oe looking tucked bumpers

by dynchel Wed Dec 12, 2012 7:01 pm

One thing i found by accident is that on a 74 chevelle if you put the rear bumper shocks on the front it puts the bumper right about where you want it. The nice thing about it is that under the hood it looks like a factory setup. No drilling required, and it fits like it was meant to be. I don't know what other specific years or models it works on though.

by 77mali Wed Dec 12, 2012 7:32 pm

That's just crazy enough to work!!!! You may have just developed a market for 74 bumper shocks too...It's funny I always assumed they were the same size. Now I have to go measure them!

lol!

by JiMi_DRiX Wed Dec 12, 2012 9:24 pm

What do you do about the bumper fillers when you tuck the bumper in like that?

by dynchel Wed Dec 12, 2012 9:47 pm

The outside rubber pieces need to be cut down, but the go inside the bumper so you can't tell. The center section stays mounted to the bumper and just moves in with the bumper. I painted the center section satin black since it is now in the engine compartment. I am very picky and i believe it looks factory....now if only i had the skills to narrow it side to side. Smile

by JB2wheeler Wed Dec 12, 2012 11:26 pm

Thats a great discovery! WTG. JB

by Brainstain Thu Dec 13, 2012 12:47 am

Sweet!!

by 74Malibu383 Thu Dec 13, 2012 12:06 pm

Pics???

by dynchel Thu Dec 13, 2012 2:50 pm

I haven't mastered posting pictures yet. I will when i figure it out.

by 77mali Thu Dec 13, 2012 5:58 pm

dynchel wrote:....now if only i had the skills to narrow it side to side.

I did a rendering a while back. The sides can be cut & re-welded by the last chrome bumper bolt hole. The pic is not perfect symmetry but you get the idea. It's hard to do with the "paint" program.

oe looking tucked bumpers Front_10

by carcass Thu Dec 13, 2012 10:51 pm

couldnt a guy just drill, collapse and weld the shocks in the front?

by dynchel Thu Dec 13, 2012 11:07 pm

That works also, that's what most people do. When i did mine years ago i guess i was over thinking things. I made my own rear bumper mounts (pain in the a$$) when i was done i was gonna start on the front when i noticed the rears (bumper shocks) were shorter. The nice part about doing it like this is if you look(from under the hood) the shocks look unaltered, i am very pickey with my car...it has to look right. Note: i did my shimming where the shocks go in the frame to make it fit damn near perfect. cheers

by Bruisr Fri Dec 14, 2012 2:00 pm

I just finished sectioning my bumpers, on my 74, I'll see about posting some pics this weekend. P.S. I was still able to mount the turn signals in the front bumper.

by 77mali Fri Dec 28, 2012 6:24 pm

dynchel wrote:That works also, that's what most people do. When i did mine years ago i guess i was over thinking things. I made my own rear bumper mounts (pain in the a$$) when i was done i was gonna start on the front when i noticed the rears (bumper shocks) were shorter. The nice part about doing it like this is if you look(from under the hood) the shocks look unaltered, i am very pickey with my car...it has to look right. Note: i did my shimming where the shocks go in the frame to make it fit damn near perfect.

The rear bumper shocks are shorter than the fronts on my 77 also. Even though these things are only a 5 mph shock- it's still better to have them with the oil & gas in them (IMO). Sometimes we tend to overlook the obvious, eh? Thanks again for posting this!!!

by 77mali Fri Dec 28, 2012 8:41 pm

Oh Yeah, forgot...LOL. I know...They're in sad shape.
oe looking tucked bumpers Img_0021

by dynchel Fri Dec 28, 2012 9:17 pm

Hey 77 mali...i love your avatar. Is (was) that a picture of you? My mom still has her1976 camaro she bought new. My dads first new car was a 1973 307 chevelle. Thats the car i came home from the hospital in.

by 77mali Fri Dec 28, 2012 10:07 pm

No- just kinda thought it was a cool pic. Gotta love the little guy cleaning up those rims. I'm a bit older I would have come home in a 68. Very Happy

by carcass Sat Dec 29, 2012 2:37 am

Wow!! after seeing the size of those bumper shocks I am gonna make haste at getting rid of mine. Those things have gotta weigh a ton!

by dynchel Tue Mar 05, 2013 10:12 am

here is a close up of the shock (rf) notice its fully extended.
https://2img.net/h/i1337.photobucket.com/albums/o674/dynchel/photobucket-47609-1362491268978_zps441525d8.jpg
heres what the result looks like looking down on it.
https://2img.net/h/i1337.photobucket.com/albums/o674/dynchel/photobucket-87443-1362491297839_zpsc831746d.jpg
any shimming was done on the frame where it is less noticable.

by 77mali Tue Mar 05, 2013 4:10 pm

Dang you got in there close, looks good. Did you cut the filler strip or is it underneath the bumper? Just curious.

by SSTOOLMAN Tue Mar 05, 2013 4:16 pm

Anybody know if 74 rear bumper shocks would work on the front of a 73?

by dynchel Tue Mar 05, 2013 4:44 pm

77mali wrote:Dang you got in there close, looks good. Did you cut the filler strip or is it underneath the bumper? Just curious.

the end pieces are cut, there's not enough room inside the bumper. I cut and refit the center piece to match the end pieces. Note the center piece mounts to the bumper. Therefore, it will ride into the engine compartment.

by dynchel Tue Mar 05, 2013 4:56 pm

SSTOOLMAN wrote:Anybody know if 74 rear bumper shocks would work on the front of a 73?

i am pretty sure the 73 set up is different than the 74/77. I think the front of the frame is different also. I believe there is a different mod for 73's, reversing mounts or something like that.

by dynchel Tue Mar 05, 2013 5:19 pm

i made my own bumper mounts for the rear out of 1/4 inch steel plate. the rear has no shocks and is mounted solid. note i painted my tail lights 73 ss style. (black with silver out lines)
https://2img.net/h/i1337.photobucket.com/albums/o674/dynchel/photobucket-86759-1361563308991_zps070ff8a3.jpg

by alleyball4 Tue Mar 05, 2013 5:33 pm

I love the tucked bumper .... it's a suttle thing, that changes the look of the car. (now, just don't get into a wreck ... lol)

what did you paint black like the SS .... the tail lights? the SS has the black round tail lights, and the picture I see in your photo bucket is the rectangular tail lights ??

by dynchel Tue Mar 05, 2013 5:58 pm

The surround around the red lens is usually chrome. In 1973 only ss's had the surround painted black. Mine is a 74 hence rectangular tail lights but i liked the black ss look of 73.

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