What is the difference between a 67-69 dodge dart fender and say a 74 fender? I was just noticing they look very similar, anyone know?

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Well the 70-72 Used a sort of header panel on each side around the headlight,

the 73-76 used a header panel at the top in front of the hood.

They might bolt on but you really need all of the "front clip parts" to make it work.

This may be more expertly answered on FABO...


Greg

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I've noticed that the right fenders may differ at the surface at the antenna hole.

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"Louise", a 1976 Dart Custom project, (now sadly reverted to being just an "organ donor" to our other project Darts.)

Thanks guys, yes Greg, I noted the 70-72 are clearly different, and knew the 73-76 had the header panel, which I incorrectly assumed ran across the entire front including the fenders...never took a close look. Upon closer inspection the 73-76 fenders look awfully close to the 67-69 type. Yes, i assume there are subtle differences, but was curious to see if the later ones would work in a pinch for 67-69's. No biggie, I might check FABO.

brian

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Sorry, guys, one more question. What about the headliner from a '73 dart 2 dr hardtop, will those newer molded headliners fit the older 67-69 cars (so I don't have to deal with bow type install)?

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Not to change the subject, but. Will the front sheet metal from a 1969 four door dart fit a 1974 two door dart? Long story short; I was in an accident last year and wrecked my ‘74s front end. A friend has offered me a ’69 four door as a donor. Has anyone done this or a similar transplant?

You need to look at this thread:

viewtopic.php?f=12&t=33926

It is old, and long, and I no longer have access to the car since it was sold, but I discuss putting a 68 Dart front clip on a 74 Duster body and frame. It can be done, the bumper holes must be drilled in the frame, the wheel openings in the fenders are different, there are alignment issues with the fenders, especially on the bottoms.

There are pictures starting around the fifth page of that thread showing the 68 Dart fenders and front bumper and hood mounted on the Duster shell. That is as far as I got.

As the current owner of Reeds Duster, I can say all the bolt holes match. But have a bag of shims to get everything aligned, there are subtle differences.

The wheel openings are the same. The differences that Reed alludes too is when you mount too big a tire in front. I currently have a 15x7 OEM steel rims with P235x60 tires. They hit the front lower corner of the fenders. I am sure that the slotted mags that Reed was using had the same problem. But this tire/rim combination always had this problem. The fix is to trim the corner off, or use rims with a deeper offset.

A '68 grill needs the radiator support cut to let the turn signal pigtails to pass thru. Various holes need to be drilled for the grills support brackets. Use the '74 hood latch support. The hood won't latch with the '68 one. The '68 turn signals use 2 wires, the '74 has 3. The '68 bumper will bolt on using the existing holes in the frame rails. But it will be spaced out to far, so the slots in the brackets needs to be elongated.

I must have had the frontend off and on more then a dozen times to get everything aligned.

I never got as far in the mounting process as kesteb has. If I remember right, I hung the fenders without any shims an left it that way because I knew I would be taking them off when I got to the bodywork. But then I sold the car before I got to the bodywork.

I did have to drill the frame for the front bumper holes. The factory bumper bolt holes in the 74 frame did not match the 68 bumper.I did have small enough tires on the front rims to clear the fenders on full turns. I believe I the rims weere 15x7 with a 4 inch backspace and the tires were VERY skinny, like 255/50 or something like that. I would have ot pull the rims and tires from storage to know for sure.

Sounds like I have my work cut out me. These replies give me hope that it is possible. One more question; which fender tag (vin#) did you go with? Thanks again for all the replies.Wish I knew how to post pictures. If I figure it out I'll post before and after's.

Fender tag stays on the car it was built on. Keep your Valiant fender tag.

The 4" back space may have solved the problem. That and a smaller tire. Those who claim they know such things, say the 235s need 4.25" of back space. The factory 15x7 rim has 3.5" of back space.

Another problem are the panel gaps. The fenders have a bigger gap at the top of the door. To fix that you can use a 1/2" spacer at the front of the fender. But then nothing on the front end aligns and everything looks "funny". There is also a 1/2" gap between the back of the hood and the cowl. Nothing that a welder and grinder can't fix.

But, once all this stuff is worked out, the combination grows on you. It looks " right". It needs a GTS hood and maybe the grill treatment of the Brazilian Dodge Charger GT. Hmm, maybe the Air Grabber from a '70 Roadrunner...

You can find pictures of the assembly at http://www.kesteb.us/duster/albums/assembly