'73 Chevelle SS Wagon (local find)

[bucket]

Well, more reading turned up nothing. I must have previously read about switching the brackets around on a different year. So I proceeded to travel down my own path.

I started by clamping the brackets to the bumper, where I would be able to drill new mounting holes. Then I held the mounting cups (that the bumper shocks bolt to) up to the brackets and marked where holes needed drilled.

You must be registered for see images attach

Then drilled new holes in the brackets. The original holes were slotted for up-down adjustment and the bumper had been at it's lowest position. I put them about mid way to raise the bumper in relation to the body.

You must be registered for see images attach

^You can see in that photo where I marked an area to remove for parking light clearance. I ended up not having a clearance issue. I also forgot to take a picture of how the brackets were bolted together and where I drilled holes to mount them, so this shot of the underside will have to do.

You must be registered for see images attach

The initial test fit to the car had the bumper pointing upward.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[bucket]

Since the bumper was pointing upwards a bit, and the brackets are only attached to the bottom edge of the bumper, I simply leveraged the bumper downward and placed a steel tube on each side between the bumper and the brackets. It's kinda janky, but when I find a nice replacement front bumper, I will make some very simple brackets that do the same job.

But I'm very happy with the new placement of the bumper and it really cleans up the front end, imho.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

And the park lights fit without notching the brackets.

You must be registered for see images attach

The new bumper gap is almost small enough that the filler wouldn't be needed. Almost.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[bucket]

Also, I thought I would have to shorten the ends of the bumper for it to look right, but personally I think it looks fine as it is.

Now it's time to drop the fuel tank to clean it out. The new carb kit is finally supposed to be here early in the week sometime.

 

[Keith Seymore]

Well done;

As was promised, I got started on modifying the bumper fitment before the car even leaves the trailer.

I was being facetious, you know...



Does it not have shock absorbers in the front bumper bracketry? Mine had shock absorbers, which I was able to disable and then replace with a shorter piece of round tube. It was very straightforward.

K

 

[bucket]

Well done;



I was being facetious, you know...



Does it not have shock absorbers in the front bumper bracketry? Mine had shock absorbers, which I was able to disable and then replace with a shorter piece of round tube. It was very straightforward.

K

There's shock absorbers. But I wanted to tuck the bumper more than they might have allowed. And I thought I had read about swapping the brackets around so I chose that route. And then I was determined to win that war, lol.

 

[Keith Seymore]

I see them now, upon further review.

I think I pulled mine in an inch, front and rear.

K

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[bucket]

The hard part now is going to be finding a '73 bumper with nice chrome and no slotted holes for a rub strip. Then mount it up in the same manner but with trimmed brackets, stainless button head bolts and all the other nice little details. But currently, I still think it looks way better than it did before.

 

[78C10BigTen]

I like the square body bumper idea!

 

[bucket]

I see them now, upon further review.

I think I pulled mine in an inch, front and rear.

K

You must be registered for see images attach

I didn't take exact measurements before and after, but I moved mine in as much as 3.5 inches. And it doesn't look to be tucked in much further than yours, if at all.

I stole more photos from Google to show what I've recently learned about '73-'77 bumpers. Starting with my own '73. It was the only year for this bumper and it stuck out really far.

You must be registered for see images attach

'74-'75 were a more slender design and didn't hang out so far. The ends didn't wrap around very far either.

You must be registered for see images attach

'76-'77 got a larger bumper, similar in shape to the '73, but with shorter ends and also didn't hang out so far. The bumper seems to be wider than previous versions though.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[Keith Seymore]

The hard part now is going to be finding a '73 bumper with nice chrome and no slotted holes for a rub strip. Then mount it up in the same manner but with trimmed brackets, stainless button head bolts and all the other nice little details. But currently, I still think it looks way better than it did before.

Would a fiberglass bumper be an option for you?

K

 

[Keith Seymore]

[QUOTE="bucket ]
I stole more photos from Google to show what I've recently learned about '73-'77 bumpers.[/QUOTE]

That's a nice little retrospective.

I never really loved the front end design of my car (with the "Mercedes style" grill) but I do like it the best of what you've presented here.

K

 

[bucket]

Would a fiberglass bumper be an option for you?

K

Originally I thought it would be. But the longer I have the car, the more I want to stay with chrome bumpers.

 

[Keith Seymore]

Originally I thought it would be. But the longer I have the car, the more I want to stay with chrome bumpers.

As an aside - you can chrome fiberglass now. There are a couple shops that do that. Don't let the technology be a deterrent (although the price might be). Chromed fiberglass front bumper shown on the car below.

I thought you might reply that you preferred the steel bumper and structure on a street driven car, which is a legit concern.

K

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[82sbshortbed]

Well, more reading turned up nothing. I must have previously read about switching the brackets around on a different year. So I proceeded to travel down my own path.

I started by clamping the brackets to the bumper, where I would be able to drill new mounting holes. Then I held the mounting cups (that the bumper shocks bolt to) up to the brackets and marked where holes needed drilled.

You must be registered for see images attach

Then drilled new holes in the brackets. The original holes were slotted for up-down adjustment and the bumper had been at it's lowest position. I put them about mid way to raise the bumper in relation to the body.

You must be registered for see images attach

^You can see in that photo where I marked an area to remove for parking light clearance. I ended up not having a clearance issue. I also forgot to take a picture of how the brackets were bolted together and where I drilled holes to mount them, so this shot of the underside will have to do.

You must be registered for see images attach

The initial test fit to the car had the bumper pointing upward.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You should do what I did to my I-ROC rims. I stripped the black paint off with paint remover. Washed them really good. Polished up the aluminum. Then taped off the aluminum I didn't want to paint and resprayed them black. Then clear coated them. They came out really nice looking.

You must be registered for see images attach

Later traded them to a dude with a camaro for his stock rims and a 84 kx125. Lol

 

[bucket]

As an aside - you can chrome fiberglass now. There are a couple shops that do that. Don't let the technology be a deterrent (although the price might be). Chromed fiberglass front bumper shown on the car below.

I thought you might reply that you preferred the steel bumper and structure on a street driven car, which is a legit concern.

K

You must be registered for see images attach

I did not realize that could be done now. I'm betting it costs a bit more than a quality re-chrome of a steel bumper, and I know that's pretty expensive these days.

At any rate, I'm much happier with it currently. Later down the road, after a lot of other cosmetic items are taken care of, I'm sure ill know exactly what I want to do about the bumper then. I may very well just end up shaving and sectioning the stock bumper and have it chromed.