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Deluxe heater conversion

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zane_merrill

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Hi all, I have a 64 chevy with just a standard pull cable type heater. I would like to upgrade it to the deluxe heater with the three levers. Has anyone done this? Does classic parts sell everything I need to convert it or do i need to find parts also? Any suggestions would help alot.
 
zane_merrill said:
Hi all, I have a 64 chevy with just a standard pull cable type heater. I would like to upgrade it to the deluxe heater with the three levers. Has anyone done this? Does classic parts sell everything I need to convert it or do i need to find parts also? Any suggestions would help alot.
Click to expand...

To do it correctly you will need EVERYTHING ! The heater core under the hood and the air defuser under the dash. Nobody makes that in the aftermarket, only the control levers, and those are expensive.

You can get the "look" by using the Deluxe control, but you won't have the full functionality. You will retain the heater core and defuser and will still need to manually flip the lever to go from Heat to Defrost, and there is no fresh air provision on the Thrift heater.

You cab still use the Deluxe control to work the Heat ( how much ) and Blower.
If you work at it, you can get the Heat/Defrost to work off the Deluxe control as well. It's just a cable connection and a retainer.

Val
 
So if I were to get the deluxe diffuser and the heater core from a donor vehicle and a new dash control it could work right? The new defrost lever would move the flap on the donor diffuser, the new heat lever would hook up to the donor core, and the fan lever would connect to the old blower motor. But what about the fresh air? I guess i dont know how that works since I haven't seen one before. Would that work, or am i leaving something out? Also, would I need to cut the dash to get the new control lever to fit, or is it just a small panel that comes out? i havent had a chance to look at it.
 
zane_merrill said:
So if I were to get the deluxe diffuser and the heater core from a donor vehicle and a new dash control it could work right? The new defrost lever would move the flap on the donor diffuser, the new heat lever would hook up to the donor core, and the fan lever would connect to the old blower motor. But what about the fresh air? I guess i dont know how that works since I haven't seen one before. Would that work, or am i leaving something out? Also, would I need to cut the dash to get the new control lever to fit, or is it just a small panel that comes out? i havent had a chance to look at it.
Click to expand...

With all the components for a Deluxe heater assembly from a donor truck, the swift is a direct bolt-in with no modifications needed. Good luck and let us know what you end up doing.
 
My setup

I have a Thrift heater and am using the Deluxe controls. It works fine there is just one extra control arm that isn't used. I used the long Deluxe "air" cable to operate a water valve in front of the firewall. As stated before the Thrift heater does not have the ability to draw outside air like the Deluxe does. I have most of the Deluxe parts. I bought a doner truck for a few parts. I did use the dash mounted controls and the resistor for the blower motor. Everything else should be there including the mice nests inside. It would need a complete disassembly for cleaning. I did take the blower motor and fan off and cleaned it up thinking I was going to use them.
If you are using the Deluxe control with the Thrift heater you can think of something clever to use the extra knob for. Possibley use it connected to a switch inline to the starter for an anti theft device.
 
maybe dumb question but are the gmc heaters and controls the same? the reason im asking is that both the trucks i had had the deluxe heaters in them i beileve.(not cobs.they have sliders) the one set im going to use but i still have the other heater unit but no controls. if they are the same i am willing to sell the unused one.
 
I may be interested in your heater but it may not be for awhile. I am going to start the restoration this summer so there are a lot of other things that need to be done first. I guess I would also like to look in the junks yards around me for the parts. I will keep you in mind and thanks for the offer
 
i was going through my parts i have siting in the back of my pickup in storage. geting ready to move her to the new house and all. i found the control a deluxe control panel for a chevy. it think my other parts pickup(a chevy) has the rest of the heater in it. i will have to check. if anyones interested.
 
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