Question on 70s model truck grills - The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network

BAChevyMan · 12-13-2018, 05:06 PM

I am in the market for a around a 69 to 72 Chevrolet C10 Truck. Just love the body style. My only problem is I only like the one with the front grill that has the blinker likes in it with the "Chevrolet" name across the front. All the ones I am seeing that I am willing to buy have a different grill with lights in the bumper. My question is, first off is there any difference in the truck other then what I have mentioned? Second, if I were to buy sed truck... can I just buy the grill and bumper I want and then cut the blinker wires and extend them up to the front grill? Cause it seems doable to me, But IDK, maybe lights are different. or maybe it just plain wont work.

**too much stuff** · 12-13-2018, 06:07 PM

Sounds like you like the 69-70 look. The 71-72 has the turn signals in the bumper. 71-72 would be an upgrade since it will have factory disc brakes. The grills and bumper can be switched over easy enough if you want the older look.

BAChevyMan · 12-13-2018, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by too much stuff

Sounds like you like the 69-70 look. The 71-72 has the turn signals in the bumper. 71-72 would be an upgrade since it will have factory disc brakes. The grills and bumper can be switched over easy enough if you want the older look.

So then I take it the 69 has front drums then? You mentioned disc brakes on the 71 so I am asumming here. Sounds like getting the 71 with 69 trim swap is the way for me.

**michael bustamante** · 12-13-2018, 06:33 PM

correct. the grilles go 67-68. then 69-70, lastly.71-72 for the chevys. 69-72 will all interchange as the fenders and radiator support are the same.

sick472 · 12-13-2018, 06:33 PM

I strongly suggest the 71 or 72 with disc brakes. The grill conversion should be easy enough. The flip side is, get the 69 to 70 and perform a disc brake conversion. Both are very doable...I'm bettting the grill swap is easier!

BAChevyMan · 12-13-2018, 06:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sick472

I strongly suggest the 71 or 72 with disc brakes. The grill conversion should be easy enough. The flip side is, get the 69 to 70 and perform a disc brake conversion. Both are very doable...I'm bettting the grill swap is easier!

Yeah, I am a mechanic so either one is doable for me. But grill swap is easier.

rockyrivermark · 12-14-2018, 08:33 AM

I'm not a 100 percent on this but pretty sure
My truck is a '70. Previous owner added front disc off donor '72 truck.
I think 69-70 four wheel drum is also 6 lug wheels. 71-72 with disc is 5 lug wheels
So if you buy a 69-70 and do a disc swap you may need rear axles and of course new wheels. If I'm correct then yeah. Change grille on a 71-72
Side note
I added rear disc conversion from little shop manuafuctuing in Tennessee
$425 for everything. Easy job and made a huge difference if braking.

Mike C · 12-14-2018, 09:28 AM

It will be cheaper to buy a disc brake conversion kit than a mint 69-70 front clip.
If you want the look of the 69-70, buy the nicest body you can find. Mechanical repairs are easy in comparison to paint and body. I did the ECE conversion with 2 1/2” drop spindles on my ‘69 and highly recommend them.

CG · 12-14-2018, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rockyrivermark

I'm not a 100 percent on this but pretty sure
My truck is a '70. Previous owner added front disc off donor '72 truck.
I think 69-70 four wheel drum is also 6 lug wheels. 71-72 with disc is 5 lug wheels
So if you buy a 69-70 and do a disc swap you may need rear axles and of course new wheels. If I'm correct then yeah. Change grille on a 71-72
Side note
I added rear disc conversion from little shop manuafuctuing in Tennessee
$425 for everything. Easy job and made a huge difference if braking.

They make 6 lug rotors so you can keep it all 6 lug if desired

**jocko** · 12-14-2018, 10:48 AM

Personally I’d rather do a front 6 lug disk kit than a grille swap. And you will actually own a 69-70 with the look you like in that case rather than a different year you’ve made to look like what you want. Either approach is perfectly fine, just comes down to what you’d rather work on. Good NOS 69-70 grilles aren’t inexpensive. Replacements are not bad cost-wise, but they do have a different look than the original - the lines between the turn signal and headlight are different. Some GM replacement part grilles had the newer vertical black line as opposed to the two horizontal extensions, so there’s nothing incorrect about either look. I just personally like the horizontal lines of the originals. Also keep in mind that a 72 has different doors and door panels. Most like the 72s - but it will be a little further evidence of franken-truckedness if that matters to you. You really can’t go wrong! If you plan to drop the truck at some point, I’d buy a 69-70 up front and do the disk conversion and drop spindles all as one single job.

S_Gibson · 12-14-2018, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rockyrivermark

I'm not a 100 percent on this but pretty sure
My truck is a '70. Previous owner added front disc off donor '72 truck.
I think 69-70 four wheel drum is also 6 lug wheels. 71-72 with disc is 5 lug wheels
So if you buy a 69-70 and do a disc swap you may need rear axles and of course new wheels. If I'm correct then yeah. Change grille on a 71-72
Side note
I added rear disc conversion from little shop manuafuctuing in Tennessee
$425 for everything. Easy job and made a huge difference if braking.

You can covert to 6 lug disc from six lug drums on the front, but I think I read the rims might need a different offset. Someone else could confirm if the rims would work as I'm curious on this as well.

**jocko** · 12-14-2018, 08:16 PM

Good thing to point out S_Gibson. You won't need a different offset necessarily, but you will indeed need a different inner wheel profile (which also means a different wheel) -the original 6 lug steelies thru 1970 won't clear the caliper. If you wanted to retain 6 lug steelies, you'd want to track down a set of 71+ K5 or K10 wheels. The 71+ 1/2 ton 4x4's retained the same 6 lug pattern with a different inner wheel profile to clear calipers (the offset may or may not be the same, but it's the revised profile that allows them to clear the caliper). It can sometimes be a pain to find them and one really needs a set of 5 for a driver unless you want to carry two spares. Really, 3 of them are sufficient (two on front and 1 as spare) and if you get a flat on the back, then it would fit that also. But also need to take wheel width into consideration - ya kinda want em to be the same or wider in the back at least - just not wider in the front

12-13-2018, 05:06 PM	#1
BAChevyMan Registered User Join Date: Dec 2018 Location: Salem Posts: 27	Question on 70s model truck grills I am in the market for a around a 69 to 72 Chevrolet C10 Truck. Just love the body style. My only problem is I only like the one with the front grill that has the blinker likes in it with the "Chevrolet" name across the front. All the ones I am seeing that I am willing to buy have a different grill with lights in the bumper. My question is, first off is there any difference in the truck other then what I have mentioned? Second, if I were to buy sed truck... can I just buy the grill and bumper I want and then cut the blinker wires and extend them up to the front grill? Cause it seems doable to me, But IDK, maybe lights are different. or maybe it just plain wont work.

12-13-2018, 06:07 PM	#2
too much stuff Roadtrip! Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Grand Rapids MN Posts: 13,708	Re: Question on 70s model truck grills Sounds like you like the 69-70 look. The 71-72 has the turn signals in the bumper. 71-72 would be an upgrade since it will have factory disc brakes. The grills and bumper can be switched over easy enough if you want the older look. __________________ 67 gmc custom lwb dakota truck. Sold...And bought back 69 swb 4x4 project (in progress) 70 c-10 lwb texas truck 70 4x4/BB/bkts/posi/tach(retired) 70 swb (wifes) 70 jimmy camper 71 K-5 factory 2wd 71 cheyenne 4x4/tach/posi/ plow rig 71 Cheyenne20 BB, buckets, tach, tilt, 4 speed 72 jimmy CST wyoming rig 72 jimmy Colorado rig 72 lifted texas 4x4 3/4 ton burb 65 fury conv. 383/auto 65 chrysler 300 "L" 413 auto

12-13-2018, 06:33 PM	#4
michael bustamante Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Albuquerque NM Posts: 7,819	Re: Question on 70s model truck grills correct. the grilles go 67-68. then 69-70, lastly.71-72 for the chevys. 69-72 will all interchange as the fenders and radiator support are the same. __________________ 1967custom

12-13-2018, 06:33 PM	#5
sick472 Registered User Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Sedalia Mo. Posts: 1,130	Re: Question on 70s model truck grills I strongly suggest the 71 or 72 with disc brakes. The grill conversion should be easy enough. The flip side is, get the 69 to 70 and perform a disc brake conversion. Both are very doable...I'm bettting the grill swap is easier! __________________ He who is without oil shall throw the first rod. Compressions 8.7:1 1972 C10 1976 C10 (parts truck) 1985 K20

12-14-2018, 08:33 AM	#7
rockyrivermark Registered User Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Fairview Park, Ohio Posts: 1,031	Re: Question on 70s model truck grills I'm not a 100 percent on this but pretty sure My truck is a '70. Previous owner added front disc off donor '72 truck. I think 69-70 four wheel drum is also 6 lug wheels. 71-72 with disc is 5 lug wheels So if you buy a 69-70 and do a disc swap you may need rear axles and of course new wheels. If I'm correct then yeah. Change grille on a 71-72 Side note I added rear disc conversion from little shop manuafuctuing in Tennessee $425 for everything. Easy job and made a huge difference if braking. __________________ My build page http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=764662 My cabinet building site http://www.cbcabinets.com

12-14-2018, 09:28 AM	#8
Mike C Registered User Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Austin, TX, USA Posts: 7,713	Re: Question on 70s model truck grills It will be cheaper to buy a disc brake conversion kit than a mint 69-70 front clip. If you want the look of the 69-70, buy the nicest body you can find. Mechanical repairs are easy in comparison to paint and body. I did the ECE conversion with 2 1/2” drop spindles on my ‘69 and highly recommend them. __________________ 44 Willys MB 52 M38A1 64 Corvette Coupe 68 Camaro 'vert LT1 & TH700 69 Z/28 355 12.6's @110 69 Chevy Short Step 4 1/2"/7" drop 72 Jimmy 4WD 4spd 4" & 35's 02 GMC 2500HD 4x4 Duramax

12-14-2018, 10:48 AM	#10
jocko Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Godley, TX Posts: 17,936	Re: Question on 70s model truck grills Personally I’d rather do a front 6 lug disk kit than a grille swap. And you will actually own a 69-70 with the look you like in that case rather than a different year you’ve made to look like what you want. Either approach is perfectly fine, just comes down to what you’d rather work on. Good NOS 69-70 grilles aren’t inexpensive. Replacements are not bad cost-wise, but they do have a different look than the original - the lines between the turn signal and headlight are different. Some GM replacement part grilles had the newer vertical black line as opposed to the two horizontal extensions, so there’s nothing incorrect about either look. I just personally like the horizontal lines of the originals. Also keep in mind that a 72 has different doors and door panels. Most like the 72s - but it will be a little further evidence of franken-truckedness if that matters to you. You really can’t go wrong! If you plan to drop the truck at some point, I’d buy a 69-70 up front and do the disk conversion and drop spindles all as one single job. Last edited by jocko; 12-14-2018 at 11:29 AM.

12-14-2018, 08:16 PM	#12
jocko Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Godley, TX Posts: 17,936	Re: Question on 70s model truck grills Good thing to point out S_Gibson. You won't need a different offset necessarily, but you will indeed need a different inner wheel profile (which also means a different wheel) -the original 6 lug steelies thru 1970 won't clear the caliper. If you wanted to retain 6 lug steelies, you'd want to track down a set of 71+ K5 or K10 wheels. The 71+ 1/2 ton 4x4's retained the same 6 lug pattern with a different inner wheel profile to clear calipers (the offset may or may not be the same, but it's the revised profile that allows them to clear the caliper). It can sometimes be a pain to find them and one really needs a set of 5 for a driver unless you want to carry two spares. Really, 3 of them are sufficient (two on front and 1 as spare) and if you get a flat on the back, then it would fit that also. But also need to take wheel width into consideration - ya kinda want em to be the same or wider in the back at least - just not wider in the front



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