Challenger bumpers over the years...

I've got a 74 Challenger i'm trying to shave weight on. Its got a 70 front clip, but still has the 74 bumper.

I'VE BEEN TOLD... that the brackets are all the same, and only the bumpers got heavier. Over the years i've also gotten it in my head that there were subtle differences in the 70-72 'small' bumpers. The 70 being the lightest. I KNOW i've seen metal plate behind a 72 bumper, however small.

I dont care if the brackets look stock to Galen Govier, i just want it to look like a 70, and be as light as possible. Do i need 70 only stuff? Just the 70 bumper? What are the specific (even the subtle) differences?

I already have a 70 rear bumper and brackets... so no worries there. Also not interested in fiberglass.

74 BARCKETS ARE not same as 1970

the chrome bumper is the same shape/size but the hole location changed when the reinforcement bar was added

1970-'72 brackets are the same
1973-'74 brackets push the bumpers away from the car & used filler pieces to fill the gap

Okay, i should clarify. I was told i could USE later brackets, by modifying them to mount the bumper closer (filing some slots, drilling holes or something). What i want to know is if the later brackets themselves are heavier than earlier ones. I'll hold out for earlier brackets if the later ones are 10lbs heavier. Weight reduction is a big theme here... especially up front.

What year was the bar added to the bumpers? Was a 71 heavier than a 70 bumper?

The bars were added in 73 when as mentioned they also pushed the bumpers further out and added the big ugly cushions, this was to meet the new 5mph crash standards. The bars are stand alone pieces that get sandwiched in between the bumper and the bracket, there's not much difference in the weight of any of the bumpers or the brackets themselves.

You could drill some holes in your front brackets, to relocate the bumper closer to the body like the earlier cars. More good info on that here-

https://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/4780596/site_id/1#import

Just redrill your 74 brackets to pull them back about an inch to get them flush, make sure that heavy bumper reinforcement bar is long gone, take the hole saw to the excess bracket material, boom, lightweight front brackets that mount the bumper flush

I bought new Keystone bumpers for my 73 and had my original bumper guards re-chromed. The contour of the Keystone bumpers was WAY off. The bumper guards weren't even close to fitting. I don't know if it was an issue with the new bumpers or if the contour changed over the years. I'd be interested in seeing a 73 bumper guard installed on a 70 bumper to compare. I ended up getting my original bumpers re-chromed.



Correct, however 73 rear brackets are completely different from 74 rear brackets. 73 and 74 both use large/heavy reinforcement plates behind both front and rear bumpers. The rear reinforcement plates might also be different from 73 to 74 since the brackets are different. Not sure though.

You can re-drill the 73-74 FRONT brackets to move the bumpers in closer to the body. I'm not sure how easy it will be to remove the heavy reinforcement though. The bumper brackets mount directly to the reinforcement plate. Here is the only good picture I have that shows the bumper removed and what the large reinforcement plate looks like.

This is a photo comparing front bumper brackets for a Challenger. The left is a '70 and the right is off of a '73. I believe the 70-72 and 73-74 brackets are interchangeable. Clearly the '70 bracket is shorter and the bumper mounts are different to accommodate for the larger bumperettes found on the '73-'74.

Regarding the weight, not sure how much difference there would be between the brackets. Perhaps a pound or two. I would think bare bumpers regardless of years would be nearly the same. The only other thing you may consider is to swiss-cheese the brackets to reduce some of the weight. You can eliminate the reinforcement plate located behind the bumper too.

I wonder... and by the pics it would seem that if there was a small difference, it would be mainly in the extra length, and that the same thing chopped down to 70 size might not weigh much more at all.

Okay... so i'm up on brackets. If i cant find earlier ones i'll just hack mine. They're rough anyways.

On the bumpers... are we absolutely certain the 72 bumpers are exactly the same as 70-71? Not even a little plate behind them? I've heard conflicting reports over the years. I dont care about slots.

The late 71-72 bumper is the same as 70-71 other than minor little cosmetic BS that you would never care about and that it has slots.

Alrighty then. I guess i'm looking for a 70-72 front bumper, and maybe brackets too if they're cheap enough. I can live with that.

There is not a lot of demand for 72 bumpers so that would be your cheapest route

you can use your '74 bumpers with 70-71 brackets you'll just have an extra hole on each side. Fill it with a bumper bolt. only catch is the chrome under the 5mph brackets may be in better shape then the rest of the bumper.


Gary

No chance. Way too heavy. This build is all about light. Yours looks damn good though. I'd love to find a T/A hood for mine. Just sold one a few years ago too...

Let me rephrase, that's a 73 bumper with all the extra reinforcements and bumperettes removed installed on 70 brackets, hence same weight as a 70-71 bumper with 2 extra bolt holes.

I thought all that sh!te was welded in there? Is this easily done? I couldn't care less about bolt holes...

I thought all that sh!te was welded in there? Is this easily done? I couldn't care less about bolt holes... [/quote]

Check out Burdar's post, that pic shows the reinforcement with the bumper removed, it's bolted together, just soak the bolts with some wd-40 or rust penatrent first of course.

Check out Burdar's post, that pic shows the reinforcement with the bumper removed, it's bolted together, just soak the bolts with some wd-40 or rust penatrent first of course. [/quote]

Correct, all of the reinforcements are bolted together. For the front you can reuse your bracket and bumper. Move the bracket back until the bumper sits where you want it, then re-drill the bracket to align with the bolt holes in the frame. Weight being a concern to you, you could then shorten the bracket a few inches to lose a few pounds.

get jeff lingenfelters aluminum bumper brackets(lingenfeltersbrackets), he made some for my 72 cuda, they might weigh 3 lbs total, come with aluminum carriage bolts and i got aluminum 1/2" bolts for the frame.i went with a glass bumper as well.

Awesome! When it stops raining here i'll unbolt that albatross and see what i have to work with. The 74 bumper on my car is straight enough for my needs, and the brackets seem straight too. hackity hack hack...


As for buying aluminum... I'm sure they're beautiful... but for what you can see ov them to the casual eye, i'll save money and make my own when its time to. As long as the bumper sits where it needs to, i'm not terribly concerned what the brackets look like.

And i will never go fiberglass for bumpers. I do like to bat around the shopping carts every now and then... Plus, i hit no less than five animals in the 4 years or so i drove my Charger. I want at least something metal between the wildlife and my pretty new radiator...

Sooo... finally got under the beast yesterday to get some idea ov what i'm working with here, What did i find? a 70 bumper... with 74 brackets and the 74 bumperettes bolted on! I have NO idea why someone would bolt on a 70 front clip (including bumper), and go through the trouble to put the cheesy 74 bumperettes back on... but they did. They're not even on the right side, they're bug-eyed. Makes me wonder where the 70 brackets ended up...

So... turns out i need nothing here. I dont even need to do anything to fix this, aside from unbolt those silly bumperettes when i pull the bumper to lighten the brackets. I've seen both year brackets up close now too... and once i get the hacking done, they'll be pretty much indistinguishable. Those front brackets look HEAVY... Lots ov weight to lose there...


Curious though, anyone actually WEIGH that inner brace on the 73-4 front bumper? Anyone weigh the full 73-4 rear bumper (brace, brackets, bumper, etc.)? I need some figures for my data.

here's some info:
73 frt bmpr brkts 13#
70 frt bmpr brkts 9#
73 frt. reinf. plate 19#
5MPH bumperettes 4# ea.
steel R/T hood 75#
T/A hood 28#. (aftermarket, not OEM)

Cool, thanks.

Is that weight for EACH? or the pair? My 70 rear brackets were 9lbs/pair... so i'm guessing each.

Maybe i should try and find some 70 brackets... save 8lbs before i even hack 'em.

I got 80lbs on a stock hood, but i cant remember how, and the T/A hood i bought was 30. They'll all be a little different i suppose.

Just for the record, not all 1970 Challenger bumpers & brackets are the same.

See the page at http://www.hamtramck-historical.com/1970ChallengerBumperTesting.shtml for photos.

Uhhh... yeah lets just give a moment ov thanks they did not go with that design...