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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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.
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!