73/74 grill swap

[xs-style]

To discuss this topic go here- LINK


I just finished up this swap for my '78. Ive seen posts on the board where folks have told others how to do it, but Ive never seen a write up with photos before. That said, I figured Id go ahead and put one together. This should fit 75-79 trucks, and later models with older sheetmetal lol. Hope this helps someone along the way since this seems to be a popular swap right now.


To get started you need the 73/74 center support and two side supports.


I didnt take a pic of what the grill looked like originaly. If your truck started as anything like mine, you know what a chevy grill looks like when its missing about 20 teeth lol. Just remove the 8 screws holding that old busted up grill on and toss it aside. That will leave you looking at your center grill support. Heres a picture of the 75 and up grill support in my parts truck




Now this is the center support youll need from the 73/74 donor truck.




Swapping the center supports out was a pretty simple. 8 bolts and your done.

Heres the side support brackets-



The 73/74 grill-



And the side brackets attached to the grill-




To mount the side supports youll need to drill four holes, two on each side. If you look just to the inside edge of the headlights, youll see Chevy provided dimples where the side brackets need to mount.



The pre-drill shot of the dimples didnt come out as well as I would have liked, but the after shot shows up better.



In my own case here I drilled the holes a little large, and used washers with my bolts. I figured my chances of getting it exactly right on the first try were slim to none. Doing it this way will allow me to adjust the gaps.

Heres an after picture with the grill installed.



Now your down to re assembling everything and viewing the finished product.



As it turns out, Ive still got some adjusting to do. Im off about 1/4 inch to the left. I still need to make something up for the center mounts too. Aside from those little details the swap is done though. As it turns out this is probably one of the easiest things Ive done to the truck. Hope this helps someone along the way.

[xs-style]

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

I love the 73-74 grill. What about the internal hood latch, will this work alright with that grill?

I didnt need to with the external latch, but from what I can find on here changing them out isnt hard. You would still have the spot for an external latch on the grill though.

Originally Posted by c10sport

Yes it does. I put a 1973 grille in my 1978 K10 with an inside hood release.