Alternative Heater

[woodwright]

Any body modified the heater assembly from another vehicle to work in our trucks? I don't have room for the outer firewall assembly, but I don't want to buy an aftermarket unit. I don't have the money, and it just seems like thats cheating

I thought about using the rear heat unit from my 93 suburban, but it's bigger than I thought. I like the control panel though. I don't need AC, just a heater with defrost and floor heat.

[Scott Webster]

My interior is shot and stripped. When my heater core sprung a leak I refused to pay lots when I fugured that the fan didn't work either. I ended up using a transmission cooler with a 12 volt fan blowing behind it. Doesn't defrost well, but I have a hf fan for that. I know it isn't what your looking for, but it worked in a pinch.

[ETsC10]

I don't know about retro-fitting from another vehicle, but I might shed light on aftermarket.

You may want to start haunting ebay for older add-on units for campers, etc.
I had a neat, self-contained unit (didn't need anything but a supply to and from the radiator),
earlier this summer, that was designed for a camper. Oldie but goodie. I sold it, but there
may be more out there.
I have no idea what brand it was.

Other than that, I had a Mohave heater & plenum that I also sold. I would think they probably
run under $300 and will give you everything you need, other than controls, and still fit under the dash.

Good luck on your quest...subscribed.

[woodwright]

The controls on the aftermarket units that I have seen are basically on or off. I would like fan, temp, and location controls like a factory system. I would also like to get away from the sliding cable controls.