73 or 74

[dodj]

Can anybody tell me if this bumper is a '73 or '74? Is there a difference in the two years?

[Moparal]

73-74 has different bracket mount bolt holes. I went through this 2 years ago.  I cant tell by memory which bumper you have, sorry. But there is a difference

[burdar]

Why do you need to know? 

The brackets have already been modified on that car because the bumper is pushed in close to the body like the 70-72's.

[e-tek]

Why do you need to know? 

The brackets have already been modified on that car because the bumper is pushed in close to the body like the 70-72's.

Hmmmm. If the brackets had been modified, me thinks you wouldn't get the rubber spacer in there. I modified mine and removed the rubbers. Also, I think those are 74's - they look exaclty like mine, I need bolts in those extra holes tho!

Can I see more pics of your car???

[burdar]

The bumpers look to be farther in than factory.  The really stuck out far on 73-74.  I have seen people move the bumpers in but still leave the fillers in there.  Maybe they weren't in as far as a 72 but they were moved in some.

That bumper also looks like my 73.  What are we really looking for?  Do the number of bolts differ from the two years?

[dodj]

Why do you need to know? 

The brackets have already been modified on that car because the bumper is pushed in close to the body like the 70-72's.

This is related to the Rear Bumper guard thread. I ordered '70-'72 rear bumper guards to fill those "leaf spring viewing ports". I thought they only changed the size of the guard, not the bumper. 73Chally said he just bolted his on through the lower bolt hole. Job done. Sounded good to me so I ordered the guards. There was no lower bolt hole but I figured a drill would fix that up. Unfortunately the contour of my bumper doesn't match the contour of the new guards, and the bumper seems to hold them too far out. 73Chally also suggested I have a '74 bumper - definitely possible. I looked at pics of repro's online and the '73's and '74's look the same. So I want to determine what I have and what I need to clean up the tail of this car using the '70-'72 guards. (not crazy about the big '73 guards) I'm not against buying a new bumper, as you can see the chrome is kind of poor, but I want to make sure I order one that will work with the guards I have.

[dodj]

Can I see more pics of your car???

I could post some but it looks like you have it's twin in your garage.

Did you just weld in some metal to fill the holes in the valance? Looks clean. Could you post a full tail shot? Maybe I'll go that route.

[burdar]

Are you sure you got the right guards?  I have seen many people do this mod and it has worked.  Post some pictures of the guards up against the bumper so we can see what you are talking about.

[dodj]

Here is a couple pix.

[burdar]

I found this pic of a 72 bumper on a 74 car.  It looks like there is an extra hole in the bumper on the 74 style.(just below the reverse light)  You can also see that the two outer bumper bolts are up higher on the bumper than the 72.  I'll look at my 73 and see where the bumper bolts are located.(high or low on the bumper)

[burdar]

Here is a pic of the back end of my car.  It is a little hard to see but it looks just like your 74.  There are two bolts right below the reverse lights and the two outer bolts are up higher on the bumper than the 72.  I know I have seen a pic of a 74 with the earliers guards.  Let me keep looking.

If you havn't moved the bumper in closer to the body, the guards will stick out farther.  To get them to cover the slots in the valence beter, you will have to move the bumper in farther.   

 

[ashley_j]

If you need more '73 pics take a look.   

Jeff
 

[dodj]

Thank for the input and pics everybody. It appears the '74 bumper bolts are spaced further apart than the '73's are. E-tec's (I believe his car is a '74?) outer bolts seem to be closer to the end of the bumper than mine or ashley_j's, and the inner two bolts of E-tec's look to be closer to the license plate.
So I'm going to order a '73 rear bumper and fill in the rear valence 'shackle inspection ports' like e-tec did.
By the way, I had ordered the guards from Dave @ Roseville. Dave said install them or exchange them or return them, whatever works for me. It's good to know when you order a part that doesn't work out like you thought it would, Dave still takes care of you.