Old VW Heater Question

Decades ago, I read (or maybe heard from a reliable source) that early VWs (like late 50's) had a unique gasoline fueled heating system, which was later abandoned. Is this a true fact, or am I mis-remembering?

Thanks,

Jim Michael

VW (and others) did offer optional gasoline 'instant on heaters' but it seems that the people who bought them were so fuel conscious that they did not use them.

My parents used to have the optionnal gasoline heater in their late 60's VW Beetle, but it seems this system was not the best they have seen... There was no control on the heat degree (it was either 'on' or 'off', so after a few minutes, the cabin was so hot that they had to turn-off the system (and since there was only one hole to blow the heat (near the floor, on the passenger side)) it was impossible to decide where the hot air had to go...

So you were right, this system has really existed!

gasoline fueled heating system, which was

I remember this heater. It was scary. My dad installed one in our 1938 Ford. He was the only one that could fire it up though. Most times my mother would refuse to ride in the car if the heater was on especially after the time it caught fire.

They were called South Wind Heater and I think Borg Warner made them. They were also used in aircraft.

Apparently it was hooked up incorrectly. VW used two gas heaters, the Ebesbascher (sp?) was the one installed by the factory, and the South-Wind was an American add-on. Both were configured for a specific type of VW, but the VW heaters were never designed to be used in any other car. Actually, the Corvair also had an optional gas heater, perhaps the one you remember came from one of these. I had one in a Corvair, and there was no heat control that I could remember, at least none that worked. The VW heater, on the other hand, did in fact have a heat control.

Frank B.

It had a fuel line on it and a Glow plug that looked like a spark plug. I have seen a few around up north and actually had one although i never did get it put on anything.

Chilly Willie

Most likely, this was the aftermarket Southbend heater. These were made from sometime in the 30's untill they were banned for safety and environmental

reasons in the late 60's - early 70's. Considering the price of gasoline in Germany, I doubt this would be a factory option.

If a Beetle had a gasoline heater here in Europe, it was almost every time a Eberspächer, practically the standard. There is also factory option 'M60 - gas heater', but I don't know excactly when that was introduced, somewhere in the fifties anyway.

I know that all Beetles exported to Sweden were equipped with gasoline heater (Eber.) since exporting begun.

rec.autos.makers.vw.aircooled might be better newsgroup for this question, though. Follow-ups set to there.