cab swap heater questions

[old Rusty C10]

and another thing to bust chops about on my restoration..
on the 76 i had the heater box has metal coated cables that are held onto the heater switch by screw down clamps and to the heater box itself.
My 81 cab has a plastic coated cable that is held in by plastic tabs. now i also notice that the connection to the fan speed switch is also different. I went to try to replace the heater switch out of the 76 but im wondering do i have to change the cables too and also if thats the case, will i also have to change the heater box too?

Bein im sure that this isnt the last question lol got any hits for me Chris ( CaptKaos)the body swap wasnt as easy as i thought but it is goin kinda well

[Captkaos]

It isn't going to get any easier either...

Are you wanting to use the 76 and 81 parts together. If so, it won't work (without some MAJOR WORK) Each unit will have to be installed per year (that is the best explanation). IE: if you want the heater from the '81, install it complete component wise ONLY from the '81

This is my suggestion as if you were starting from the beginning. Strip the '81 cab down to nothing but the cab shell (minus windows unless you are replacing them) Then, go to the '76 and pull everything out of it and put it in the '81. This will make the '81 basically a 76 Cab. This is the approach I would do if my '76 cab was bad and I needed a new one.

The electrical connection/wiring and the A/C are the main groups for the cab, and they are the ones that will cause you the most pain. If you don't have to, I wouldn't swap these main components. (keep in mind I have no idea what your trying to accomplish or the salvagability of either truck.)

You might have to enlighten me some. I hope I am helping more than hurting....

[phantom dually]

Sounds like alot of work.

[old Rusty C10]

i have this truck parked outside my house in the driveway and due to the fact i have alot of PITA neighbors i had to do this kinda quickly. What i did was i bought the 81 cab ( together with the rolling chassis) and got it here and stripped the cab off of it and got rid of that with all the parts i didnt need
over the thanksgiving holiday i wound up pulling the cab off of the 76 and threw the 81 on there. then i started pulling apart the 76 cab which i stripped to bare bones . Once that was done i had to send the cab off to the boneyard
i guess ill get my son to start pulling the heater box out of the 81 cab
i had already changed the wiring harness and the column over so more or less i am changing over everything lol just wish i was doin this in a nice warm garage!!