1979 K10 swap

[kuyaspidey]

I have a 1979 K10 and I want to swap the grill/headlights with an '83-'87. I love the look of the stacked rectangle headlights and want to get them on my '79. I heard this is possible but I can't find any information on how to do it? I also know the '80 had the stacked headlights, would that be any easier to swap than the '83-'87's? Any help you can offer is much appreciated! Thanks guys!

 

[PrairieDrifter]

To do an 81-87 front clip on a 73-80, you have to remove the fenders, hood and radiator core support. 73-80 had the cowl built into the hood so that makes the hood longer. I'm haven't seen many people do the 73-80 to 81-87, ive seen plenty of people do the opposite (81-87 to 73-80) The only thing I'm unsure about is the hood and the cowl. It should work, but other than that putting on new fenders and the core support is pretty straightforward and should work just fine.

 

[firebane]

Entire front clip needs to be swapped across.

 

[kuyaspidey]

So if I understand correctly, it would be much easier to do a '80 grill/headlight swap onto my '79, than it would be to do an '81-'87 grill/headlight swap onto my '79. Am I right in assuming that a 1980 swap with the 1979 would NOT require a full swap on the front end?

 

[PrairieDrifter]

So if I understand correctly, it would be much easier to do a '80 grill/headlight swap onto my '79, than it would be to do an '81-'87 grill/headlight swap onto my '79. Am I right in assuming that a 1980 swap with the 1979 would NOT require a full swap on the front end?

Correct.

 

[Georgeb]

Also the hood hinges are on the cowl for the later model trucks and you would need to cut and fab on the cab to do this swap.

 

[PrairieDrifter]

I figured I was missing something.. anyways I prefer the 79 front end myself, maybe because I have a 79? Maybe lol.

 

[kuyaspidey]

I figured I was missing something.. anyways I prefer the 79 front end myself, maybe because I have a 79? Maybe lol.

I bought the truck fully intending to swap the front end to a newer style but the more I look at my truck the more the '79 style grows on me.

 

[bucket]

Ah... I knew this day would come. For such a long time, EVERYONE wanted their 70's truck to have the later style front clip, especially the '89-'91 style. But now everyone is coming to their senses and realizing how nice the 70's front clip looks

 

[PrairieDrifter]

For me its the downward slope of the fenders and hood on the later models that I don't like, I love the flat hood and the straight fenders on my 79. It feels more "square" lol and that face is beautiful haha Id just get a really nice grill and some new headlight bezels assuming they need some attention.