73 Vette front end to 68-72 conversion?
 

My brother has a pretty beat up 1973 Corvette (plastic front bumper, steel rear bumper).

He isnt a "car guy" but Loves Corvettes, so when he saw this one for so cheap he jumped on it. Well when I first saw it, it didnt look right, and finally a friend spotted a bunch of bad body work. I mean you name it, the rear end isnt square, the body doesnt match where the rear bumper comes out. The roof line is uneven, the front fenders dont sit flat.

Finally I picked up the car and noticed the frame was repaired. So one of the previous owners wrecked it and either did the work themselves (poorly) or got somebody to do it (poorly)

Long story short, the car needs a new body (he measured it and the frame seems to be straight).

But now that he wants to do this to the car, he wants to make the front look like a steel front bumper car.

I was looking around and doesnt seem like many have done this. I was looking at the frame and the bumper set ups and it seems like the frame is the same, but the bumper brackets are different.

So Can you pull off the bumper brackets/frame extension on a 73 Vette and bolt on the bumper hardware for a 68-72?

Here is how it looks on a 1973
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...ps3b5b3d5c.jpg

I couldnt find a picture of an earlier one, but here are some diagrams

1973 Front bumper/frame extension assembly diagram
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...ps7635d2ba.jpg

1968-73 Front bumper/frame extension assembly diagram
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...ps9a07a2c2.jpg

From those pictures seems like the brackets are interchangeable.

And yes I know that the front fibreglass is different, but that will be changed.

Anyone done this? Have any info?

The conversion can be done. Look over at the Corvette Forum some people have done it there but, I would look for a suitable donor vehicle as all the little bits can cost $$$$. I know a guy who took a 73 coupe and converted it into a 69 roadster but, after building a 600HP 427 he wrecked it pretty badly and quickly lost interest in the project. Corvette Image has stock type glass, the more common 1 piece front ends will shift around in the heat. The front fenders are bonded to the steel windshield frame below the windshield opening, they pop off pretty easily with a flat pry bar if they are original bonding material the rest is pretty much bolted onto various chassis parts and the radiator support.

thanks. I looked on the vette forum I knew about and it seems like everytime somebody wanted to discuss a chrome bumper conversion the forum members would start flaming away, tell the person just to be happy with what he has, so I didnt even want to join and ask over there, haha

I know my brother got on a forum once and things got pretty bad

Well hopefully my brother can stay interested long enough so we can get this project on the way.

I am thinking an LS swap and an over drive AT would be right up his alley

Try www.digitalcorvettes.com They were way more open to modding Corvettes. I haven't been by there in years though. Many of the people that started that forum got sick of the attitude prevalent on corvetteforum which you've already experienced.

As for your question, the answer is yes, you can do the swap fairly easily but the entire front clip has to be changed. Everything from the windshield forward. You could graph the 68-72 front fiberglass onto the 73 front clip. To be correct though, the front clip is different. Pretty much anything you might need is reproduced or available from junk yards. The question is budget and time. Sounds like he's going to be putting a lot of both into the car either way. I agree he might as well build it how he wants. However, I would suggest he keep his eyes open for a 68-72. They can still be had in good condition for reasonable prices. If he's patient and willing to travel, he can pick up a complete and running 68-72 for about what it would cost for just the fiberglass parts needed to fix his 73 if he's looking at buying new panels.

Also, here's this in case he might be interested. Supposedly, it's solid, complete, and undamaged.

http://fortcollins.craigslist.org/pts/4627669018.html

Here's where I found the link http://www.digitalcorvettes.com/foru...d.php?t=223842

Oh, one thing to think about is that the 68-72 had a separate wiper door. The hood didn't come back to the cowl. That wiper door is operated by vacuum just like the lights on the car. It's a pain in the butt. It looks great but it's crappy. I would find a way to convert it to electric if I was going to have it on the car. Or, just don't ever drive in the rain.

Thanks for the info.

I will pass that info and the other forum along to him.

The only problem with buying a 68-72 is what is he going to do with his 73, and his wife has him on a pretty short leash.

About the wiper door, I think I have seen people convert early cars to the longer hood.

Thanks again

In regards to the 73, sometimes you just have to cut your losses.

You can put the longer hood on the 68-72 cars but the fenders won't match the hood. The later hoods curve up at the end since they leave room for the wipers to come out. The fenders have this same curve. That's part of the reason I mentioned possibly just grafting a 68-72 front end onto the front clip of the 73. I'd make the cut in front of the core support if I was going to try it. Just remember, it's only fiberglass. It can be molding, sanded, shaped, cut apart and pieced together until it's how he likes it. If it's done cleanly and the glass is applied properly, it won't matter in the end.

sounds good, thats a really good point about the fiberglass, might cut down costs too if he reuses his current long hood and we just cannibalize the fender curve pieces