73 to 72 Dodge Dart door swap
- Thread starter 6pak
- Start date
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You can as long as you swap the entire door with all of its internal hardware. The window glass, window lift hardware, door handle positioning and locking hardware is all different. So what you can’t do is buy a ‘70-‘72 door shell and then re-use any of the ‘73 door guts.
Your interior door panels won’t exactly match either, and you’ll need to use the earlier door panels as the interior door handles and window crank locations changed
Your interior door panels won’t exactly match either, and you’ll need to use the earlier door panels as the interior door handles and window crank locations changed
Ironracer
Gearhead
72 to 70 is actually lighter... less metal. Supposedly, it's substantial.
Yeah the door is easy as long as you buy a complete door with all its guts.
The ‘70-‘72 doors have a metal top though instead of a plastic upper, so that won’t match the rear quarter window surround. The door panel is smaller on the earlier doors. But you can probably find a design that matches pretty closely, especially if you buy a door panel for a ‘72.
I’ve never looked into it that far on a Dart, you may also need a different upper door seal because of the wing vent vs roll up glass.
Its too bad you’re on the other side of the country, I have a set of ‘72 Dart doors.
Yeah the ‘73+ doors got side impact crash protection. There’s a door beam and some additional reinforcement. I haven’t weighed them, but it is noticeable if you pick up a later door and then pick up an earlier one. It’s not a massive difference, but it’s more than a couple pounds.
I always thought this about 73 and later. Are Dart Sports different? My 73 does not have any beam in the doors.
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I’ve always heard it was ‘73, but maybe it’s ‘74? I know ‘73’s still used the older style window lift mechanism, ‘73 is one year only for glass and hardware. ‘74 got the updated lift mechanism, maybe that’s what made room for the door beam? I’ll check my ‘74.
73 is one year only regulator and glass. 74+ is also its own. I dont think 73 had the internal beam, was probably started in 74. The E bodys got them a couple years earlier. Those suckers are really heavy! Its not uncommon for people to cut out the beam, its a substantial addition of weight.
Would also need to change the roof rail channels and seals to the 70-72 style.
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