'73-'74 Grille in a '76?

[dooce]

I would like to replace the grill in my '76 with one from a '73-'74. I thought I had read somewhere that it would fit, just need the right clips. Is that all that is needed or is there something else? By doing this, will I need to modify anything else? Like changing my hood release for some reason? I have the under hood release, not the cab cable pull type. Thanks for the help, DOOCE

[Albatrossian]

I think it'll bolt right in

[old Rusty C10]

it should screw right in .. but you may have to move or change the hood release or at least the metal rod on it.. check with captkaos he has a ton of knowledge in the interchange area

[wedgemon]

Dooce -

Maybe this will help...
http://www.4wheeloffroad.com/techart...wap/index.html

Pretty good article on this swap.


- Dave

[Captkaos]

You have to have the 73-74 specific hood latch assembly and support along wth the tabs to mount the ends to.

It will not bolt into a 75-80 trucks.

[Grande Rojo]

Originally Posted by Captkaos

You have to have the 73-74 specific hood latch assembly and support along wth the tabs to mount the ends to.

It will not bolt into a 75-80 trucks.

True, But its easy to fab up some brackets. I have a 73 grill on my 77 frontend. I'm in the process of instaling A/C right now and had to move a few things around though. I'll post some pics later

[bucket]

i'm going through this right now. i have had to swap the vertical support and bolt in the side brackets. i also have the cable release and i need to change out the release as well as the whole upper panel.

[2bits]

did the same thing on my 79 and my 76 and my other 79. I kept the original grille, and center support up on the shelf, and swapped them back each time before I sold the trucks. Finally let it go on the last one. It was a factory black (not painted) 73 454 Grille.

Before:


After:

[bigblock73]

I just did the swap last night on my 77. As stated, you will need the center support/latch assembly, and the outer triangular shaped brackets that sit near the headlights. You will also have to remove the vertical mid grill mounts because they will not work with the 73/74 grill. The 73/74 core supports have them built into the support, where the later models they are bolted in. This will be OK, as you still have the center and outer grill supported. You will also need to drill the 3/8" holes for the outer brackets, but they are located with center punches from the factory. The outer brackets will need to be mounted with nuts and bolts, as there are no welded nuts in this area on the backside to bolt them in to.

I'll post finished pics later.

[old Rusty C10]

2bits thats amazing the transformation on that truck in the pics... gives the rest of us hope who started with the same kind of thing

[Captkaos]

Originally Posted by bigblock73

I just did the swap last night on my 77.

I'll post finished pics later.

You are going to share a write-up on this correct...

[bigblock73]

Originally Posted by Captkaos

You are going to share a write-up on this correct...

Yeah, I'll put one together. As promised, here are the pictures.

[2bits]

That looks real good Jeff !

Bob, Thanks, yeah it was fun doing this one, within a week it went from needing to be crushed to down right presentable!

[bucket]

bigblock73....did you have a cable actuated release before the swap? i have one on my 78 and the 73/74 grill won't fit. did you swap the latch and the top panel or just the latch?

[bigblock73]

Bucket, no cable release..just the old fashioned exterior release....so the swap was easy.

Thanks for the compliments Thomas.

[Richard D]

I wish someone would do a writeup on swapping a whole pre-81 front clip on a '81-up cab.

[Richard D]

Originally Posted by wedgemon

Dooce -

Maybe this will help...
http://www.4wheeloffroad.com/techart...wap/index.html

Pretty good article on this swap.


- Dave

Can you post a link to more of those articles? I looked under TECH, but since I didn't see this one, I figured there might be some more.

[wedgemon]

Richard D

Here's a link to the "Chevy" search.

http://www.4wheeloffroad.com/search/...archText=chevy

- Dave

[Captkaos]

Originally Posted by bigblock73

Bucket, no cable release..just the old fashioned exterior release....so the swap was easy.

Thanks for the compliments Thomas.

Jeff, Truck looks AWESOME. Is this your daily now?
Interior release wasn't available for the 73-74's so you are looking at some fabrication to get that to work.

Originally Posted by Richard D

I wish someone would do a writeup on swapping a whole pre-81 front clip on a '81-up cab.

Found it.. That is already here:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...suburban+front

Going in that direction is a simple matter of bolting the "doghouse" onto the cab. The only gotcha in going this direction is the frame horn on the 81-87 will have to be modified to fit the 73-80 rounded end for the bumper.

My buddy just went through this on his 1975 truck we swapped the cab and bed from the donor 81-87 and he used 75-79 parts for the frontend and kept his 75 frame.
Here is his post:
http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/sm...p?topic=9396.0

[Richard D]

Originally Posted by Captkaos

Jeff, Truck looks AWESOME. Is this your daily now?
Interior release wasn't available for the 73-74's so you are looking at some fabrication to get that to work.



Found it.. That is already here:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...suburban+front

Going in that direction is a simple matter of bolting the "doghouse" onto the cab. The only gotcha in going this direction is the frame horn on the 81-87 will have to be modified to fit the 73-80 rounded end for the bumper.

My buddy just went through this on his 1975 truck we swapped the cab and bed from the donor 81-87 and he used 75-79 parts for the frontend and kept his 75 frame.
Here is his post:
http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/sm...p?topic=9396.0

Yeah, he went the other way. I wish I had his old front clip, the 81-up are dime a dozen around here. Maybe I can find someone to trade and "modernize" their "outdated" truck? I need a new cab as well, so I'll probably just find a long bed with good cab and fenders and rob them. Any details on the front frame horns?

[Richard D]

Originally Posted by wedgemon

Richard D

Here's a link to the "Chevy" search.

http://www.4wheeloffroad.com/search/...archText=chevy

- Dave

Thanks. Unfortunately there's 51 pages, littered with late model and 4x4 only stuff, I gave up looking for sheetmetal articles.

[Captkaos]

OOPS, you wanted a 73-80 onto a 81-87:

this is the closest I can give you:
http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/sm...p?topic=9396.0
As I stated above, it is a simple bolt on minus the bumper and wiper assembly.
If he took enough pics (which I doubt) I will see if he can put a tech together, but it is simple by comparison to the 81-87 to 73-80 conversion.
(I forgot to mention the wiper holes will need to be re drilled and the wiper assembly replaced with the 73-80 version.)

[Richard D]

Originally Posted by Captkaos

OOPS, you wanted a 73-80 onto a 81-87:

this is the closest I can give you:
http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/sm...p?topic=9396.0
As I stated above, it is a simple bolt on minus the bumper and wiper assembly.
If he took enough pics (which I doubt) I will see if he can put a tech together, but it is simple by comparison to the 81-87 to 73-80 conversion.
(I forgot to mention the wiper holes will need to be re drilled and the wiper assembly replaced with the 73-80 version.)

That's more like it, but there were no close-ups of the wiper holes. Is that a
'75, as claimed, or a '79-'80?

[Captkaos]

The cab and bed are a 1984. The wiper assemby and the whole frontend is a 73-80.
The original 75 stuff was rusted so he got all new stuff.. (it is in the first picture.)
I will see if he can post a pic of the wiper assembly, but it is pretty straight forward where they go..

[Richard D]

Thanks Cap. I am swapping cabs anyway, so I'll probably try to find a pre '80 cab. But ya never know.