Cutlass and Monte parts interchange

[utfan01ss]

Now for the record this is just a question and I have NO intention of doing this but..... can a monte carlo SS front clip and rear clip be installed on a Cutlass 1985 model? From the side these cars look exactly the same which is why I ask. On the camaro's and T/A's the front clips can be swapped which requires the fenders and hood, note it looks like sh*t, but I was curious as to just how similar the models were. Has it been done and do the body parts interchange on the different models?

 

[85_SS]

F-bodies are identical body wise with the exception of the front/rear clip.

The only 81-88 G-bodies to share a body panel are the Cutlass and Regal doors. They all share the same basic roof skin and front/rear/door glass (excluding Elky's & four doors). Every model has unique quarter glass though.

So, in short.. yes, you could bolt it up, but the body lines would be way off and not flow. Now you can bolt a Regal front clip (complete with fenders & hood) on a Cutlass (or vice versa), and the only oddity would be the different shape of the wheel well openings. If you want to get custom, you can make anything work.

 

[maliburacinfreak]

F-bodies are identical body wise with the exception of the front/rear clip.

not true with 2nd gens

 

[85_SS]

Sorry - I was thinking he was talking about the same time frame... I was referring to 3rd gens only (82-92). I'm assuming he's also referring to a 4th gen SS (83-88).

 

[87oldssalon302sbc]

g-body

Here's what I see, the monte carlo and the grand prix have almost the same body lines after 1981.The regal and the cutlass had almost the same body lines this same years, which I think, 1981 to 1988. The year models before that like the 1978 to 1980, I'd have to study a little more, and the malibu was a whole other story. But I have seen the nose from a monte ss on a malibu and on the el camino. The front fenders from the regal and the cutlass are the same.

 

[85_SS]

The body lines are completely different on a Monte and Grand Prix:

The Cutlass and Regal share the same doors, not fenders.

While you could put an entire front clip from a Monte SS on an Elcamino (you have to swap the doors as well to match body lines), what you likely have seen is the Choo Choo Elky SS nose which looks the same but is completely different (about 2" narrower, flatter, fender extensions built in etc.).

 

[utfan01ss]

Wow this is some good information. So the front clip from a regal will work on a cutlass but the Monte won't correct? Now, assuming someone got the doors, fenders, hood and front clip would the parts line up then? Basically what I'm wondering is the actual shell of the car the same, the unibody? And are these cars unibodies? I haven't even got under my cutlass to see if it has a full frame yet. Thanks for the great information, these cars are completely different from what I'm used to.

 

[utfan01ss]

From looking at my car, 85 cutlass, it seems the front and rear fender wells are arched more than a monte carlo as well. From what I can tell the monte carlo has a slicker, rounder fender well than a cutlass. Is it just the chrome trim on the cutlass causing it to look wider or are their some differences between the two with the fenders as well?

 

[85_SS]

The fenders are completely different - the opening, the body lines, marker light location... everything but the mounting points basically.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

Also, the Le Mans, El-Camino, El Caballero and Malibu front clips interchange, and the doors interchange within the same body type (if memory serves). The 3rd gen F bodies share doors and rear hatch stampings, but the quarter panels are different. The Camaro taillights wrap around the corner while the Firebird does not and has separate side marker lights instead. I would also venture to guess that the A-G body Malibu, Bonneville, and Le Mans with the straight across tail lights share a common trunk lid. The 2 doors share a common door glass within their model year range (78-80, 81-88), and two door and 4 door windshields do not interchange, but they probably do among similar body types (4 door or 2 door).