frontend swap Q's

so i have an 82 242 (coffin hood, commando bumpers, pre-86 fenders)

i would like to go with a more euro group a look (surprising i know)

im pretty familiar with whats involved, like removing the lower portion, and tac welding in a post 86, and the upper rad support sheet metal part.

my question is, can i run this setup ok

-pre 86 fenders
-post 86 headlights and grille
-post 86 upper and lower support sheet metal
-pre 80 flathood

will that work?

open to comments and suggestions

anyone?

You can do whatever you like. But it will look funny. And you will have to do a lot of metal work to make it fit.

I don't understand your question. Are you trying to change your bumpers and hood?

Edit: rereading your post I think the answer is no. It looks like you want to change everything except your fenders, then put an old flathood on top of it. None of that will line up right. You can assemble it and the hood will close but the turn signals won't fit and parts will stick out all funny.

Hoggster said:

Edit: rereading your post I think the answer is no. It looks like you want to change everything except your fenders, then put an old flathood on top of it. None of that will line up right. You can assemble it and the hood will close but the turn signals won't fit and parts will stick out all funny.

Click to expand...

Agreed.

Can I attempt to clarify (and undoubtedly muddy the waters) by asking what you want to achieve ... as Hoggster said your mix 7 match of parts won't work, but maybe you can find something that will?

Here's a "Euro" example, the front of this is all stock except for part-colour-coding the bumper and the aftermarket (or possibly OEM - just not OEM here) indicator lenses (mine ):



Here's one of Dave Barton's cars, AFAIK it's all North American panels & he's just used drop-in "Euro" headlights & grille & probably indicator lenses (Yay I'm the one who sent him that grille ... wow it'd probably be 15yrs ago! ):



So above are two "flathood" setups that will fit properly, the first will involve more work than the second.
Thorts on what you want?

BryantTF242 said:

so i have an 82 242 (coffin hood, commando bumpers, pre-86 fenders)

i would like to go with a more euro group a look (surprising i know)

im pretty familiar with whats involved, like removing the lower portion, and tac welding in a post 86, and the upper rad support sheet metal part.

my question is, can i run this setup ok

-pre 86 fenders
-post 86 headlights and grille
-post 86 upper and lower support sheet metal
-pre 80 flathood

will that work?

open to comments and suggestions

Click to expand...

i think this might help:
http://www.k-jet.org/articles/information/200-front-end-options/

if you're running a flathood, you're going to want a flathood grille. pre 86 fender could work, but will look weird.

from the bottom of that page

k-jet.org said:

Many people chose to do this to emulate a Group-A 242. They take a 1981-84 242 Turbo, then take the fenders, bumper and lower radiator sheet metal from a 86+ car. Or they can also use 1983-85 bumpers, depending on preference. They use a flat hood from a 1975-1980 car, and use the special flathood grill for post-86 cars. They also use Euro-spec flush glass lens headlamps and Euro turn signals. This way, the hood and cowl match up (both are pre-86) but the car has a nice European front end

Click to expand...

OP get yourself a set of E-Codes.... They look great with the coffin hood or the flathood.

Better lighting too.

I didn't think there was any welding unless you wanted to change the sheet metal in front if the windscreen?

From what I think you want to do, you just need to swap fenders, lights, grill, valance and supports to +86. Get a flat hood and you're done. I've been told it's all bolt-on work as I'm looking into doing the opposite; changing 86+ to 86-

The Guv said:

From what I think you want to do, you just need to swap fenders, lights, grill, valance and supports to +86. Get a flat hood and you're done. I've been told it's all bolt-on work as I'm looking into doing the opposite; changing 86+ to 86-

Click to expand...

Where the guard attaches to the ... "valance" is that the word? The bit under the headlight. Anyhoo, where they attach on both sides, one of the cars I pulled apart had a couple of tack-welds. Was no biggie to remove them, and I don't think they'd been part of a repair because the paint looked original. The other cars had a single rivet there, on each side.
Apart from that it's all just unbolt/bolt. Although there's a fair bit if sealant there, too, putting it all back together you'd probably save on some resonance/vibration noise by using some of that body sealant stuff.

Awesome, thanks for the info!