Will a 74 front header panel work on my 77?

mustang2

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Apr 29, 2004
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I was looking through the pics of some of your guys cars I've got saved on my computer and was wondering if I could use a 74 header on my 77. I don't have a 74 header laying around to test it with.
I would like to recess the grille into the opening a little bit, I think that might give a pretty good look.
Are the bolt locations in the same spots? In the fenders and the supports.
I'm thinking the only thing I would have to change is to bring the bumper farther foward. Would that be correct?
 
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A 74 header panel will not fit on without major modification to the car. The 74 panel is deeper because there was no V8 offered in 74. When they put the 302 in for 75, the radiator support was moved forward to make room for the radiator, so the header panel had to be greatly shortened. It will also not bolt up to the fenders (different stud pattern) and you'd need a 74 hood to go with it.
 
I put a 1974 header panel on my 1978 2+2 it was a bunch-o-work. The 1974 Mustang has a different rad support. new brackets need to be fabricated to mount it to a 1975-78 rad support. You will need a 1974 hood also, however the underhood bracing of a 1974 hood does not clear the 75-up rad support. I removed all the underhood bracing near the front of the hood (including the hood latch) I used hood pins to hold the hood down. An added bonus is the 74 hood has more of a peak to it, and has more hood clearance near the carb. In retrospect it was not a practical swap :D
 
Mustangj said:
I put a 1974 header panel on my 1978 2+2 it was a bunch-o-work. The 1974 Mustang has a different rad support. new brackets need to be fabricated to mount it to a 1975-78 rad support. You will need a 1974 hood also, however the underhood bracing of a 1974 hood does not clear the 75-up rad support. I removed all the underhood bracing near the front of the hood (including the hood latch) I used hood pins to hold the hood down. An added bonus is the 74 hood has more of a peak to it, and has more hood clearance near the carb. In retrospect it was not a practical swap :D


also dont use a 74 hood latch cable on a 76 the cable is about 3-4 inches shorter it will still work but it's tight all through engine bay. just picked up a 75- 78 cable a couple months ago it wasn't till I got on this forum and found out the 74's dirty little secret I just needed a cable 10 years ago.

ps any body need a 74 cable real cheap free