Small vs large bumpers

Hey, guys.
What is the deal with the small bumpers? Did the Mav ever come from the factory with small bumpers? I had never seen the small bumpers before coming to the forum. Is it just an aesthetics thing, or is there some other reason people seem to dislike the larger bumpers?

 

it seems to be a really popular opinionthat the small ones look alot better

70-72 they had the small bumpers, 73's were a little bigger but still ok, 74-77 they got the big ol' ugly ones. it was really a safety issue that they got bigger. mine had the big ones when i got it since its a '76 model but i sacrificed safety for looks and backdated the bumpers to the small 70-72 style with a grabber spoiler

 

So when people "backdate", where do you get the small ones? Are they salvaged off of parts cars only, or does somebody make then now?

 

generally salvaged off older cars from the junkyard, or other members on the forum. I think you can buy them reproduced as well from bumperboyz, but I think OE is better stuff.

 

you actually need the bumpers, lower valneces and several brackets and other pieces. at this point you cant get anything new tho you can order re-chromed or fiber glass bumpers from diffrent sources like autokrafters. joe whos doing all the aftermarket maverick parts is supposedly comming out with a conversion kit sometime soon to but small bumpers on 73-77 cars with all new parts

all my parts were hunted down locally and off this site from 70-72 cars

 

Do they attach the same way or do you have to do a bunch of alterations to put them on? Also, what is a reasonable price to pay for them?

 

just for cmparison heres my 76 when it had the 74-77 big bumper (painted black)



here it is pretending to be a 70-72 lol

 

you need to drill 2 holes on each side of the front frame rails for the brackets and 4 holes on the rear panel for the rear bumper but it really was only a day's amount of work. setting the grabber soiler was the most time consuming but you dont need that for the swap

bumpers can be anywhere from $50 to $300 each depending on condition, front and rear valences can easily be another $100 each for nice ones, the bumper brackets could probably add another $50 to the bill too. you also need to get the correct 1/4 panel extensions. if you decide to get a grabber spoiler that will probably be another $200 as well. it adds up quick so keep that in mind while your oin the hunt.

 

DAYUM!! That does add up quick!

 

at the same time you can figure youd probably be able to get a really beat 70-72 parts car for the same amount. i found alot of good deals in my swap. i think i kept it under $300. never really had the heart to add it all up lol


you also have to kepp in mind the shipping costs of having such large objects shipped. my front bumper came from CA wrapped in brown paper, no box and the shipping alone was $30. my rear valence that came boxed was $30 somethig as well

 

JOEXR793 is making all of this stuff available for us new. By the time you run it all down and get bumpers rechromed you will likely spend about as much money trying to go used.
Very worthwhile swapover though

 

large bumpers weigh about 75 lbs each, small ones can be lifted with yur pinkey finger

its a little bit easier to break that rear tire loose to say the least.

i'd definatly hold out for joe's kit i would have but my swap was done and over with before he was ever a member here so i kinda missed out on the offer.

 

a few hours worth of work and the big bumpers can look nice, and weigh alot less.

its easy to lighten the inner supports, as well as section and tuck them in.

 

I lucked up and got all my swap stuff on 1/2 off day at the local JY. That and knowing the cashier, providing the staff with a case of Coronas whenever I show up, usually keeps my costs down QUITE a bit.

I usually try to appeal to JY employees sense of thinking...You know
working in a thankless job environment for little pay. Beer is a ticket that can take you far into alot of places.

 

I'm one of the few who has decided not to swap the big bumpers on my Mavericks to the small ones. I don't really care for the looks of the big bumpers; they are big, ugly and heavy, but they will protect your car to some degree in the event of a collision. My Stallion got rear-ended at a stop sign. The big bumper took all the impact and the car received no damage. I hit a deer with the other Maverick. Once again, the big bumper took the impact and the car received only minor damage. The insurance adjuster even told me if I had small bumpers on the car, the deer would have most likely wiped out front end to the tune of thousands of dollars. Since I live in an area with a rather large deer population ( not to mention a thriving bear population ), the odds of hitting a deer is quite high. The odds of hitting a bear are much smaller, but it won't matter what kind of bumper you have. The car will be toast. I prefer that little extra bit of safety the big bumpers provide over the better looks of the small bumpers.