conversion to round headlights on 87 p/u

[1980 gold]

hi I'm new to the board I just bought an 87 k10 shortbed silverado 4wd pickup. Is there a way to convert the 4 rectangular headlights to the round 73-78 style without replacing the fenders hood or rad. support. thanks

[zieg85]

First of all, welcome from NW Indiana.  I suppose anything is possible if you have a donor core support and can weld in the headlight bucket "rests" in your existing core support however there wasn't any round headlight 81-87 so you will have to custom make your headlight bezels. 

[1980 gold]

thanks i appreciate it

[1980 gold]

hey would you know if i can use a grille from an 87 single headlight truck on my dual headlight 87 v10 does it have the same mounting points and is it the same width? thanks mine has the billet grille which i dont really care for

[zieg85]

Yes it will physically fit, however the single light grills don't have the mounts for the turn signal lenses but since you already have an aftermarket grill you should be ok.

[1980 gold]

thanks a lot for the advice. are the mounting points the same for the grill also? ( this is my first pickup i have always had an old car ( right now its a 72 skylark, got bored with it) and i m totally into this truck but they are kinda new to me so i appreciate the help again

[slammed79]

For the amount of work you'd be looking at, I'd just do the retro-swap. Fenders, core support etc can be off in less than an hour with hand tools.

Now if you've got a cherry paint job I can understand your hesitation on wanting to swap stuff back.

Welcome from Az. How about some pics?

[zieg85]

thanks a lot for the advice. are the mounting points the same for the grill also? ( this is my first pickup i have always had an old car ( right now its a 72 skylark, got bored with it) and i m totally into this truck but they are kinda new to me so i appreciate the help again

Pictures are both my 1985's, the grills differ some in 87) but for our discussion on differences between the 2

[1980 gold]

hey thanks again as soon as i take a few pics i will post them . i actually bought the truck on wednesday of this past week ( 2 days ago) so i dont wanna jump the gun with alterations the paint is actually pretty good for now I wouldnt mind compounding it soon maybe this sunday, i just reallly dont care for the chrome grill look that it has . thanks again

[slammed79]

Imo the round headlight swap is a step in the right direction, I have done two swaps from rounds to square lights for people, and got the step by step from this site, but I'd rather not do it to my own truck. I'd swap the retro-swap the whole deal.

One idea I did have, and may do when I get out of living in apartments is swap the fender skins from an 81-87 onto the 74, have the body line with the long hood. In fact, I may head to the yard and get a couple fenders next weekend and try it out at my buddies house, just to see how it goes.

[1980 gold]

what i just did yesterday for now was get rid of the chrome grille and put the stock one back. it was relatively inespensive to do and it looks better for now. i am waiting on the grille moldings and will peplace them when they come do you know where i could get molding clips for these ( with the studs and speed nuts) without paying 2.44 each? and parking lights?

[87454westernhauler]

jumk yards.

[jimmyjames]

I flipped the chrome grille trim around for free (20mins work).
I like the look of the rounder fronts myself, and figured i'd give this a shot.
Doesn't look too bad, my chrome was dinged up, so I wasn't worried about damaging it.
For me it was worth doing, I like it better than stock, and it got me out of the house for a bit.

[1980 gold]

can you post pictures?

[jimmyjames]

will do. i have to run out in a bit and will upload when i get back.