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I had a 1975-79 front bumper with bumperettes on my 74. I'd prefer not to have a frankenvette so I removed the bumper to see what was involved in going back to the original bumper.
Originally, I thought the previous owner just did a chisel job to make the 75-79 bumper fit. However, the bumper, bumper support and most importantly, the front of the clip all appear to be 75-79.
How the heck do I fix this? Do I have to change the entire hood surround? (The purple part in this Ecklers diagram)
The press molded version of that part is $1500. The bumper is around $350, the bumper support $75. However, I imagine labor for cutting this into the existing clip is gonna be more than the cost of the parts.
Have you checked the frame on the car? I mean that's A LOT of work just for aesthetics. I'm guessing it was hit and repaired with the new (cool new look) parts. From the sounds of it they did a good job, but I would take a look see just to be sure and make sure it's all been done right. I could be way off here, so this is just a thought.
Have you checked the frame on the car? I mean that's A LOT of work just for aesthetics. I'm guessing it was hit and repaired with the new (cool new look) parts. From the sounds of it they did a good job, but I would take a look see just to be sure and make sure it's all been done right. I could be way off here, so this is just a thought.
The reason I wanted to change to the 74 bumper is that they partially filled the seam between the bumper and clip with bondo. This made the seam look rough. The seams were also cracked in a few places which took some of the paint with it. I figured if I was going to re-paint the car anyways I might as well get the correct bumper at the same time.
As far as possibly being done as part of a repair, it's possible. The vacuum bar has almost zero rust (like it has been changed) but the radiator surround/support and the frame horns show significant amounts of rust. I imagine it was changed at some point either due to rust or a collision.
If you can find a good glasser that uses the correct mat and resin and wont just bondo fill the seam to a 74 style , it will come out looking nice (original) and save you literally thousands of dollars.
Plenty of cash left over to buy a nice shiny new radiator support then
Wrong year front bumper - how to fix?
