looking for A/C cab tech info/ cowl area

[madcow75]

Okay I have a 1976 non a/c cab which I am converting to a/c. And I have 2 questions.
-Are the holes in the cab where the kick panels located, (outside air flap diverters) are they there on an a/c cab. Or could I weld them up. I was looking at the LMC catalog and the drivers side kick panel appears to be solid.
-The cowl area on the cab where the screen is. Can I smooth that out and weld it solid. Or are they required for heater/a/c operation. I do understand they are there to access the wiper arms, but I would deal with that if I had a problem. My biggest thing is leaves and debris getting in there and rotting out the cowl area of the cab.
I just got done welding up the swiss cheese type cab area next is por-15 the snott out of it. I don't ever want to see it again.lol

[J Knight]

Not sure if this helps or not but my 82 is a factory a/c truck, inside the cab there is no flap/door on the drivers side. There is one on the passenger side, it is vacuum controlled and the manual pull lever delete.
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[madcow75]

Correct thats what I thought. Is there large hole behind the passenger side kick panel in the cab. And is the hole there in the cab on the drivers side or is it solid?

[hartbraker]

It's solid on the drivers side on my 86 and it has factory air... they only hole is for the power windows....

[madcow75]

Okay then the drivers side is going to be welded shut then. I will leave passenger side open.
How about the cowl area? Any thought

[hartbraker]

In all honesty, I wouldn't weld the cowl area shut because then you have to worry about water collecting and/or lack of air movement depending on what you're talking about welding shut. If you're planning on using POR15, that stuff is crazy good about preventing rust and it sounds like you're meticulous enough to clean out any leaves that do end up down in the cowl. I'd leave that part alone if I were you, but that's just my opinion...

[v30crewcab]

when I converted mine to a/c I left the stuff on the driver side. its nice sometimes to open it and have cool air blowing there instead of running the a/c.

[madcow75]

Yes that actually does sound good leaving it actually now that you say that. about leaving the drivers side kick panel open.

[madcow75]

What about the cowl area has anyone closed it in to keep debris out