Ok I know this has been discussed to death but I still can't find the exact info I'm looking for. If my research is correct, swapping a small Maverick front bumper without bumper guard holes to a 73 Comet requires: -bumper -stone guard -front valence -brackets -notch fenders or stone guard I've seen posts saying you need to change the grill and hood too...is that true? Also what parts are interchangeable between Mav and Comet? Autokrafters makes repo frame rail brackets, stone guard and valence for a Mav but I no idea if they'll bolt up to the Comet. Any feedback or info from someone who has done this would be awesome. Cheers,
If you are going with the Maverick look then yes you will need to swap the grill and hood. You can keep the comet hood and grill it just looks stupid with a maverick bumper. You will also need to change the core support that the hood latch attaches to. Any part that fits on a comet will fit on a maverick. They are the same exact car with only minor changes in the cosmetics.
Depends on how much money you are willing to spend on it, the last major car show I was at Bumper boys (not the best in the world) had a rechromed comet bumper in stock. You might want to contact them or another similar company and see if they have any, they normally will.
Bumper Boyz rechromed the bumpers many years ago on my '67 Mercury Cyclone GT. I thought they did a very good job.
We just did this on our Comet. Definitely go with Comet bumpers and expect to put in a few extra washers/shims if you want dead-on perfect alignment. The stone guard will need to be trimmed and you should take a little bit off at a time so that you don't overdo it. I also suggest getting a new drill bit for drilling into the frame. It's certainly not rocket science and it'll all be self explanatory once you give it a go. Keep in mind that it takes two sets of hands to do the swap, so make sure your helper has some time to kill. If you take the time to do it right, the results are spectacular.
I have seen a lot of their work, some of it has been fantastic, others have been ok at best. They are not always consistent in quality. In the end though the biggest factor is how well the owners takes care of it.