I bought a new shell

[Stevenhy92]

As some of you read my last post about my 73 I recently purchased. With the extensive body work it needed I decided to listen to @TobyB and get a new shell and start fresh. I also appreciate everyone’s advice on my last post. I was offered to get some of the body work done by the seller on the 73 for more than what I paid for getting the new rolling shell with shipping, so it made sense to go the other route. 
 

The shell I bought is a 1975. I know the front nose is different. But could I swap everything else over? 

Seats

Door cards

Dashboard

Carpet

Windshield and rear window
headlights

grills (center grill is different right?)

Gas tank

Drivetrain

Exhaust, etc?

I can’t think of anything else right now. 
I don’t need any body/metal parts and I have my m10 out of a 76 and a 4 speed trans. 
 

Should I sell the 73 shell or part with most of the things I can? Which doesn’t seem like a lot. I’ll attach a current photo of what my 73 looks like now. I’m curious to know what I can sell it for once I take the things I need for the new shell. I know I won’t make nearly any of my money back but I’d like to retain some of it if possible. Fenders aren’t lined up, they are just bolted up to see what it looks like. It’ll come with the grills if they don’t fit the 75 and the chamoinix hood. 
 

Cheers!

[esty]

you can just cut out the center section, where the center gill fits on your roundie nose and graft in onto the square tail nose panel and no one will be the wiser....except you

Edited August 1, 2020 by esty

[Stevenhy92]

2 minutes ago, esty said:

you can just cut out the center section, where the center gill fits of your roundie nose and graft in onto the ssquare tail nose pane and no one will be the wiser....except you

I also want to do the roundie tail lights the main reason I bought the one pictured but that’s probably frowned upon haha 

[PaulTWinterton]

36 minutes ago, Stevenhy92 said:

but that’s probably frowned upon haha 

 

There's no frowning on this site, unless you're thinking of putting a Chevy V8 into the car.

 

A "roundie tribute" is acceptable, IMHO.

[esty]

just cut and paste the tail panel out where the factor seam is...then you'll have your roundie back in action

[Mike Self]

And we would never,ever suggest installing the 73's VIN plates on the '75 shell, because that may not be legal...

 

I'm sure there are bits and pieces from the '73, regardless of its rust situation, that you won't transfer to the '75, that someone on the FAQ can use, so before scrapping the shell...

 

mike

 

PS--you made a wise choice to get a better shell.  I spent nearly 6 years on and off welding on my '69 to reverse the ravages of 30 Ohio winters...couldn't bear to part it as it was my first (and actually only) new car.

[Stevenhy92]

On 8/1/2020 at 12:35 PM, PaulTWinterton said:

 

There's no frowning on this site, unless you're thinking of putting a Chevy V8 into the car.

 

A "roundie tribute" is acceptable, IMHO.

This is why I'm really enjoying this community. My local toyota community will bash anything you do that's different. Thank you for this!

[Stevenhy92]

On 8/1/2020 at 12:35 PM, esty said:

just cut and paste the tail panel out where the factor seam is...then you'll have your roundie back in action

 

Would this be the cutout I would need? Is there anything on the inside that I would need or watch out for? I've read that there were reinforcements or something like that on the square tails that would need to be taken into consideration.

[Stevenhy92]

On 8/1/2020 at 3:16 PM, Mike Self said:

And we would never,ever suggest installing the 73's VIN plates on the '75 shell, because that may not be legal...

 

I'm sure there are bits and pieces from the '73, regardless of its rust situation, that you won't transfer to the '75, that someone on the FAQ can use, so before scrapping the shell...

 

mike

 

PS--you made a wise choice to get a better shell.  I spent nearly 6 years on and off welding on my '69 to reverse the ravages of 30 Ohio winters...couldn't bear to part it as it was my first (and actually only) new car.

I agree! That didn't even come to mind haha. The plan would be to sell whatever I can on the car or if someone does want the shell for cheap then i'd let it go that way as well and take my losses on the money spent. 

 

Thank you, it only made sense to get a rust free shell (something I should've done in the first place) for way cheaper than getting body work done. You live and you learn right? I don't have the expertise to do it all myself and taking it to a shop for just the body work does not sound nice on the wallet. 

[TobyB]

Yup- starting with sound steel is NEVER a mistake.  Nose swaps aren't hard, and tail panels are pretty easy, too.

It adds a relatively small amount (12- 16 hours of metalwork)

 to the cost of a complete shell paint, and if you want roundie, NOW is the time to do it!

 

The later shells- especially doors, trunk floor and rear quarters- are stouter, and well worth the effort.  Be a little careful of

the details (use the 12- fuse box, and the wiring harness that goes with it, and the 12- fuse wiper motor, for example,

as the 6- fuse is VERY different) as you go, and don't be afraid to ask if something from one shell doesn't seem the same

as the other.  There were a lot of running changes, and not all of them are well documented nor make sense.

Like the dashes...

 

We really aren't even going to tool on you for that 302 if you do it very cleanly and stick 4 downdraft Webers on it.  If it's got a T5 behind it...

 

As long as it's done well, it's well- done.

 

t

medium rare

[Stevenhy92]

5 hours ago, TobyB said:

Yup- starting with sound steel is NEVER a mistake.  Nose swaps aren't hard, and tail panels are pretty easy, too.

It adds a relatively small amount (12- 16 hours of metalwork)

 to the cost of a complete shell paint, and if you want roundie, NOW is the time to do it!

 

 

The later shells- especially doors, trunk floor and rear quarters- are stouter, and well worth the effort.  Be a little careful of

the details (use the 12- fuse box, and the wiring harness that goes with it, and the 12- fuse wiper motor, for example,

as the 6- fuse is VERY different) as you go, and don't be afraid to ask if something from one shell doesn't seem the same

as the other.  There were a lot of running changes, and not all of them are well documented nor make sense.

Like the dashes...

 

We really aren't even going to tool on you for that 302 if you do it very cleanly and stick 4 downdraft Webers on it.  If it's got a T5 behind it...

 

As long as it's done well, it's well- done.

 

t

medium rare

This is good information and thank you for that. So could I install my 73 dash into the 75? If not I have a source local to me with a dash I could buy. 
 

Will the diff, driveshaft, exhaust, pretty much all the components underneath.. are they all compatible between the years?