I am currently in the process of restoring the std. heater on a 56 Chevy 150. I have never driven the car, I bought it and am doing a frame off rebuild. So my question is, with the std. heater control is there any way to control the heater temperature. There are two controls, one is the fan control lever and the other is a pull/push knob that diverts the air flow between the defrosters and the floor, what am I missing?
Thanks!

A 2 lever on a 59 has no temp flow or control.
Perhaps yours is the same

Does this heater recirculate cabin air only?? The 59 2-lever is cabin air only

Not too sure of the 5-6-7 cars----but perhaps they were available with a 4-lever heater that brought in outside air. There was SOME adjustability in those systems.

If they were---try to locate a complete system. They mount differently, blower motor on the outside of the car.

Perhaps the thinking of the day was------adjust the temp by opening the vents (that and rolling down windows will help circulate the warm air )

Bryan

Thanks Brian, the std. heater does only recirculate cabin air like you thought. The deluxe version has an outside/inside option and also has a temp. control valve on the heater core. This car will be for the most part a fair weather vehicle so I have been toying with the idea of a nice looking manual valve in the supply or return to stop or restrict coolant flow. Upgradeing to the deluxe version is an option, but at this point I lots of other places to spend what little funds I have. Was this one of GM's better ideas or what!

The low-dollar heater assembly using cabin air only wasn't a GM exclusive
at all.
The first heaters in cars came over from the buggy age, charcoal or actual coal in a rug-wrapped box with air intake vents and exhaust grille which was placed on the floor and kept your feet warm. Then came the manifold heaters, shaped steel sheet or cast iron around the exhaust manifold leading to a small door in the firewall with little or no directional control and no air circulation except when the car was in motion. Both of the above were notorious CO producers, know what I mean?
Then came the hot water heaters, a small radiator in a box with a fan and some form of adjustable/directional airflow (doors or a rotating grille. These became the standard of the industry and there were 100s of makes since heaters were an accessory from the factory.
Then came the ducts to carry the heated air to the windshield to "defrost" it. Much later came the outside air units with ducts running to heater grilles through or under the dashboard. These were the "Deluxe" units. The modern style units were accessories into the 60s and so were the cheapos.