1955 Thunderbird. Very hot in the cab

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skidrdan

skidrdan

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Aug 17, 2019
Thunderbird Year
1955
Hi, I recently rebuilt the 292 Yblock in my 1955 Tbird, (Black Betty) that i bought last fall. I love her and get many compliments on her. Driving small trips trying to work out all the bugs on 65 year old car. Many questions to ask but will start with this one. she is running great, but it is very hot inside driving it. Is that typical? any great suggestions on how to fix this problem. Thanks in advance
 
Check the firewall insulator, any open holes, maybe add some fiberglass insulation to it. A/c will also help! The 56's had better vents
 
I had a 1955 F-100 and I know it's a totally different beast, but the heater was made up of a heater core (inside the cab) that is basically a small radiator that the engine coolant passes through and a fan blows air across it. I live on the Gulf Coast and it is very hot here, so when the warm weather showed up, I disconnected the hoses from the engine and placed a bypass hose between the inlet and outlet. This prevented any coolant from entering the heater core. Not saying this is the answer, but worth looking into. The heater core on the T-bird looks a lot like mine on my F-100.
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Yea thanks , I have thought about putting a valve in the line to make sure that is not the problem .. Many thanks
 
My early 56 has the air-cooled automatic and it's pretty warm. My heater shuts off fine, but the transmission definitely puts out some heat.
 
skidrdan said:
Hi, I recently rebuilt the 292 Yblock in my 1955 Tbird, (Black Betty) that i bought last fall. I love her and get many compliments on her. Driving small trips trying to work out all the bugs on 65 year old car. Many questions to ask but will start with this one. she is running great, but it is very hot inside driving it. Is that typical? any great suggestions on how to fix this problem. Thanks in advance
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Pull the carpet out and seat. Put down insulation Check Hill's catalog for material.) Cover inside firewall (underdash) as well. You can buy similar insulation at a local hardware store cheaper. That's what I did. Inside of car is much cooler and quieter.
 
that is help full. I need to remove seat to try to figure out if motor is 6 volt or 12volt. the previous owner put some insulation down, but not the best. Thanks again
 
skidrdan said:
I will work on that. I diverted the coolant from the heater and that helped some . thanks
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Remember the '55's were hot inside because they didn't have air vents for outside air. That's why in '56 they installed vents for more air.
 
skidrdan said:
that is help full. I need to remove seat to try to figure out if motor is 6 volt or 12volt. the previous owner put some insulation down, but not the best. Thanks again
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If the car was switched to 12 volt with 6 volt motor the seat will move really fast when you hit the switch.
 
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