# My first car, 1961 Volvo 544, had a radiator "blind". Worked well! **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Created:** [January 29, 2023, 1:34pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/my-first-car-1961-volvo-544-had-a-radiator-blind-worked-well/188826 "2023-01-29T13:34:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Robert-Gift](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/robert-gift/32/356_2.png) [@Robert-Gift](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Robert-Gift)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2023, 1:34pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/my-first-car-1961-volvo-544-had-a-radiator-blind-worked-well/188826/1 "2023-01-29T13:34:41Z")
Helped the 4-cylinder engine warm up faster. When parked at a store, I would pull the blind up to retain engine heat. > **[Odd Vintage Car Accessories You’d Never See Today](https://www.brakeforit.com/culture/unusual-vintage-car-accessories/4/?D4c=1&D_4_6cALL=1&D_4_6_10cALL=1)** > > You have to credit General Motors and other automakers for thinking outside the box with these vintage auto accessories you would never see in cars today. ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2023, 1:41pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/my-first-car-1961-volvo-544-had-a-radiator-blind-worked-well/188826/2 "2023-01-29T13:41:05Z")
So did Packard and Duesenberg cars from the 1930s. There are cars that have that feature today… but for reduced aero drag, not as a thermostat. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2023, 1:49pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/my-first-car-1961-volvo-544-had-a-radiator-blind-worked-well/188826/3 "2023-01-29T13:49:38Z")
Pre-WW II Rolls Royces and Bentleys used vertical shutters on the radiator grill that operated thermostatically, rather than a thermostat inside the engine’s cooling system. [![](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/e/2/e2bb30ff436d5db0a6a6e0d5f770720853778882.jpeg "Pre-war Bentley and Rolls-Royce radiator shutter operation.") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRmKdkyJ9zg) ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2023, 2:18pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/my-first-car-1961-volvo-544-had-a-radiator-blind-worked-well/188826/4 "2023-01-29T14:18:34Z")
Older article but clearly shows this is a fairly common thing these days. > **[Active Grille Shutters Are Latest Way To Improve Fuel Efficiency | Edmunds](https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/active-grille-shutters-are-latest-way-to-improve-fuel-efficiency.html)** > > Active grille shutters, which are designed to boost fuel efficiency, are popping up on a number of new models, including the 2015 Ford Mustang. ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2023, 10:49pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/my-first-car-1961-volvo-544-had-a-radiator-blind-worked-well/188826/5 "2023-01-29T22:49:21Z")
Early cars didn’t use a water pump to circulate the coolant. Used a thermo-siphon effect only. I wonder if they even had a heater? Or if they did, how long you had to wait before you got heat into the passenger compartment? ---
**Author:** ![Purebred](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/purebred/32/46796_2.png) [@Purebred](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Purebred)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2023, 1:15am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/my-first-car-1961-volvo-544-had-a-radiator-blind-worked-well/188826/6 "2023-01-30T01:15:24Z")
They were to be used while driving to reduce airflow through the radiator. Did not read the article. As I recall, they worked like a window shade. I used a pizza box on our pizza delivery cars. Some people would remove there fan blades. ---
**Author:** ![Robert-Gift](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/robert-gift/32/356_2.png) [@Robert-Gift](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Robert-Gift)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2023, 1:30am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/my-first-car-1961-volvo-544-had-a-radiator-blind-worked-well/188826/7 "2023-01-30T01:30:42Z")
Yes. The Volvo 544 blind could be pulled all up with a chain through the dash. Chain secures into a slot. Was wonderful on super-cold nights. Watched the temperature gauge for over heat. ---
**Author:** ![Triedaq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Triedaq](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Triedaq)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2023, 3:31am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/my-first-car-1961-volvo-544-had-a-radiator-blind-worked-well/188826/8 "2023-01-30T03:31:26Z")
When I attended elementary school in the late 1940s, the school buses were pre World War Ii models. The owner/operators of these buses tied feed sacks over the radiator grills. This was a very simple radiator blind. It worked. When these buses from the late 1930s were replaced in 1951, I don’t remember seeing feed sacks tied over the grills of these buses. Maybe the engines warmed up more quickly. ---
**Author:** ![PvtPublic](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/pvtpublic/32/13089_2.png) [@PvtPublic](https://community.cartalk.com/u/PvtPublic)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2023, 11:13am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/my-first-car-1961-volvo-544-had-a-radiator-blind-worked-well/188826/9 "2023-01-30T11:13:14Z")
Since diesels especially larger ones are notoriously cool running a lot of OTR trucks used and still use thermostatically controlled shutters to keep engine temps up. I’m sure you could make something for your car if you really felt the need. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2023, 1:27pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/my-first-car-1961-volvo-544-had-a-radiator-blind-worked-well/188826/10 "2023-01-30T13:27:04Z")
> [@George\_San\_Jose1](#): > > I wonder if they even had a heater? No, of course they didn’t. Heaters became available–on a limited basis–in the '20s, and did not become fairly common until the late '30s. The rope-like structure that ran along the back of the front seats was known as a “lap robe holder” because back seat passengers typically used a blanket to cover the lower portions of their bodies, and almost every car had a lap robe holder up through the early '50s. Heaters didn’t even become standard equipment until many years later. ---
**Author:** ![Purebred](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/purebred/32/46796_2.png) [@Purebred](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Purebred)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2023, 1:53pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/my-first-car-1961-volvo-544-had-a-radiator-blind-worked-well/188826/11 "2023-01-30T13:53:44Z")
I started ready used car advertisements in the early 60s, ads often state R&H, radio and heater because they were options, not standard. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2023, 2:00pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/my-first-car-1961-volvo-544-had-a-radiator-blind-worked-well/188826/12 "2023-01-30T14:00:53Z")
> [@Purebred](#): > > car advertisements in the early 60s, ads often state R&H, radio and heater because they were options, not standard. Yup! In the days before most cars had PS, PB, & A/C, the only “bragging points” for a used car were usually R&H. ---
**Author:** ![JayWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e480ec/32.png) [@JayWB](https://community.cartalk.com/u/JayWB)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2023, 7:46pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/my-first-car-1961-volvo-544-had-a-radiator-blind-worked-well/188826/13 "2023-01-30T19:46:03Z")
…and white sidewall tires.