Front clip swap AGAIN
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Posting Guru
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 1,219
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From: Elk City, OK
Front clip swap AGAIN
Okay, I have searched this siite and looked at tons of threads and I keep getting mixed results. I know this has been beat to death but I', getting conflicting answers
I am looking at doing an OBS front clip swap on my 88 bricknose before I get it painted this year. I have seen a few people say the bodyline doesnt line up and I think this picture proves otherwise (Bricknose on OBS swap)
Please inform me on which of these are facts or myths
-All but the bottom fender bolt will line up and go in with no drilling or mods
-The front fenders, cowl, hood, bumper, hardware, headlight assemblys, grill, and rad support are all that is needed for the swap
-Front bumper brackets must be fabbed to mount stock OBS bumper
Please no bashing, I have looked at TONS of threads and can't get a straight answer
I am looking at doing an OBS front clip swap on my 88 bricknose before I get it painted this year. I have seen a few people say the bodyline doesnt line up and I think this picture proves otherwise (Bricknose on OBS swap)
Please inform me on which of these are facts or myths
-All but the bottom fender bolt will line up and go in with no drilling or mods
-The front fenders, cowl, hood, bumper, hardware, headlight assemblys, grill, and rad support are all that is needed for the swap
-Front bumper brackets must be fabbed to mount stock OBS bumper
Please no bashing, I have looked at TONS of threads and can't get a straight answer
Logistics Pro
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 3,507
Likes: 121
From: Oregon
Postmaster
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 3,066
Likes: 7
From: Over There
Please inform me on which of these are facts or myths
-All but the bottom fender bolt will line up and go in with no drilling or mods
-The front fenders, cowl, hood, bumper, hardware, headlight assemblys, grill, and rad support are all that is needed for the swap
-Front bumper brackets must be fabbed to mount stock OBS bumper
Please no bashing, I have looked at TONS of threads and can't get a straight answer
-All but the bottom fender bolt will line up and go in with no drilling or mods
-The front fenders, cowl, hood, bumper, hardware, headlight assemblys, grill, and rad support are all that is needed for the swap
-Front bumper brackets must be fabbed to mount stock OBS bumper
Please no bashing, I have looked at TONS of threads and can't get a straight answer
The core support does not need to be changed, all the OBS stuff will bolt right up to your 88 core support, and all your hardware can be re-used. You need fenders, cowl, hood, bumper, headlight assemblies, grill, and you need to add to your list the plastic part that the grill and headlights attach to on the OBS, the sheet metal band that goes under the grill between it and the bumper, and IIRC a little bit of wiring/plugs for the different lights.
Just need OBS brackets for an OBS bumper, nothing to be fabbed.
I've done it before and will again soon. And yes there is a lot of miss information out there. The only thing body line wise that can trip you up is 96/97 has a little additional line on the very bottom that was added for those two years. So if you can don't use 96/97 fenders, which generally isn't a worry they are harder to come by anyway. If your buying a stock style bumper might I suggest you get a powerstroke bumper, they have a couple of cool extra holes/vents.
More Turbo
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 682
Likes: 15
From: NB, Canada
ALL the bolts line up, every single one. The bottom bolt thing is only when swapping between 80-86 and 87-97.
The core support does not need to be changed, all the OBS stuff will bolt right up to your 88 core support, and all your hardware can be re-used. You need fenders, cowl, hood, bumper, headlight assemblies, grill, and you need to add to your list the plastic part that the grill and headlights attach to on the OBS, the sheet metal band that goes under the grill between it and the bumper, and IIRC a little bit of wiring/plugs for the different lights.
Just need OBS brackets for an OBS bumper, nothing to be fabbed.
I've done it before and will again soon. And yes there is a lot of miss information out there. The only thing body line wise that can trip you up is 96/97 has a little additional line on the very bottom that was added for those two years. So if you can don't use 96/97 fenders, which generally isn't a worry they are harder to come by anyway. If your buying a stock style bumper might I suggest you get a powerstroke bumper, they have a couple of cool extra holes/vents.
The core support does not need to be changed, all the OBS stuff will bolt right up to your 88 core support, and all your hardware can be re-used. You need fenders, cowl, hood, bumper, headlight assemblies, grill, and you need to add to your list the plastic part that the grill and headlights attach to on the OBS, the sheet metal band that goes under the grill between it and the bumper, and IIRC a little bit of wiring/plugs for the different lights.
Just need OBS brackets for an OBS bumper, nothing to be fabbed.
I've done it before and will again soon. And yes there is a lot of miss information out there. The only thing body line wise that can trip you up is 96/97 has a little additional line on the very bottom that was added for those two years. So if you can don't use 96/97 fenders, which generally isn't a worry they are harder to come by anyway. If your buying a stock style bumper might I suggest you get a powerstroke bumper, they have a couple of cool extra holes/vents.
I'm pretty sure the rad supports are different in the head light mounting area.
Senior User
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 134
Likes: 1
From: West of Rochester, NY
The gray one is the '91.
I'm going splice the two together to fix my '97 HD. You will DEFINITELY need a '92-'97 core support to do your front clip swap.
Postmaster
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 3,066
Likes: 7
From: Over There
Nothing that matters is different, I've done it.
The thing that matters in your pics is that the 91 doesn't have the extra plates that the fenders attach to. The fenders do not attach directly to the core support, they attach to a plate that attaches to the core support. I'm not saying it's not better to have a OBS core support, it's a judgment call, some of the parts that are different might be a problem for the rest of the bricknose parts to attach to the OBS core. I can't say for sure, all I can say for sure is I did it and it worked. Last time was a few years ago, the details are a little foggy I'll admit. Last one I did was a 90 Bronco.
Shoot now I'm curious to remind myself of the details, I got a 88 in the shop I'm pulling apart and an OBS fender and hood kicking around, maybe I'll give it a go. I intend to do this swap on my 89 diesel and have no desire to search out a OBS diesel core support.
The thing that matters in your pics is that the 91 doesn't have the extra plates that the fenders attach to. The fenders do not attach directly to the core support, they attach to a plate that attaches to the core support. I'm not saying it's not better to have a OBS core support, it's a judgment call, some of the parts that are different might be a problem for the rest of the bricknose parts to attach to the OBS core. I can't say for sure, all I can say for sure is I did it and it worked. Last time was a few years ago, the details are a little foggy I'll admit. Last one I did was a 90 Bronco.
Shoot now I'm curious to remind myself of the details, I got a 88 in the shop I'm pulling apart and an OBS fender and hood kicking around, maybe I'll give it a go. I intend to do this swap on my 89 diesel and have no desire to search out a OBS diesel core support.
Senior User
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 134
Likes: 1
From: West of Rochester, NY
Nothing that matters is different, I've done it.
The thing that matters in your pics is that the 91 doesn't have the extra plates that the fenders attach to. The fenders do not attach directly to the core support, they attach to a plate that attaches to the core support. I'm not saying it's not better to have a OBS core support, it's a judgment call, some of the parts that are different might be a problem for the rest of the bricknose parts to attach to the OBS core. I can't say for sure, all I can say for sure is I did it and it worked. Last time was a few years ago, the details are a little foggy I'll admit. Last one I did was a 90 Bronco.
Shoot now I'm curious to remind myself of the details, I got a 88 in the shop I'm pulling apart and an OBS fender and hood kicking around, maybe I'll give it a go. I intend to do this swap on my 89 diesel and have no desire to search out a OBS diesel core support.
The thing that matters in your pics is that the 91 doesn't have the extra plates that the fenders attach to. The fenders do not attach directly to the core support, they attach to a plate that attaches to the core support. I'm not saying it's not better to have a OBS core support, it's a judgment call, some of the parts that are different might be a problem for the rest of the bricknose parts to attach to the OBS core. I can't say for sure, all I can say for sure is I did it and it worked. Last time was a few years ago, the details are a little foggy I'll admit. Last one I did was a 90 Bronco.
Shoot now I'm curious to remind myself of the details, I got a 88 in the shop I'm pulling apart and an OBS fender and hood kicking around, maybe I'll give it a go. I intend to do this swap on my 89 diesel and have no desire to search out a OBS diesel core support.
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Posting Guru
Joined: Jul 2011
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From: Elk City, OK
Thank you all for the tips and help. I think I will just grab the core support with the rest of the parts anyway to make sure and take it back if I end up not using it. I will definately put pics of the swap in my build thread (link in my sig) if I get any interest on it. If anybody else has suggestions, tips, or advice please let me know ASAP
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Junior User
Joined: Mar 2013
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From: San Antonio, Tx
ALL the bolts line up, every single one. The bottom bolt thing is only when swapping between 80-86 and 87-97.
The core support does not need to be changed, all the OBS stuff will bolt right up to your 88 core support, and all your hardware can be re-used. You need fenders, cowl, hood, bumper, headlight assemblies, grill, and you need to add to your list the plastic part that the grill and headlights attach to on the OBS, the sheet metal band that goes under the grill between it and the bumper, and IIRC a little bit of wiring/plugs for the different lights.
Just need OBS brackets for an OBS bumper, nothing to be fabbed.
I've done it before and will again soon. And yes there is a lot of miss information out there. The only thing body line wise that can trip you up is 96/97 has a little additional line on the very bottom that was added for those two years. So if you can don't use 96/97 fenders, which generally isn't a worry they are harder to come by anyway. If your buying a stock style bumper might I suggest you get a powerstroke bumper, they have a couple of cool extra holes/vents.
The core support does not need to be changed, all the OBS stuff will bolt right up to your 88 core support, and all your hardware can be re-used. You need fenders, cowl, hood, bumper, headlight assemblies, grill, and you need to add to your list the plastic part that the grill and headlights attach to on the OBS, the sheet metal band that goes under the grill between it and the bumper, and IIRC a little bit of wiring/plugs for the different lights.
Just need OBS brackets for an OBS bumper, nothing to be fabbed.
I've done it before and will again soon. And yes there is a lot of miss information out there. The only thing body line wise that can trip you up is 96/97 has a little additional line on the very bottom that was added for those two years. So if you can don't use 96/97 fenders, which generally isn't a worry they are harder to come by anyway. If your buying a stock style bumper might I suggest you get a powerstroke bumper, they have a couple of cool extra holes/vents.
Fleet Owner
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 21,437
Likes: 76
From: Gilbert, PA
Rad supports are different and it DOES matter. Unless you do not want to be able to access the turn signal bulbs OR bolt the fenders on
Also, 92-97 bumper brackets will NOT work on a pre 92 frame. You will need to make some custom brakes, but they are easy to make out of some 2x2 angle
As for the fenders, they are the same from 92-97
Also, 92-97 bumper brackets will NOT work on a pre 92 frame. You will need to make some custom brakes, but they are easy to make out of some 2x2 angle
As for the fenders, they are the same from 92-97