Rear end swap question [Archive]

Tonglebeak

01-20-2008, 05:45 AM

Just wondering, how difficult would it be to swap out the rear tailights and such from an 89 to an 88? I know 89 the body style changed (more curved, etc) but I didn't know if anything on the rear end might've changed as well that'd prevent an easy swap. Personally I like the 89 taillights a lot more, and the rear end off an 89 just looks to be much more resilient to high sound pressure than the 88's.

a1veedubber

01-20-2008, 06:44 AM

You could probably drill out the spot welds and swap in a new rear panel to convert it but it would be a LOT of work and you would be left with one problem....The trunklid to fit the rounded rear panel will not fit on your car due to the curved back window!

86euro

01-20-2008, 03:06 PM

It would take a lot of cutting, welding, grinding, shaping and time to do that swap. For what it's worth, I like the square butts better.

85 Holiday

01-20-2008, 04:23 PM

You could probably drill out the spot welds and swap in a new rear panel to convert it but it would be a LOT of work and you would be left with one problem....The trunklid to fit the rounded rear panel will not fit on your car due to the curved back window!

What he said. Plus you wouldn't have the time and patience if you tried

Tonglebeak

01-20-2008, 06:17 PM

Alright...just so I don't clutter up the board with more threads...

What about swapping out a composite frontend with the 86 style?

86euro

01-20-2008, 10:18 PM

That should just be a bolt-on affair, with some minor headlight wiring changes.

Pontiac6ksteawd

01-20-2008, 11:05 PM

Theres a bit more than just the wiring for the headlights. There are a couple diferent bolts. I have no idea why, I just know there is. A freind bought a 86 Ciera Brougham Sedan. The header panal was smashed, and thats why he got it cheap. Found a 88 model ciera in the yard, and tooke the front clip off. The diferent bolts are behind the blinkers on both sides, and 2 support bolts that mount around the bumper shocks. The 2 behind the headlights, I just drilled a hole into the fender, and then used a self tapping bolt. On the 2 lower bolts, We didnt even mess with those, cause we couldnt get to them.