fresh air

[ss442]

i noticed on my 52 aero eagle that the fresh air hoses from the grill that go to the heater and one to the cabin are non existent and have metal block off plates installed on the firewall and heater is this factory or is it some sort of "quick" fix from long ago

[Fid]

A heater may have been installed by a previous restorer who didn't realize the duct work and vents were also required to complete the job. I don't know about the Aero Eagles but it's actually common to see this on the Henry J because they did not have heaters as standard equipment and many restorers added them not knowing everything that was required to make it work right. My '53 J had an after-market heater in it when my father got it back in the 70s. He eventually found a Henry J heater in a salvage yard and and installed it but he never installed the air duct. Without that duct, the heater really doesn't provide much heat. I added the duct work a few years ago and it heats great.  At that time the car still had the original block off plates where the ducts were to be installed. My guess is your car was a product of a similar type upgrade.

[ss442]

thats a very good possibility
thanks

[Aeroman]

Fresh air ducts were optional on all Aeros. They could be ordered by themselves or were included in the optional heater/defroster. If yours has the "block-off" plates intact, then it was not equipped from the factory with either the ducts or the heater. Perhaps an aftermarket heater was added, like a Southwind or some such?

[joefrazer]

On the Henry J cars, you could order a heater or a fresh-air heater. The latter came with the ductwork and was listed in the parts book under a separate number. I'm going to guess that the same may have held true at W-O.