A/C to Plain 'ol heater question

[cowboy5683]

I have a 73 cab that was originally an a/c cab and the PO ripped out the whole unit & now I have just a big hole..lol..Just curious if i can replace it with just a stock fan unit with out all the a/c junk..if so what years or years fan unit should I be looking for?..Dont need a/c but would love to have heat & defrost tho!!..By the way Merry Xmas to everyone on the board!!..I hope y'all have a safe holiday season!!

[68 TT]

I have done this on other cars. Do you have the under dash portion and not the engine compartment side or is the whole assembly gone?

You need to find a square body heater only blower housing and fan motor assembly to start with. I would look for a 73 to 80 as they probably made some changes when they switched the front end sheet metal design. If you need the under dash part get that from the same donor too.

Make a cardboard template of the firewall opening of the heater only firewall opening on the donor vehicle. If they will let you do it, cut out that section of the firewall with enough material to cover the opening in your firewall.

Use the template to locate the required mount holes and openings in the firewall of your truck. Fill in any areas outside if the new blower housing with sheet metal. I welded in the donor vehicle firewall heater area on one I did and the other one the heater blower housing actually covered the old A/C opening so it didn't require any welding.

I don't know exactly what you will need to do with your truck but this will get you pointed in the right direction.

[old Rusty C10]

i believe there are differences in the holes in the fire wall..the non ac will bolt up but i believe there is an extra hole that will need to be patched.
Is your truck a driver or a show job?

[cowboy5683]

Thank you for the quick replies..my truck is definitely a driver..I do have all the original guts under the dash..The PO just ripped off the firewall side of things..Sounds like it may not be as difficult as I thought it would be...Thank god..tired of bein cold..lol

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by cowboy5683

Thank you for the quick replies..my truck is definitely a driver..I do have all the original guts under the dash..The PO just ripped off the firewall side of things..Sounds like it may not be as difficult as I thought it would be...Thank god..tired of bein cold..lol

I hear ya there. My 70 Chevelle was just like your truck. Under dash A/C stuff still in place but nothing forward of the firewall. It was fine when I lived in the Mojave Desert but when I moved back to Washington not having a heater really sucked. Not having a defroster was even worse.

Good luck with the job.

[cowboy5683]

ya..I agree..Cali isnt all that cold or hot..but I sure do like being warm in the a.m. and being able to see clearly..lol..I am pretyy mechanically inclined but I also learned a long time ago ask first, measure twice and cut once..lol..thanx again.

[asphaltburner]

Yo! Deleted my '76 Camaro's A/C in 2006 and it's opening in the firewall is larger and has a slightly different orientation,...I would imagine that GM did the same with the trucks.
I jumped on the internet 'cause I remembered how to search this out,...search "truck A/C delete" and you'll come up with some suppliers of the conversion heater box that will allow you to use the existing firewall, and factory heater parts to complete the conversion. Try this link:
http://www.acdelete.com/pages/73-7_A-Body.htm
My pics are gone from the thread, but my old thread about the wiring with a full description can be found at this nastyz28.com link:
http://www.nastyz28.com/forum/showth...813#post606813
I sure hopes this helps you! Questions,...don't hesitate to PM me on this board! I'm happy to help all I can.
Merry Christmas! Todd.

[cowboy5683]

Wow..Thats perfect..that will save me tons of headaches..thank you very much aspaltburner!..I have bookmarked both links and will be referring to them and possibly you soon enuff!..Thanx again!

[asphaltburner]

Yo! Ho Ho! And a MERRY CHRISTMAS to you from me!!
Delighted to be of help!
Todd.

[78 Big10 454]

I swear, I'm constantly astounded by the knowledge on this Board. Thanks for always being there for us. A Merry Christmas to you all!