Am I Stupid? Why Do I Keep Thinking About Getting A Fiberglass Bumper

[jikelly]

I was messing around in the garage today and got a wild hair up my rump. I thought I'd measure the weight of my 73 mustang's front bumper. Umfgh it's a heavy sumomabish.

The thing weighs like 74 something pounds. So, that got me to thinking about an advertisement for a fiberglass replacement front bumper. It claims I could cut 50 something pounds off the nose of my stang. 50 something, right off the front!! That'd really help with the weight distribution.

There was a car show or maybe a magazine article I saw about swapping out the front bumper on some GM muscle car for a fiberglass one. They were talking about how great it was to get rid of all that unnecessary weight.

But, is that weight really unnecessary. I mean having a heavy thick chunk of metal on the front of your car could come in handy in an accident, right?

So, I'm not sure if I should get one or not. I was thinking about getting one so I could swap it out on SCCA autocross weekends but I don't know. What do y'all think?

 

[Capt Dan]

Can you just take off the metal one on the race weekends? Do they require that you have 'something' there?

Seems like a difficult proceedure to put it on and take it off all the time. Not to mention risky to your paint.

 

[ForceFed70]

Are you sure your bumper weighs that much?

On my 70 I easily held my bumper with 1 hand while bolting it on. I think it's closer to 30 or 40lbs. I would expect the 73 bumper to be similar in weight, but maybe not?

 

[zookeeper]

Yeah, but remember, his car is a '73, they had huge bumpers. I've driven ModelA hot rods with no bumper at all and never had a problem. I guess it's because I've ridden street bikes for years, but I'm usually pretty careful, regardless of how stout a bumper I have. I also live in a less-populated area, if I lived in LA, I'd need a bumper and a gun. I say go for it, the bumper on my '68 isn't worth much in a crash anyway.

 

[bnickel]

Are you sure your bumper weighs that much?

On my 70 I easily held my bumper with 1 hand while bolting it on. I think it's closer to 30 or 40lbs. I would expect the 73 bumper to be similar in weight, but maybe not?

can you say federally mandated 5 mph impact protection bumper? i can, H-E-A-V-Y!!!!!!, the front bumper on my buddies old 72 caprice weighed about 125 lbs, the back only weighed about 35-40

 

[jspagna1]

I hear you. My sister had a '73 and I got into an accident with it. Hit the side of a truck & car bounced right off it. Seriously though, depending if your car is a daily driver then keep the bumper you have. If it's a week-end-warrior then go fiberglass. I did fiberglass front & rear on mine. I never saw them advertised for the the '71-'73 cars? I got mine from Unlimited Products. Their prices are very competitive. You can also try Mustangs Plus or Maier Racing.

 

[jikelly]

The rear bumper on my stang might be 25lbs. Real bad damage if I got hit in the rear. Do you think I could put somekinda reinforcement into the fiberglass bumper? Like some 2" steel tubing or something, or would that defeat the weight savings?

Yeah, my car will be my daily driver, and yeah there are still a lot of people driving and talking on the cell phones. I really don't understand why the phone makes them swerve so much.

 

[jspagna1]

Ya, I hear you. It's against the law now in CT but people(females) are always on the cell phones. Scares the crap out of me.

Stick with the bumpers you have. The rear bumper on a '73 is actually perdy beefie,there's just not a lot of it. It is what it is. Just keep your eyes on your rear view mirror.

 

[Gud T.B. Blown]

Ya, I hear you. It's against the law now in CT but people(females) are always on the cell phones. Scares the crap out of me.

Stick with the bumpers you have. The rear bumper on a '73 is actually perdy beefie,there's just not a lot of it. It is what it is. Just keep your eyes on your rear view mirror.

The bumper from a '71/'72 weighs quite a bit less than the '73 and IMHO looks a lot better.

 

[4MuscleMachines]

The bumper from a '71/'72 weighs quite a bit less than the '73 and IMHO looks a lot better.

I wasn't aware of that, that would explain why my 71 front bumper weighs about 30lbs at most.

 

[jikelly]

The actually changed the front fenders on the 73 mustangs to accommodate the 5mph bumper.

 

[Gud T.B. Blown]

I wasn't aware of that, that would explain why my 71 front bumper weighs about 30lbs at most.

The '73 front bumper has a nice pice of sqaure tubing under the cover that runs the length of it.

 

[Gud T.B. Blown]

The actually changed the front fenders on the 73 mustangs to accommodate the 5mph bumper.

That is the rumor but I don't believe it to be fact. Notice that nobody sells a '73 specific hood. If the front fenders were truly longer, as I've been told, then you would need a different hood as well.
From practical experience I can tell you that a '71 bumper WILL bolt and line up on '73 fenders because I've done it. You will also need to change the lower valence as well.

 

[CochinoFilipino]

,,,,,,,,, the bumper on my '68 isn't worth much in a crash anyway.

But who know how many times our cars get tapped when parked? The old bumpers may not be that great in a crash, but they can protect our cars from the occasional love tap.

 

[jikelly]

That is the rumor but I don't believe it to be fact. Notice that nobody sells a '73 specific hood. If the front fenders were truly longer, as I've been told, then you would need a different hood as well.
From practical experience I can tell you that a '71 bumper WILL bolt and line up on '73 fenders because I've done it. You will also need to change the lower valence as well.

I wondered if the earlier bumpers would bolt up or not. I figured they would, but I know that the fenders on the 71 and 72 are a different shape than the 73's.

 

[Platonic Solid]

The easiest way to reduce the front urethane bumper weight would be to replace the heavy steel channel that runs the length of the bumper with an identical aluminum one (though that would be a rather expensive custom fabrication project unless you have friends in the metal punching and forming business). There is a smaller steel tube molded into the urethane which you can not replace.

The difference between 73 fenders vs. 71-2 is the front profile. The "L" shaped chrome (or painted) front molding is taller on the 73 urethane bumpered fender (and the fender profile matches the molding). The area below these moldings is also different - 71-2 fenders have a deeper recess (and a black rubber filler piece when use with the chrome bumper) where the bumper ends fit near the fender - 73 fenders have a significantly smaller and lower recess in this area (and no rubber piece).

Though it is physically possible to replace your 73 urethane bumper with a 71-2 chrome one, you'll run into several issues: bumper mounting brackets are different, grill is different, you have to replace the tall fender moldings with the short ones (causing an unsightly gap which looks like crap) and bumper alignment problems due to the fender profile differences mentioned. In other words, don't do it - you will regret it.

 

[C0V3R]

But who know how many times our cars get tapped when parked? The old bumpers may not be that great in a crash, but they can protect our cars from the occasional love tap.

Thats certainly true IME

 

[Stanger007]

Platonic - it looks like you know a lot about the differences between the '72 and '73 bumpers - you may be able to help me.

I've got a '72 car but the guy I bought it from had a '73 bumper/grill put on and like you say it doesn't line up quite right.

I've been trying to figure out what all I'll need to replace to turn it back to a '72 since there are now aftermarket replacements.

Here are the pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wesratcliff/sets/72157594556614818/

What should I be shopping for?

Thanks,
Wes

 

[Platonic Solid]

Platonic - it looks like you know a lot about the differences between the '72 and '73 bumpers - you may be able to help me.

I've got a '72 car but the guy I bought it from had a '73 bumper/grill put on and like you say it doesn't line up quite right.

I've been trying to figure out what all I'll need to replace to turn it back to a '72 since there are now aftermarket replacements.

Here are the pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wesratcliff/sets/72157594556614818/

What should I be shopping for?

Thanks,
Wes

Looks to me like either an inner bumper bracket alignment problem, or the full length steel channel that the bumper is mounted to is bent, and/or inner mounting bracket(s) are damaged. You have 73 fenders, grill and bumper. I can't tell, but I assume you have a 73 front valance. (73 valance has no signal light mounting). If the grille was not cut into to accomodate the shorter 71-72 hood latch, then you also have the longer lever 73 hood latch mechanism.

It would be rather costly to bring it back to a 72 as you would have to replace all visible front end parts (plus the bumper mounting brackets) except the hood. New fenders, Left and Right front fender molding, valance, grille, and worst of all locate a 72 urethane bumper (I haven't seen that available anywhere as a repro) and full length bumper support bracket (I don't know if that's available as a repro either) and a short lever 71-72 hood latch (also unavailable as repro). I suppose you could go for the repro chrome bumper, but you'd still need the bumper support and then you'd want to get the chrome fender and hood molding also. (It just doesn't look right to have a chrome bumper with painted molding IMHO).

If you decide to keep your current configuration and would like me to take a few pics of the proper inner bumper mounting bracket orientation, just let me know. As I currently have the bumper, valance and grille removed from the 73 Mach.

 

[Stanger007]

If you decide to keep your current configuration and would like me to take a few pics of the proper inner bumper mounting bracket orientation, just let me know. As I currently have the bumper, valance and grille removed from the 73 Mach.

Wow I didn't realize they changed THAT much stuff between '72 and '73!!!

My grill WAS cut into for the short latch like you mentioned so I must still have a '72 front hood latch but evidently that's as far as the 72-ishness extends.

I'd love some pictures of your setup on the '73... I will just stick with that since there is so much to replace!

Thanks!