What interchanges between the 70 and the 71-72 models as far as the front end sheet metal? It looks like a tree or something fell on the hood of my car before I got it. The hood is creased and bent up pretty good, the drivers fender is slightly bowed out so the contours don't match the door and it has a huge bondo patch in the lower rear section. The grills are pretty toasty and the bumper looks like it's had a hard life. It looks like the repo parts are the same for 70-72, but what about the hoods? If I find a used 72 fender and a used 70 hood will they match up? or if I find a 70 fender and a 72 hood, would I need to get new grills and a front bumper to make that all line up right?

 

The fenders are interchangeable but are not the same. The '70 fenders are smooth where the hood meets the fenders. The '71-72 fenders have bumps along this surface. All repop fenders are '71-72.

The hoods are different enough that it will require changing other front end parts to make it look right. I would try to find a hood that is correct for your year car.

What year is your car? Did the core support get damaged as well?

 

What do you think?





Yes, the leading edge of the hood is different, and the metal hoods have the same differences due to the grilles being taller on 71-72 cars.

 

The fenders will interchange but there are differences. The 70 has no ridges inside the top 71-72 do. Has to do with crash safety. Bumpers will interchange but 70 has different parking lights. Not sure on grills but I think so but grills changed from year to year and also different models. It will depend on how correct you want your car to be.
Larry

 

Thanks for the quick replies guys. This car is far enough out from original that it will never be a restoration. Having the slightly different look of the 71-72 sheet metal wouldn't be a problem for me. What may be nice is that there's an extra year of parts floating around out there compared to the 70 only metal. The core support looks good and undamaged so I think it's just going to come down to whats available when I'm ready to jump on the bodywork.