Converting a 73 to a 71?

ratio411 · Feb 5, 2010

Only talking about the exterior here.
Mainly concerned about bumpers, fenders, hood, grille, etc...

What parts are needed to convert the exterior of a 73 to 71?
Are there any major mods involved, or is it primarily front/rear bumper brackets and a grille?

Don't ask me why. I just like the 71 Stang the best overall.
Dad had one, I like the grille better, I like the flip down gas cap, and so on.

So lay out a list of what parts must be gathered to convert from 73 bumpers/grille....

Fwiw, the car is a Mach I

Thank you!
Dave

2+2GT · Feb 5, 2010

No, you also have to replace all the bracket that support the grill, and the hood latch, bumpers, bumper brackets, and oh by the way the fenders have to be replaced, too.

Platonic Solid · Feb 5, 2010

2+2GT hit the nail on the head.

tx65coupe · Feb 6, 2010

Personally, I wouldn't do it. Just keep it a 73. If you would rather have a 71 then sell or trade the 73.

Gud T.B. Blown · Feb 8, 2010

tx65coupe · Feb 9, 2010

Hey Pushrod, That looks great! Whats the blue/green glow on the air dam?

Stanger007 · Feb 9, 2010

tx65coupe said:
Hey Pushrod, That looks great! Whats the blue/green glow on the air dam?

And what color blue is that?

Wes

Gud T.B. Blown · Feb 9, 2010

The green/blue on the front spoiler is a light reflection from the bumper. The color is DuPont Electric Blue.

2+2GT · Feb 9, 2010

pushrod power said:
As someone who has done it all you need to replace is the grill, bumper,and lower valence. The bumper brackets are the same. The fenders and hood do not need to be replaced.

The front bumper brackets on the 73 are totally different than the 71-72.

How do you keep the rear corners of the higher-mounted 71-72 front bumper from digging into the much lower recess on the 73 fenders, and the longer 73 front fender extensions?

Platonic Solid · Feb 9, 2010

I'm starting to think that ratio411 just likes to stir the pot every now and then

http://www.stangnet.com/mustang-forums/733149-71-73-owners-got-question.html

2 years later and I'm still waiting for pushrod to post pics of his bumper bracket.

Gud T.B. Blown · Feb 9, 2010

Platonic Solid said:
I'm starting to think that ratio411 just likes to stir the pot every now and then

http://www.stangnet.com/mustang-forums/733149-71-73-owners-got-question.html

2 years later and I'm still waiting for pushrod to post pics of his bumper bracket.

The car has been sold, can't comply with request. All I can tell you is that I didn't change the bumper brackets.
2+2: I don't know what to tell you, it worked.
Have either of you two tried this or are your questions just speculation. I did it, and it worked for me. The results speak for themselves.
I'm just trying to help and give my experience, but I guess you guys know better.
Adios.

Platonic Solid · Feb 9, 2010

pushrod power said:
The car has been sold, can't comply with request. All I can tell you is that I didn't change the bumper brackets.
2+2: I don't know what to tell you, it worked.
Have either of you two tried this or are your questions just speculation. I did it, and it worked for me. The results speak for themselves.
I'm just trying to help and give my experience, but I guess you guys know better.
Adios.

Without pictures to prove otherwise, I'll never believe it. I still own four 71-72 Mustangs and one 73. It is not physically possible to attach a chrome front bumper to a 73 urethane bumper bracket. If you installed a chrome front bumper, you used 71-72 brackets. I posted pictures of what the 71-72 and 73 brackets look like in the old thread, which are obviously completely different animals. I look forward to the day when/if ratio411 attempts this magical feat.

Gud T.B. Blown · Feb 9, 2010

front bumper came as an assembly that bolted up to the brackets that attached the original bumper to the body.
So you have 4 cars, but you still haven't answered the question of whether you have done this or not. Or are you just a contrarian without actual experience. In my book experience counts more than theory.

2+2GT · Feb 10, 2010

pushrod power said:
front bumper came as an assembly that bolted up to the brackets that attached the original bumper to the body.
So you have 4 cars, but you still haven't answered the question of whether you have done this or not. Or are you just a contrarian without actual experience. In my book experience counts more than theory.

I have done this. The 71-72 front bumper brackets are totally 100% different than 73 front bumper brackets. the bolt holes in the frame are the only thing they share. It is 100% impossible to put a 71-72 bumper on 73 bumper brackets. You'd have better luck trying to put a 71 bumper on a Camaro. The outer, upper corners of the 71-72 bumper are about 2" too high to clear the 73 fenders properly. That's why Ford spent a bunch of money modifying the fenders for 73.

Platonic Solid · Feb 10, 2010

pushrod power said:
front bumper came as an assembly that bolted up to the brackets that attached the original bumper to the body.

Then your car did not have a 73 urethane bumper installed when you purchased it.

pushrod power said:
So you have 4 cars, but you still haven't answered the question of whether you have done this or not. Or are you just a contrarian without actual experience. In my book experience counts more than theory.

That's five 71-73 Mustangs. The proof is in the pictures that you conveniently didn't post over the past 2 years (for obvious reasons). Just for the record, I'm a mechanical engineer who has disassembled and reassemble several 71-73 Mustangs over the past 25 years.

Have I installed a 71-2 chrome bumper on 73 brackets? No, cause it can't be done. The only way to bolt a chrome bumper assembly to 73 brackets would be to fabricate custom 90° adapters. It's not theory, it's fact. The 73 brackets have vertical bumper mounting holes. 71-72 brackets have horizontal mounting holes.

2+2GT · Feb 10, 2010

Platonic Solid said:
Then your car did not have a 73 urethane bumper installed when you purchased it.

Good point. If the bumper does not weigh NINETY POUNDS without the brackets, which themselves are about 20 pounds each, then it could not have been the 73 bumper.

Platonic Solid · Feb 10, 2010

73 Bumper mounting bracket:

71-2 Bumper mounting bracket:

View attachment 230886

NasaGT · Feb 10, 2010

Seems like those pictures pretty much end the debate.

ratio411 · Mar 12, 2010

Platonic Solid said:
I'm starting to think that ratio411 just likes to stir the pot every now and then

http://www.stangnet.com/mustang-forums/733149-71-73-owners-got-question.html

I do like stirring the pot (see avatar)... However I honestly didn't remember asking the question before. Seems you had already answered my question in detail, and I totally forgot!

Thank you for your previous answer and pointing me to my previous post!

My uncle has a 73 Mach that is complete, but disassembled, and if the economy would straighten out, I have option to buy. I have always wanted a 71 Mach, and the price is right on the 73, so I would definately convert it if I bought it.

It could use fenders anyway. It has the original hood, but it is rusty, and has an NOS hood that comes with it. So it is good the hoods swap. Other than that, I don't have a problem swapping the other stuff. It's just a 2v 351c/C6 car, with standard interior... So it's not like I am destroying the value by converting it to a 71 and upgrading to the deluxe interior... Probably making it MORE desireable that way.

Converting a 73 to a 71?

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tx65coupe

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