New Guy from Southwest Virginia

[Hooligan]

Just traded my '79 Pontiac T/A for a 1980 GMC C-10.  This truck has tons of potential.  Not saying the T/A didn't, but the parts for my C-10 are 1/2 the price of what the parts for my T/A were.  First to go is the black grill and the bald tires.  I'm probably going with a set of 255/60 BFG Radials until I replace the wheels and I'm putting a stock chrome/silver complete grill back in it.  I hope to learn alot from this forum and hopefully give some good advice also.

[hotrod24]

nice looking truck i would get rid of them 80 head light covers and put in some round 73-78 to go with that grille nice man very nice

[Hooligan]

nice looking truck i would get rid of them 80 head light covers and put in some round 73-78 to go with that grille nice man very nice

Thanks man.  It has round headlights now but what year grills would I be able to bolt right up without having to change the hood latch or anything else?  I've tried to find out on my own with GOOGLE, the search button, etc. but haven't really found a spot on answer.  Here is a pic of the front of the truck and yes the "hood ornament" is coming off asap also.

[hotrod24]

well from seeing the front a little better now it looks nice but i what year grille are you wanting to use?

[Hooligan]

well from seeing the front a little better now it looks nice but i what year grille are you wanting to use?

I'm thinking maybe a '77 Chevrolet grill and headlight bezels.  I don't really like how the headlight bezels on the '79-'80 trucks surround the marker light also.  Thats really the biggest thing that bothers me about this grill, other than it having a very poor rattle can black paint job.  I'd love to run a complete '73 grill, but don't want to go through changing alot of stuff if its costly or a pain in the rear.

[hotrod24]

well with a little silver paint you could have that 80 grille looking good and get some single head light covers i dont blame you on that one but for the 73 and 77 grille there would be a little work here is a link to help you out

http://www.4wheeloffroad.com/techarticles/1973_1980_chevy_square_front_clip_grille_swap/index.html

http://www.classicparts.com/1973-78-Headlamp-Bezel-Left/productinfo/48-031/

[Hooligan]

Thanks for the links.  Thats the cheapest I've seen the headlight bezels for new.  I may try to paint that grill silver, but it has an awful lot of black paint on it.  Then again I may just leave it black and replace all of the trim around it.  But heck what do I have to lose.  If I screw it up I'll just go ahead and get a new one then.  Thanks again for all the help.

[hotrod24]

any time good luck

[Captkaos]

73-74 grilles require a specific hood latch and brace system along with grill supports.  Otherwise 75-78's are a bolt in.

Those bezels are plastic AFAIK.  No one remans pot metal bezels.

[Hooligan]

73-74 grilles require a specific hood latch and brace system along with grill supports.  Otherwise 75-78's are a bolt in.

Those bezels are plastic AFAIK.  No one remans pot metal bezels.

Cool, Thanks for the info guys.

[ccz145a]

73-74 grilles require a specific hood latch and brace system along with grill supports.  Otherwise 75-78's are a bolt in.

75-76's have an offset release handle specific to those years. 

[Hooligan]

73-74 grilles require a specific hood latch and brace system along with grill supports.  Otherwise 75-78's are a bolt in.

75-76's have an offset release handle specific to those years. 

But '77-'80 C-10s have the release handle in the same position? 

[hotrod24]

yea my 78 has it but i think some had the inside hood release some outside

[Captkaos]

77-80 hood latch assemblies are the same.

For anything other than a 73-74 and 81-87. you need the center support/latch assembly, outer triangular brackets near the headlights. You will have to remove the vertical mid grill mounts because they will not work with the 73/74 grill.  On 73/74 core supports have them built into the support, 75-77 models they are bolted in. This will be OK, as you still have the center and outer grill supported. You will also need to drill the 3/8" holes for the outer brackets, but they are located with center punches from the factory. The outer brackets will need to be mounted with nuts and bolts, as there are no welded nuts in this area on the backside to bolt them in to.

[Captkaos]

BTW, Interior Hood release latch was an option starting in 1977.