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can you make a 75 to a newer front end like the 79?
how hard is it

Assuming you have the grill, light buckets and retaining rings, headlight trim, bumper, and the thin valance it shouldn't be hard at all. I believe the bumper mounts are pretty much identical on the frame. The valance might require a new hole or two in the fenders, and the grill/light trim mounts might not be exactly the same. Very minor fabrication though if any required. We're talking a couple scraps of sheetmetal and a pair of pliers.

I swapped a 76 grill/lights into my 79 and had no trouble at all, but the old holes used for the four light setup were still there on the newer truck. I supposed the light buckets could need a couple holes drilled as well.

If you do it, I would recommend wiring up the headlights to relays powered right off the battery and switched by the stock wiring. At the least clean the contacts for each headlight fuse and for the wires going to the block to help keep them from getting hot. Better contact will mean brighter lights, and the relays would be a noticable upgrade, like adding driving lights.

The bumper brakets are different. The 76 and later are bolt on and the earlier are welded on. Probably the easiest way to do it would be to cut the brackets off and weld the new style in place instead of bolting it. The other stuff is pretty easy, just grab every thing you need from a donor...
good luck!

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