust manifold built in.
Worth looking at for those interested.
Jim Frederick, Randy Roberson and George Teebay —
When you guys get this sorted out, how about collaborating on an item for the PAS Service Bulletin that summarizes the information you have distilled about metal firewall heaters..
Randy — You sound like person to take the lead.
Thanks and regards,
Arnold
Greg, the very original Series 80 coupe likely belongs to Jim Whittemore who is listed in the roster.
Pics of one of my NOS heaters
another pic
push-pull cable knob pic
Jim,
Very nice. Thank you for sharing. It is tempting to get one for my Series 80.
Ken