[countrybiggen]

I was wondering if anybody knew of how to exactly swap out the 74 front end for the 72 front end cause well we all know that the 74 front end is not uhm well "cool looking" at all ya know. Well im going to either do that or make my own custom grill.So if anybody could shed soem light on this for me i would be very grateful
Country Biggen

 

[Big Dave]

First you buy a 1972 Nova. Then you sell your 1974 Nova. Or you could unbolt everything in front of the fire wall off the 1972 and bolt it in place of the 1974 front end.

Big Dave

 

[countrybiggen]

WELL Big Dave I unlike alot of guys when I something I finish it so this '74 nova will get finished and well it will be one of the cleanest people have seen ya know and the best part is im doing it all myself ya know selfpride cause now a days you got guys that have the money to just have it built for them and well that aint me but thank you for the advice.

 

[Big Dave]

WELL Big Dave I unlike alot of guys when I something I finish it so this '74 nova will get finished and well it will be one of the cleanest people have seen ya know and the best part is im doing it all myself ya know selfpride cause now a days you got guys that have the money to just have it built for them and well that aint me but thank you for the advice.

No problem. Just have to buy two cars (one for parts) and unbolt everything off the donor car as they are a direct interchange. You just can't swap the bumper though, it is everything but the sub frame (it is actually easier to unbolt the sub frame and swap the whole thing).

I have bolted a 1970 Nova front end onto a 1968 Camaro I was working on for laughs. Both cars were on a diet at the time, and I had two full fiberglass front ends for each car; but thought I would see how well they fit together. I just wish I had taken a photo while I had the Camaro with the Nova front clip on it. I drove it a few miles into town to show the guys at the speed shop what I had done (no one was amused for some reason, thinking I had Blasphemed or something). Only problem was the Camaro doors wouldn't open and the Nova fenders didn't fit the Camaro doors which cause a lot of ugly gaps (like 1/2 inch in places)., but for a joke it was OK.

Big Dave

 

[countrybiggen]

so dave a 72 will bolt directly up to a 74 bolt for bolt right
OHH HEY Big Dave so will any camaro parts fit on my 74 cause im having the hardest time finding a reaer suspension for it and will a camaro subframe fit on it so could you let me know

 

[Big Dave]

The 1967-'69 Camaro rear end interchanges all the way up to 1979 in the Nova. The 1968-'74 Nova uses all of the parts off of the 1967-'69 Camaro sub-frame including tubular control arms and front sway bars as they are the same part. Like I said aside from the differences in the windshield (which welds to the top of the cowl assembly, or firewall) and the doors you could bolt a Nova front end on a Camaro and a Camaro on a Nova. There is a slight difference in the height of the front radiator core support as the Camaro fenders have more slope than the Nova fenders but they are other wise interchangeable.

Big Dave

 

[bullet]

countrybiggen
there is a cheaper way..
68-74 NOVA SMALL BLOCK RADIATOR SUPPORT...are the same
70-74 front fenders are the same too
all u would need are the 1972 bezels, grill, grill brackets, eyebrow trim,filler panel ,support, bumper, bumper brackets, signal light buckets and the hood.

Remove your 1974 grill, bumper, brackets, hood. the corner filler piece on the front fender, signal lights.
after u remove all that...should look like this

now install the 72 stuff on your 1974..u might have to drill a couple of holes. for the eye brow trim. u might need clips and screws too. Remember u have to re-wire the new signal lights
Best bet is to have your friends car parked next to yours for reference.
Ive done this before, i did it for grins to prove a point.
Granted @ the time i had a complete 74 front end and 70 to swap the parts

 

[blk74nova]

Wait a second, Why didn't I get the memo about the 74 front end not being "cool looking"?

 

[Big Dave]

Here is the sheet metal in question:

The 1974 sheet metal looks like this,

The 1970-72 front end looks like this,

The 1998-72 front bumper assembly,

and the 1974 front bumper,

I have the rear bumpers as well if your curious.

Big Dave

 

[bullet]

hell ya! post that one too! do u have the 73?

 

[SPARKY69]

run the 74 in to a tree at 14.5 mph and then it will look like a 72, after you change the grill of course!! to change the rear just put a tarp over it!!

 

[t83cutty]

I have 74 trying to do a front end swap but the bumper bracket mounting holes dont match or line up to bolt it onwhat can i do I need help doing this

 

[Big Dave]

I have 74 trying to do a front end swap but the bumper bracket mounting holes dont match or line up to bolt it onwhat can i do I need help doing this

The problem you are having is with the US Government. They wrote a law back in 1968 that went into affect in 1973 (After the congressmen figured everybody would have forgotten who voted for it) so that your 1973 and up car (every car made from 1973 up until today) had to withstand a 5 mph impact and have no damage.

This law didn't apply to 1972 Nova that have an entirely different front bumper mounting system; and the big ugly bumpers off of your 1974 will not bolt on a 1972: additionally the bumpers you want off of the 1972 also won't bolt onto your 1974. It is because of the way the bumpers bolt on. They are different. IF you have a welder you can weld the bumpers to something and weld that something onto your Nova but THEY DO NOT INTERCHANGE.

All of the other parts that don't fit are to cover up the those big ugly bumpers that no one wanted but the insurance company. The insurance company didn't want to pay out for parking lot accidents that would cause those pretty 1972 bumpers to bend up as if made out of kids Play-Dough. They figured they could pass a law getting stronger bumpers that you have to pay an extra five thousand for in todays money, and not pay out for claims while keeping all of the premium money they raked in except for bribery money (excuse me payments to their reelection fund).

Nothing in the back interchanges either. And that is why there are no 1973-'74 parts available because the cars ARE DIFFERENT, more than just skin deep. 1973 an d up to 1979 share more parts in common.

By the way the rear steer front sub frame you have s different because of the front bumper than the first generation Camaro part used under the 1968-'72 Nova. But all of the rear end parts are the same with the 1967-'69 Camaro, big brakes, leaf springs, rear gears, differential covers, whole rear ends interchange.

Big Dave

 

[74Nova_SS]

countrybiggen
there is a cheaper way..
68-74 NOVA SMALL BLOCK RADIATOR SUPPORT...are the same
70-74 front fenders are the same too
all u would need are the 1972 bezels, grill, grill brackets, eyebrow trim,filler panel ,support, bumper, bumper brackets, signal light buckets and the hood.

Remove your 1974 grill, bumper, brackets, hood. the corner filler piece on the front fender, signal lights.
after u remove all that...should look like this

now install the 72 stuff on your 1974..u might have to drill a couple of holes. for the eye brow trim. u might need clips and screws too. Remember u have to re-wire the new signal lights
Best bet is to have your friends car parked next to yours for reference.
Ive done this before, i did it for grins to prove a point.
Granted @ the time i had a complete 74 front end and 70 to swap the parts

Hey Im doing this swap right now. The 72 has a 2 wire signal and the 74 has a 3 wire signal setup. Any info on how one would connect these and still retain signals and park lights?