Rhino Swap ?s

[Rande]

Ok, for those who have performed this swap, a few questions.

I notice the top, center part of the radiator support interferes with the top of the grille. I guess that the early trucks radiator support was different there. How have you dealt with this problem? Will I need to cut and install the center section of an old support into my '80?

How are the hood latches different? I know that the latch on my '80 J10 has to move. I have already removed the latch handle. Where does it move to and whats in the way?

How does the late model hood fit around the grille? Without the latch changed over, I didn't want to close the hood all the way. It looks like it will be ok but I couldn't tell with the hood still partly open.

[Stuka]

I am ona be putting a rhino on my J10 which is an 81, so i would also like to know the details.

[Maynard]

I believe the top center part of your radiator support will unbolt and is moved. You need some sort of spacer between the core support and the top hole of the Rhino. I just used a couple of fat washers on top of each other.

On the rigs that had the rhino on them had a big cut out in the support, and had a bar attached to the hood latch so you could reach your had in between the grill and pop the hood. You can actually see the indent of where it would be cut out. I just cut a slot, and welded a bar to the hood, simple.

not sure on the 80, but on my '76 it all cleared fine.

[gwinn]

I did mine long enough ago that I don't recall having any of those delemmas.

[Marvin Gates]

Mine is an 80 j20 but I can't remember what I did either (CRS) I'm old, it must not have been a big deal! The latch is bent down so you can reach your fingers thru the grille and pull the latch toward the front of the truck. The biggest problem you will run into is grinding the tabs off of the valance, that hold the late style grilles on. I was lucky enough to find a valance from a gladiator and didn't have to mess with them. I painted the valance with dupli color black (like you would use for a bed liner) it makes the grille stand out a lot more plus no rock chips. Good Luck just a little time consuming but I'm really happy the way it turned out. :D :D :D :cool:

[Rande]

The distance from the core support to the top bolt of the rhino is much more than a couple of washers will do. I'll make a small bracket for that. I'll get to a junkyard that has a couple of the early trucks and get a good look at what I got to do.

Stuka, I'll keep you informed on the progress and problems encountered.

[maxrad]

I did a full write-up on my 83's swap a month or two ago on this section of the forum. Do a search and it may answer most of your ?'s.

[Rande]

Thanks Max, that helps. I'll be going to a salvage yard tomorrow and they have a few early trucks and I'll get a look at them. Was thinking of purchasing a complete valance panel and hood. I'll see if they got any good ones.

[TEX]

Well, I just bolted it onto my 74 J10 and took off the black cross-piece on the front of the hood. Slamed the hood down and took off. I do however need to use a screwdriver to open the hood though.

TEX

[Rande]

Went to the salvage yard today and got look at the different trucks. The old ones with the rhino grille had a taller section in the center of the core support. That area is lower in the later trucks and interferes with the back side of the top of the grille. There would need to be some serious cutting done there. That also means the top bolt of the rhino grille is way above the core support of the later trucks.

In the center of the top of the core support in the later trucks is an area that is a bit lower than the surrounding metal. This area is right in the middle of the core support, right in front of the middle of the radiator tank. That lowered area has to be cut out to make room for the hood latch release lever.

There is also the wrinkled front fascia to deal with.

Luckily, I found a complete set-up at the junkyard and made the purchase. $100 gets me the front valance (perfect condition) the rhino grille (some surface rust but not bent up) which will be a spare, the headlight buckets, turn signals and the core support. The faux vents are no good.

They had a few early hoods but they all had some damage. There is a good later hood that still has the early shape. It just has the two holes for the cross-bar.

[ June 15, 2003, 05:01 PM: Message edited by: Rande ]

[maxrad]

Rande, sounds like you got yourself a good deal.

I had no problem with the upper core support and only used a spacer for that top mounting bracket.

Good luck!