Nobody around me wants anything to do with my big bumpers. I can't give them away. Been tripping over them since 2010. I was able to sell the front bumper mounts.
That's what I figured, probably not even worth a try.....heck, mine is the only Maverick I've even seen on the road ANYWHERE IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY for that past 5 years at least! 92 lbs of scrap metal, oughta be worth a couple bucks anyway...
WHAT DO YOU GUYS RECOMMEND? Should I notch the fenders to fit the stone guard, or vice versa? Notching the stone guard seems easier, right? Do I have to do anything to the '74 fenders to fit the chin valance, or does it just bolt right up to the lower lip, where the '74 lower fender extensions are attached?
HARE-BRAINED IDEA? EVER BEEN DONE? see below rthomas771 provided excellent pictures of how to notch the fenders, but I have never found pictures of a notched stone guard. And I haven't line mine up yet to see where the notch needs to be cut. Actually, I think I can get a clue from the '74 stone guard; in pics, I lined the small bumper guard on top of the '74 guard; many of the mounting surfaces and bolt holes line up exactly the same, so from this I think I have two options: 1) outline the cutout from the '74 onto the small guard, then cut that notch Or....or.... 2) outline the small guard profile onto the '74 in Sharpie (see last pic), then CUT THAT VINYL to match the outline of the small guard....it will mount right up without having to notch any metal, and since the vinyl is flexible, should be able to squeeze it in under the bumper....? Maybe? Anybody ever tried doing this? I'd paint it black of course. I may try it - I was going to throw the '74 guard away anyway, so what have I got to lose except some time and probably a few curse words.
Searching a little bit, I found this from an 8 year old thread: 73 small bumper conversion | Maverick/Comet Forums Posted by HadaGrabberonce: "I converted my 73 Maverick to the small front bumper. I had a stone guard from an earlier model but I just cut the rubber one from the 73 to fit without notching the fenders. Turned out decent." The '73 "rubber one" is smaller than the '74, but the principle is the same, so I'm encouraged...
Progress! I agree, Jaybee, so I cut the '74 rubber guard. Used a box cutter, more accurate cut along the outline, although as it turns out it doesn't matter much since the cut edge will be tucked under the bumper anyway. The outer portions of the rubber weren't too bad, but man...the middle section is THICK! My hand was sore afterward....but it worked! Upper pic, knife blade against \74 rubber middle section, cross-section view. Lower pic: new bumper at top; '70 stone guard, second from top; '74 rubber guard after cutting, third from top; '74 rubber leftover section, bottom.
Then I mounted the cut-down '74 guard. ( I threw the remnant away, but I realize I need to go back to the shop and get it so I can experiment with different paints to see what will stick)
Then installed the bumper over it. Looks much better, even with a valance! At this point it was evident that the bumper is slightly misaligned, closer to grill on passenger side. That side main bracket does seem to be twisted a bit, most likely I can cure this with some tweaking. Once I paint the guard (and the headlight buckets) black, it will hardly be noticeable anyway. From this pic its obvious I need to paint the inside of the wheel wells black too!
Even though this will work for now, and help me find the precise location for drilling the bracket holes in the frame, I still may do the '70 metal guard some day. It seems like it would be pretty easy to notch, I outlined the notch from the '74 guard onto it. This pic shows where it meets the '74 un-notched fender.
