I have a '91 Camaro that needs the front bumper cover replaced, as well as both front fenders. I found a guy parting out an '84 Camaro and managed to get the whole front clip for a steal.

The GFX on the '84 bumper are different than the GFX currently on my '91 (the GFX are still in good condition, just the bumper cover is damaged). Can I take the GFX off the '91 bumper and bolt them to the '84 bumper and fenders?

I read a few posts on here that states the 82-84 GFX had a different mounting location than the 85-92. How difficult will this modification be? Should I just sell these parts and buy the current style?

 

no, IIRC the front spoiler on 82-84 bumpers are completely different than 85 and up. The 84 bumpers appear to be flat on the bottom and the GFX would just butt up against the bottom of it. If you look at the bottom of 85 and up bumpers, the bottom edge is completely different.

http://www.dragtimes.com/images/1280...let-Camaro.jpg
^if you look at that, you can see the distinct line between the bumper cover and the GFX.

Hope I helped.

 

Yeah I see what you mean now. Since I've already purchased the '84 front bumper with GFX and the '84 fenders, would I have any trouble just mounting the '84 bumper and fenders on my '91?

Will the side GFX on my '91 bolt to the '84 fenders and if so do you think it would look like crap with the '84 GFX on the front bumper and stock '91 GFX on the sides and rear still?

 

I believe you can mount the 84 bumper and fenders on your 91 no problem. When it comes to having the 84 GFX and the 91 GFX, i've seen it before. I personally don't think it matches at all.

The 84 gfx are smaller or thinner than the 91 gfx.
The picture below shows 85-90 side gfx with the 84 gfx on the front. You can see what I mean.

http://i48.tinypic.com/2mrw8zl.jpg

Now that I look at that picture, it looks alright. From the front, you would never know it's a 85-90 camaro.

 

Hey thanks man I appreciate the pictures! That actually doesn't look too bad. My '91 is lowered too. Its actually too low for my liking (bought it that way). The front end currently scrapes on the smallest inclines or bumps so that shorted front lip might work out in my interest! Didn't even think about that until I saw that last pictures.

 

If you are having that problem because your car is lowered, then yes, that should solve your problem, or help. And don't thank me. It's the least I can do. Just here to help!

 

So I just finished the front end swap on my '91 RS with fenders and a bumper cover off an '84 Z28. Thought I'd post my results and issues for future refference!

Overall it looks good! I thought the ground effects on the front bumper with look funky with the stock RS grounds effects on the sides and rear but it doesn't. It looks pretty good:



Yes, I know it needs prep and paint, that's next.

Now on to some of the issues and troubles I had with the swap...

First: The fenders from the '84 Z28 did not have holes for the '91 RS style ground effects where they are connected just to the rear of the front tires. So I had to drill holes for these to mount to, not much of a big deal.

Second: The blinker housings on the '91 bolted directly to the bumper cover, on the '84 they were mounted to the frame somewhere (I don't remember exactly as I did not get these parts)... SO, I needed blinkers... What did I do? I removed the housings off the '91 bumper cover and pushed them into the slots where the housings sit behind on the '84 bumper, then drilled a hole through the housing and bumper cover to secure them in place. It actually looks pretty good and If you didn't know any different I bet you couldn't even tell.

Third: This was the biggest issue really, and it wasn't even that bad... THE '84 Bumper cover is a little shorter in the nose section or something! This caused issues when trying to place the bumper cover over the steal bumper frame, the one with the rubber/plastic impact absorbing blocks. The only way I found to remedy this issue was to take a big pry bar and "REMOVE" the impact blocks from the bumper since they are riveted on. After this, the cover slide right on. FYI: There is NO way to keep the impact blocks from the '91 with an '84 bumper cover, with the impact blocks removed the cover sits snug up against the steal bumper behind it.

Other than those issues, everything else was very minor. A few bolt holes here and there didn't line up so I left the bolts out, but nothing major. Everything feels solid and looks great! Next on the list, prep and paint.


A BUNCH OF PHOTOS OF DURING THE SWAP AND FINISHED RESULTS LOCATED HERE: http://s906.photobucket.com/albums/a...ontend%20Swap/

 

We need to have Myspace accounts to view the pictures. Try photo-bucket.

It looks good! People should keep this in mind in case the ever want to switch bumpers around, they can fix the problems base don what you posted.

Your right, it doesn't look too bad, and it isn't as low to the ground. You have more clearance. Nice job. I want to see those pictures,so try putting them on photobucket and then posting the link here.

Nice job!

 

My bad! Heres a photobucket link http://s906.photobucket.com/albums/a...ontend%20Swap/

 

Looks great. After a nice paint job, it will look perfect!

I would sell that chin spoiler, and the fenders if the aren't too beat up. I would keep the emblem for my room or something, lol. You should see the camaro stuff in here.

Just get that paint job, and post pics! I'm eager to see how it'll look.

 

Ah yes good idea, I didn't even think to sell that chin spoiler. What do those things go for?

The fenders were beat to **** that was the main reason for the swap, well that can the cracked cover and busted headlight bracket lol.

Thanks, i'll definitely update the post once I get it painted!

 

A perfect one on ebay is SELLING for about $180. I only found one for 91-92. It was a buy now thing. I wouldn't know how much to sell it for. Good luck with it anyway, keep us posted!

 

not trying to be mean, but why would you want the old style bumper on your car? they dont look half as good as the later models

 

Because this is a matter of opinion. Not everyone has to like the same things. I, personally love the 82-84 Z28 front ends.

 

I somewhat agree. The 91-92 style frontend is my favorite as well, but my second favorite would have to be the 82-84 Z28.

The reason I went with the 84 Z28 frontend was a matter of too good to pass up... I needed to replace the entire front clip on my Camaro including front bumper cover, headlight bracket, headlights, and both front fenders. I found a guy parting out his 84 Z28 and managed to get all those parts, plus a nice set of glass T-Tops (mine were lexan and cracked to hell) all for $300 and all the parts were in excellent condition.

I may switch back to the 91-92 style bumper cover someday, but for now I think it looks good, and its kind of nice having a one-off Camaro.

 

I think it's a good personal choice. I like seeing One offs for their uniqueness.

 

to each's own i suppose. I just think its funny how the 82-84 owners swap for the late model bumpers, and the newer guys do the exact opposite