I have noticed quite a few things grill wise. Some pintos have a grill that kinda sunk in a little bit and some pinto have grills that stick out a little further and are flush with the hood. My 74 deluxe runabout had a grill that was kinda sunk in before I wrecked her of course, but I have since put new fenders and a grill from a 75(witch I heard is the exact same one as a 74), everything bolted up and worked just fine except now my grill sticks out and is flush with the hood. Any help would be appreciated.
The year 74 was a transition year with the big bumpers. The radiator core support was moved forward also. The attached thread shows the difference in grilles. Note the 71-73 grilles have two bolts on the top center mount while the 74-75 has a single top center mount bolt. The sheet metal center mounting bracket behind the grille is different also. My Ford 74 body manual printed Feb 74 shows the 71-73 mount (typo?). My parts manual shows 71-73 part number as D1FZ 8200-A and D4FZ 8200-A for the 74-75. I am not sure if it will fit but maybe someone replaced your factory 74 grille with a 71-73 model while not using the top center mount. If you saved the crushed parts, comparing them should help. Another possibility is that your 74 is a early production that did get the full design change, I do not know if this ever happened.
http://www.fordpinto.com/index.php/topic,9022.msg55105.html#msg55105 (http://www.fordpinto.com/index.php/topic,9022.msg55105.html#msg55105)
Well I remember taking a look at the grill and hood latches before I wrecked her and everything looked stock the grill that was in it im pretty sure matched 74 mounting style. Also the latches and support should from the 75 be the same as the 74 right?? The latches were the same but the bracket was an inch to short depth wise and brought the brackets in about an inch so my hood wouldn't close. Also the long bracket that connects the hood latches to the bottom of the core support was an inch to long so I had to straiten the old one.
Just saw your other thread of the damage and repair. From the photos, it looks like you have the later plastic grille and metal bracket (both pre and post accident). I could not find that vertical center metal bracket in the parts listing. So I could not compare their part numbers. Looking at sales brochures and photos saved from ebay, it looks like 74 was the first year of grille coming out close to the hood edge. I do not know why you had a change in grille depth.
From looking at saved ebay photos, painting the plastic grille flat or satin black seems to give the illusion of a more recessed grille on the 74.
I think the reason the grille is so forward in '74s and beyond is 1974 was the first year of Pintos having an inside hood release, as opposed to the one you reach under the front of the hood to release. I hope this is helpful. :smile:
Yeah I have looked and I guess your right, the previous owner probably changed the grill to an earlier models grill. I used to be able to reach under the hood and hit the main latch(I forgot to pop the hood from the inside first all the time and would have to walk back over and pull the cord). But now since it has the correct grill I keep slamming my fingers between the hood and grill when I close it. as I got used to the way I shut it before. Thanks for the help.