‘69 grille in ‘68 dart

[Brian Hounsell]

What needs to be done to put ‘68 grille back in my Dart? Somebody installed a ‘69 grille. Tried to put it back to stock, but there are some subtle diffs, ‘cause “no fittee”.

 

[Professor Fate]

They must have switched more than just the grille. Do you have '69 fenders on it, too? The headlights are mounted at a different spacing and depth, and as you noted the grille mounts are slightly different.
To go back to '68 parts you will need fenders, grille and headlight bezels. I believe you can get away with '67 fenders, but don't quote me on that. You will need to add the round side markers to the '67s.
I have heard of people switching the entire headlight/ inner structure on fenders, but that's a last resort.

 

[Bennoel 10]

You can get away with just changing out the headlight buckets. The actual fenders are the same except for the marker lights and the fender brace that goes from the inner fender skirt to the fender wheel opening. Most inner fender braces are missing after 50 plus years.
Good luck with your project.

 

[Brian Hounsell]

Thanks much. Easy fix to make it right. Brian

 

[Professor Fate]

You can get away with just changing out the headlight buckets. The actual fenders are the same except for the marker lights and the fender brace that goes from the inner fender skirt to the fender wheel opening. Most inner fender braces are missing after 50 plus years.
Good luck with your project.

There's more to it than just that, only the outer skin is the same (besides the obvious side marker difference). If I get out to the shop today I'll post pictures, but I've got a lot of other irons in the fire today.

 

[HemiSSDart]

There's more to it than just that, only the outer skin is the same (besides the obvious side marker difference). If I get out to the shop today I'll post pictures, but I've got a lot of other irons in the fire today.

The entire headlight bucket area is different on each year 67, 68, and 69. Easy to tell if you have seen as many as I have...

 

[Professor Fate]

A few shots of some of the differences.
The copper/primer one is the '69.

Tab/no tab on the inside wheel arch

Among lots of other differences.
The main point being, you can't just move the headlight bucket. That whole headlight flange (or whatever you want to call it) is different and has some different attachment points and dimensions as far as grille fitment.