71/72 Mach 1 bumper question

[jaki30]

I was the original owner of a 71 Mach 1. I have been looking at Mach 1s' to
possibly buy similar to the one I owned. My question is:
I have seen several 71/72 Mach 1s' on e-bay that have the chrome front
bumper and the chrome hood leading edge. From what I can remember of
the Machs', all of them came with the rubber front bumper and hood edge
painted the same color as the car. In fact, the 73 Mustang used the same
rubber bumper and body color hood edge on ALL the models.
Am I missing something or are these cars fake?
Thanks.
John

 

[BlueMonster65]

i think the 71 had the full chrome bumper and in 72 the urethane bumper was introduced due to tougher safety standards. 73 has the same bumper but the turn signals are vertical i think and the 72's are horizontal. might be the otherway around i can't remember. but i know its only a slight difference.

 

[TireSmoknWindsr]

71-72 I have saw both painted and chrome steel bumpers. i've saw some w/ chrome bumpers, body color nose trim. And 73 had the *safety* urethane bumpers or whatever the crap they were.

 

[nosaj122081]

Yes, 71-72 bumpers interchange, and I have noticed the same thing you have; that some Machs had chrome... I have also read in several sources that the Machs came standard with urethane bumpers (Bosses had chrome), but have seen cars to the contrary. Maybe they were ordered that way, or changed as the years went on. FWIW, my Mach has the color keyed front end.

 

[Platonic Solid]

The only way to be sure is the third and forth VIN # = 05. How 71-2 came originally, I don't know, but since you can't get repro urethane bumpers, I suspect many have been converted to chrome (I personally love that look anyway). Plus, you're talking eBay - home of the infamous 71-73 MachI Coupez