Heater Boxes and Trucks with A/C

[4gearchev]

Hi there guys,
I'm taking my 72 C10 apart so I can repaint the firewall and frame. It is a factory air conditioned truck. When I got the truck a couple years ago most of the parts for the ac were either missing, cut, or broken, so my plan was to put a regular heater box in its place. Looking at another cab that was taken apart, I noticed that the holes stamped in the sheet metal are different on the factory ac trucks. I have a junk heater box lying around and I lined it up to find it is not remotely close to fitting properly. I'm just wondering if anyone ever encountered this problem, and how they solved it without cutting original sheet metal.
What I'm thinking now is that I'll just have to bite the bullit and restore the factory ac or possibly just remove the guts from the ac box. Vintage Air is a little out of the price range.
In the pictures the blue cab is the one with factory heat, and my truck is the orange one.
Any input is appreciated!
Posted via Mobile Device