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Post by grnmagic77 on Mar 24, 2009 10:32:53 GMT -5
I'm pretty sure I can come up with all the parts necessary to make the change into the hardtop style.I really have no problem with the side louvers on decent looking cars with vinyl tops but mine will probably never be like new again.Without the vinyl top the louvers look way out of place. I will be dealing with a plain rattle can satin black paint job for a while until I can repair the body over the summer.I think it will end up being sort of a cross between a '71 R/T and the Aussie Falcon used in the movie "The Road Warriors". :)Right now it can not have a good paint job but I think it will more than make up for that in plain attitude. Hopefully this picture will attach,I borrowed a pic. of someones car and did a little bit of photoshop editing.I will also be adding some silver or white tail stripes strobe style to the rear...  |
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helba
New Member
Back yard restoration 'expert.'
Posts: 26
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Post by helba on Mar 30, 2009 22:55:37 GMT -5
My friend who drives a rattle canned black '74 SE missing the vinyl top bought it without and simply didn't put the inner or outer louvers back on, leaving plain back windows. It's obviously a different shape than the standard '74 back windows and they don't roll down, but if you're spray painting the car for now anyway, it works, right? Although now that I get to thinking about it, he's also got no headliner and teal carpet... Lol.
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Post by grnmagic77 on Apr 2, 2009 10:19:32 GMT -5
Well... I guess a least he has some carpet. ;D Right now I'm dealing with a carpet delete model,O.K. a floorboard delete model also (it's getting very popular these days I hear) ....not to mention the ultra rare ' 5 gallon bucket turned upside down' seat option.  Needless to say my car is very ROUGH right now. I have made some progress over the past couple of weekends though... I have swapped out the rear bumper brackets and light assembly from a '71 and put them into my '74 bumper,so far I have not got it back onto the car.The extra reinforcement behind the bumper from the '74 could not be used with the '71 brackets and thankfully was not welded in. ( TIP for anyone doing this....When trying to remove the old bumper bolts...tighten the nuts up until they break off...My experience with trying to do it the right way ended up with me spending a ton of extra time and hassle with a nut buster and a grinder......So a few extra bucks for new bumper bolts verses the potential of sawing one of your fingers off while trying to hold the grinder at a weird angle....  ) The bumper attachment brackets for the 73/74 are about 1"or so taller than the 71/72 style when laid flat on the floor next to each other. So...to all new guys like myself who think it might be possible just to shorten up the later style brackets...NO !! Sure it might be possible BUT not practical at all and you will need some experience in fabrication to get everything to line back up right.Chopping the originals would be a very last resort and then you might end up wondering if the bumper filler was really that bad after all... I have also installed the '72 hideaway headlight assembly into my '74 front bumper (didn't like the '72 arrow on the front) with no problems.I have it sort of "dummied-up" on the front of the car using only the top two bolts just to check for fit. Another 'LISTEN TO THE EXPERTS" tip here....you must have the 71/72 headlight buckets to bolt on to the 73/74 fenders. I do not see any practical way to modify the original 73/74 buckets in order to get enough clearance for the headlight doors to go up and down without hitting the headlights themselves.I will admit that I haven't tried any mods yet to the original buckets but it would HAVE to be easier than altering the rear bumper brackets...I think the main concern on the headlight buckets would be getting them back together correctly after sawing out about an 1".....I have also slotted out my original front bumper brackets ($20 at local machine shop) to push the bumper closer to car so that may have contributed a bit to hitting the headlights. Obviously the changes I am making are basically the same ones most everyone else has done or wants to do for their 73/74 cars.I wish I could take step by step pictures for reference as I progress on my car...Now if I could only figure out that camera. |
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Post by Nacho-RT74 on Apr 2, 2009 20:40:28 GMT -5
I have also installed the '72 hideaway headlight assembly into my '74 front bumper (didn't like the '72 arrow on the front) with no problems.I have it sort of "dummied-up" on the front of the car using only the top two bolts just to check for fit. Another 'LISTEN TO THE EXPERTS" tip here.... you must have the 71/72 headlight buckets to bolt on to the 73/74 fenders. I do not see any practical way to modify the original 73/74 buckets in order to get enough clearance for the headlight doors to go up and down without hitting the headlights themselves.I will admit that I haven't tried any mods yet to the original buckets but it would HAVE to be easier than altering the rear bumper brackets...I think the main concern on the headlight buckets would be getting them back together correctly after sawing out about an 1".....I have also slotted out my original front bumper brackets ($20 at local machine shop) to push the bumper closer to car so that may have contributed a bit to hitting the headlights. yes youare right HOWEVER some pp has been able to do it without that change.... AKCharger is one of them Obviously the changes I am making are basically the same ones most everyone else has done or wants to do for their 73/74 cars.  #Thinking# #Icon_BS# #Rotz# not me #NaNa# ;D |
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helba
New Member
Back yard restoration 'expert.'
Posts: 26
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Post by helba on Apr 2, 2009 22:53:29 GMT -5
Well... I guess a least he has some carpet. ;D Right now I'm dealing with a carpet delete model,O.K. a floorboard delete model also (it's getting very popular these days I hear) ....not to mention the ultra rare ' 5 gallon bucket turned upside down' seat option. Haaaah hah. I laughed, a lot. Floorboard delete is indeed a very popular option nowadays. My 71's a deluxe floorboard delete: it's got holes conveniently placed at both front passengers' feet and under the backseat. As for the 'bucket' seat option, I luckily found a set of beautiful white seats with front buckets out of a '74 for mine (note to readers, they fit but the bolts don't line up for the back seat in the '71.) |
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#Thinking# #Icon_BS# #Rotz#