This got zero interest in the "1967-1972 F-100 & Larger F-Series Trucks" (bumpside) forum, but it was of great interest to me. I'm posting it here just as a service for those that may find themselves in the same boat that I was.

I've had my '71 Highboy for about three years now. It has factory A/C, and the heater core is stuffed into the A/C unit along with the evaporator. So the heater core for this truck is specific to '67-'72 trucks with factory A/C only. The heater has not worked since I bought the truck, so I have been looking for a heater core for the last couple of years. They apparently have not been manufactured for quite some time. I ran across an FTE thread from 2006 in which NumbersDummy stated that there were I believe two left available in the country, according to his database. Bottom line was, there were none of these to be found as far as I could tell.

I finally got around to pulling my A/C unit out. I figured if I could not find the proper heater core or fix it, I would try to convert it to factory standard heating. Also, I had heard of guys getting the standard replacement core and having the old tanks soldered onto the new core. In the process of trying to verify that this method had actually been done successfully, I ran across a guy who claimed to have actually found this core available new at AutoZone, of all places. Needless to say I was very skeptical. So I went to the AutoZone website and sure enough, there it was. However, the AutoZone part numbers for the "with factory A/C" and "without A/C" are the same. So I was very skeptical about ordering one, especially since there was no picture of it available to compare with my old one. I called AutoZone customer service and asked about it, and they assured me it would work. I still wasn't satisfied, but I got a 20% discount ordering online, and they told me that if it didn't work I could take it to any store for a refund. So I bit the bullet and ordered it, and it got here Friday:



I'm pretty pleased with the apparent quality and the match. It's a little smaller, but at least I know it will fit in the space.

So, good new for us bumpside owners. New heater cores available for our trucks!

 

That's a great ending to an otherwise bad news beginning.

 

How do the hoses route through the firewall from the heater core?

 

This is a great post ... unfortunately for me, it appears that the core is no longer available through AutoZone. I searched everywhere, and finally bit the bullet and had it recored at a local radiator shop. They did a great job, but it was $125.

I'm in Burlington, CT if anyone needs a recommendation.

Great advice on the forum.