Valiant/Dart will front clip interchange??

[smatt]

Hello,

I know this is going to be recieved negative by some, please throw stones lightly...

I have a '74 Dart Swinger that I'm hoping to start doing the body work on shortly. So I've been thinking if I'm going to put the time and money into getting the body straight and painted, maybe I should get rid of the pointy nose, and put on a front end that I will like. My brother in law has a '69 Dart, and that just looks so much better in the front than mine.

I thought I read somewhere that any '67-'76 Dart or Valiant front clip will interchange if you have the whole clip. I know there are issues with just changing just fenders/hoods, ect, but if I can find a rust bucket or 4 door as a donar, and have a whole front clip that I like better will it bolt onto my '74 dart.

I have seen a few on here done Dart to Dart, so I guess that should work, but how about Valiant to Dart also, or does the different wheelbase affect this.

Thanks,
Matt

 

[72Swinger360]

If you can get an entire 67-69 valiant front clip then it will bolt up to the 74 Dart front end. A 70-72 Val/Scamp front clip is the same as a 70-72 Duster and you would also need the entire front clip from these years as well. You might run into a bolt pattern issue with the front bumper brackets depending on if you have the standard front bumper brackets or the shock type on your 74 Dart. Late 74 and up A-Bodies use a shock type bumper bracket that bolts up differently than the earlier bumper brackets.

Joe

 

[Blownfish]

I thought I read somewhere that any '67-'76 Dart or Valiant front clip will interchange if you have the whole clip. I know there are issues with just changing just fenders/hoods, ect, but if I can find a rust bucket or 4 door as a donar, and have a whole front clip that I like better will it bolt onto my '74 dart.

It will work if you use the whole front end including the hood latch support, but you may need to slightly modify the bumper brackets to fit the 74 frame rails.

It's not my thing but there was a 69 Dart that ran around St. Louis with a 70 front clip and it looked great, it looked like it belonged, it actually looked like a dart from a dart board. I had talked to the guy back in the 80's and it turned out that it was his grandparents car and it got hit in 70 and instead of ordering a new front end, the body shop used a front clip from a 70 that was sitting on the lot that was hit in the rear.

 

[smatt]

Thanks for the info!!

I just wanted to make sure I could look for both Darts and Valiants and that any of the years will work if I find the whole clip. if there are any rust buckets around cheap enough I'll think about doing the sway.