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OK - this is a rather arcane piece of C1 knowledge but I am told that the brackets that hold the license plate and bumperettes are different between the '58-'60 versions and the '61-'62 versions. The later ones are an inch shorter or some such thing.
Anybody know for sure or have a side-by-side comparison ? In looking at the repro license plate & bumperette ***'y I installed two years ago compared to some other '61s it seems to sit too far forward and the top is about an inch below the horizontal grille bar.
Frank
Last edited by Frankie the Fink; Sep 16, 2009 at 07:19 PM.
I believe this to be true. I had my 62 at a show before i took it off the road and a very knowledgeable C1 guy told me mine has 1 of each as one side sticks out a little bit farther. If you find that yours is wrong and you want to trade my earlier version for 1 of yours, let me know.
If it looks too far forward it is. For awhile the only brackets that were available were the early longer ones. I bought them and had them on the car until a number of years later when then 61-62's were repro'd. It is a noticeable difference
OK - this is a rather arcane piece of C1 knowledge but I am told that the brackets that hold the license plate and bumperettes are different between the '58-'60 versions and the '62-'62 versions. The later ones are an inch shorter or some such thing.
Anybody know for sure or have a side-by-side comparison ? In looking at the repro license plate & bumperette ***'y I installed two years ago compared to some other '61s it seems to sit too far forward and the top is about an inch below the horizontal grille bar.
Frank
Yes, that is correct.
Three different brackets: 53-57, 58-60, 61-62.
Three different bumperettes: 53-55, 56-57, 58-62.
The 58-60 bumper guard bracket is about 1.25 inches longer than the 61-62 guard. It is longer to accommodate the grill teeth of the earlier models. The P/N # for the 61-62 guards is 3782765 & 3782766.
If you have the Corvette Restorer Vol16 #4 there is an article on how to modify the 58-60 brackets to look like 61-62 style.
Last edited by Donald #31176; Sep 16, 2009 at 06:54 PM.
I don't have any old Corvette Restorer mags and the correct brackets (by themselves) are 70 bucks....if anybody knows how to modify the older ones I'm all ears.
At the end of the day it's easier to just buy the correct ones for $70 a pair. Take the old ones off - sell on E-bay - bolt the new ones on and go to the next task. No running around, no cutting, no welding, no painting or coating
I also believe I have the earlier brackets on my '61 as they seem to stick out..Thanks Frank Anyone have the measurements of both the early and later brackets?
I don't have measurements, but as a point of reference here's how mine fit on my 62. I can just get my fingers between the back of the bumperette and the center grill bar, when washing the car.
I measured my brackets on the '61 (as close as I could get with them installed) and they are 22-1/4" long. The eBay seller who deals in this part just emailed me back and said that is the correct length for '61/'62 brackets. Guess I'll have to roll under the car tomorrow and see why things are slightly out of alignment...I remember having some issues with the brackets and doing some creative shimming...probably a mistake on my part.
My bumperettes are not nearly as close as Jeff's are in his picture above...and even my avatar shows the bumperettes are too low as indexed off the horizontal grill bar.
Last edited by Frankie the Fink; Sep 16, 2009 at 08:59 PM.
I also believe I have the earlier brackets on my '61 as they seem to stick out..Thanks Frank Anyone have the measurements of both the early and later brackets?
58-60 bracket is 1.25 inches longer than 61-62 bracket. You should cut off 1.25 inches from the thick straight section before it narrows. Then braze the narrow section to the shortened thick section. Smooth & paint for appearance.
My bumperettes are not nearly as close as Jeff's are in his picture above...and even my avatar shows the bumperettes are too low as indexed off the horizontal grill bar.
Well, my body has been off my chassis so figure there could be some fore/aft alignment differences between our cars.
Cars with 61-62 bracket the top of the bumperette is about 1/2 inch from grill bar.
Yup, on my '62 the distance to the grill bar is about 3/8".
I just went through this with a buddy of mine on his '62, he had the earlier version. Fortunately I spotted a '59 at a local cruise night that a '61~'62 version jambed up in the teeth, worked out great for everyone.
Here is a photo of my bumper. Looks like I have the earlier bracket as there is much more space that Jeff's. Frank, does your look like this?
Larry
Actually the distance from your grill bar looks EXACTLY like my car but my bumperettes sit even lower....I'm not sure I believe the person that told me I have the right brackets. If I remove the washers that I used as shims from the bracket where it bolts to the frame to get the bumperettes nearer to the grille bar then they will be way off from vertical and canted inwards a bunch. Something is wrong...
CAN SOMEBODY WITH PROPER FITTING '61/'62 BUMPERETTES PLS MEASURE THE BRACKET LENGTH ??
Last edited by Frankie the Fink; Sep 17, 2009 at 05:09 PM.