Tucking factory 74 bumpers

[al bundy’s dodge]

Hi I have a 74 duster and I wanna tuck the front and rear bumpers close to the body like a 73. I was gonna get a 70-73 rear bumper and brackets but I recently seen a 74 with its factory bumpers tucked. if someone knows how let me know thanks. I wanna get rid of that heavy metal bar behind the bumpers to save weight

 

[RustyRatRod]

@72bluNblu can help, I bet.

 

[George Jets]

Yep, remove that front heavy inner structure.

Then slide the bumper brackets back 1 1/2" on the front frame rails. Now you will be using the back bolt hole as the front, and then redrill a new rear hole to hold it in that position.

(will have to shorten the front lower fender round brace to accommodate the change)

Same on the rear bumper you can suck that one in 1" by pulling it forward with a come-a-long looped around the rear axle as it compresses the Enery Absorbing cylinders.

Then you can take a 6" steel strap mounted to the lower bumper and bolt that to the body structure next to the energy absorber mounts to hold it in to the compressed position.

☆☆☆☆☆

 

[72bluNblu]

Hi I have a 74 duster and I wanna tuck the front and rear bumpers close to the body like a 73. I was gonna get a 70-73 rear bumper and brackets but I recently seen a 74 with its factory bumpers tucked. if someone knows how let me know thanks. I wanna get rid of that heavy metal bar behind the bumpers to save weight

Does your ‘74 have shock mounted bumpers front and rear, or just in the front?

In ‘74 they started with shock mounted bumpers front and rear, but due to a manufacturing issue they went back to non-shock mounted front bumpers mid-year. If yours has shock mounted front bumpers it’s harder to fix than if it has standard non-shock mounted bumpers in the front.

In the rear, you can just get rid of the entire ‘74 bumper, shock mounts etc and save about 50+lbs. This thread covers a lot of that

Tucked in 74 Rear Bumper. All Sorts Of Wrong. I Hate it!

The problem with “tucking in” the ‘74+ bumpers is that they’re wider than the car, so, even “tucked in” they still don’t look right.

 

[72bluNblu]

The issue with the front is the frame rails.

The production for model year '74 started out with shock mounted bumpers. Then around December, there was an issue with production on the shock mounted bumpers/brackets. So mid to late '74 got standard bumpers again. But here’s the thing, the early ‘74 model year cars only have the mount in the frame rail for the shock mounted bumper, and the shock mounts only have a single bolt and it’s in a different spot. You can see that here, a standard bumper frame rail has two mounting locations, the early ‘74 and then the ‘75/76 rails only have one (the label doesn’t account for mid to late ‘74)

Then there were the mid-to-late ‘74 frame rails, they had all 3 mounting locations to cover both the shock mounted and standard mounted bumpers. This is my '74 Duster, which had a June build date, and has both the standard AND the shock mount bracket locations from the factory. It had a non-shock mounted bumper too, which is pretty obvious looking at the wear marks on the frame rail.

So, if you have a ‘74 that has shock mounted bumpers and you want to tuck them in you can collapse the shock mounts, which will tuck the bumper in some but leave the big gnarly ends hanging out past the car.

If you have a ‘74 with standard brackets, you could either use @George Jets suggestion, or, you could just get a ‘73 front bumper and brackets. The ‘73 bumper and brackets are both different than the ‘74 versions, so get them together because you can’t use a ‘73 bumper with ‘74 brackets or vice versa.

 

[al bundy’s dodge]

Does your ‘74 have shock mounted bumpers front and rear, or just in the front?

In ‘74 they started with shock mounted bumpers front and rear, but due to a manufacturing issue they went back to non-shock mounted front bumpers mid-year. If yours has shock mounted front bumpers it’s harder to fix than if it has standard non-shock mounted bumpers in the front.

In the rear, you can just get rid of the entire ‘74 bumper, shock mounts etc and save about 50+lbs. This thread covers a lot of that

Tucked in 74 Rear Bumper. All Sorts Of Wrong. I Hate it!

The problem with “tucking in” the ‘74+ bumpers is that they’re wider than the car, so, even “tucked in” they still don’t look right.

my duster is a mid year. I think, but I gotta check to see when the build date was but if I remember right it’s either may or June 74. I believe it has the 73 style brackets in the front. And as the rear it doesn’t bother me if it over hangs the back it will match the front.

 

[72bluNblu]

my duster is a mid year. I think, but I gotta check to see when the build date was but if I remember right it’s either may or June 74. I believe it has the 73 style brackets in the front. And as the rear it doesn’t bother me if it over hangs the back it will match the front.

Remember that even if it doesn’t have shock mount bumpers it does not have ‘73 brackets. The non-shock mount ‘74 brackets were different than the ‘73’s were.

Actually none of the bumpers or brackets are interchangeable for those years, ‘73 was one year only. And ‘74 shock mount bumpers were also different from ‘74 non-shock mounted bumpers.

 

[DionR]

Remember that even if it doesn’t have shock mount bumpers it does not have ‘73 brackets. The non-shock mount ‘74 brackets were different than the ‘73’s were.

Actually none of the bumpers or brackets are interchangeable for those years, ‘73 was one year only. And ‘74 shock mount bumpers were also different from ‘74 non-shock mounted bumpers.

Interesting. Didn't know that the '74 non-shock brackets were different. Thanks!

 

[72bluNblu]

Interesting. Didn't know that the '74 non-shock brackets were different. Thanks!

Yeah, I have pictures on here on one of the '73/'74 bumper threads, but the bolt hole locations from the bracket to the bumper are different from '73 to '74, so the brackets are actually a bit different. I believe the crash reinforcement beam behind the bumpers is different as well, and the '73 brackets might be shorter to pull the bumper in. I haven't compared them side by side but they're all visibly different, they're all one year or even half year only stuff.

 

[al bundy’s dodge]

Remember that even if it doesn’t have shock mount bumpers it does not have ‘73 brackets. The non-shock mount ‘74 brackets were different than the ‘73’s were.

Actually none of the bumpers or brackets are interchangeable for those years, ‘73 was one year only. And ‘74 shock mount bumpers were also different from ‘74 non-shock mounted bumpers.

Yeah I checked mine is a 6/74 build so it is a non shock mount front which is fine I’ll just move those brackets rearward and it also doesn’t have the heavy *** brace on the front either so I just gotta pull the rear and modify it and make it work how I want. Thanks for your knowledge and help.

 

[go-fish]

Pics are information only. I tucked my 1973 Duster bumper last night and thought I would share. This was the most appropriate thread and I didn't want to start a new one. Hopefully those who are looking to tuck their 1973-1976 bumper can take notes of installation.

Before

After

Measure 1"

Drill

Dang!

Enjoy the new weight transfer. Should accelerate much faster now! lol

 

[72bluNblu]

Pics are information only. I tucked my 1973 Duster bumper last night and thought I would share. This was the most appropriate thread and I didn't want to start a new one. Hopefully those who are looking to tuck their 1973-1976 bumper can take notes of installation.

View attachment 1716191895
Before
View attachment 1716191896
After
View attachment 1716191893
Measure 1"
View attachment 1716191894
Drill
View attachment 1716191897

View attachment 1716191898
Dang!
View attachment 1716191899
Enjoy the new weight transfer. Should accelerate much faster now! lol

View attachment 1716191900

Nice work!

 

[MopaR&D]

Pics are information only. I tucked my 1973 Duster bumper last night and thought I would share. This was the most appropriate thread and I didn't want to start a new one. Hopefully those who are looking to tuck their 1973-1976 bumper can take notes of installation.

View attachment 1716191895
Before
View attachment 1716191896
After
View attachment 1716191893
Measure 1"
View attachment 1716191894
Drill
View attachment 1716191897

View attachment 1716191898
Dang!
View attachment 1716191899
Enjoy the new weight transfer. Should accelerate much faster now! lol

View attachment 1716191900

Where did you get the front spoiler?

 

[go-fish]

Where did you get the front spoiler?

@Frodee

 

[go-fish]

My bumper was in the stock location but with the crash bar removed. It was adjusted nicely so I simply circled the bolts with a paint marker, removed the bumper, and measured one inch over on each bolt hole. Moved the bumper straight back one inch. Can't say it's that easy on other years but it was pretty stinkin easy. I'm really pleased about something that nobody will ever notice IRL.

 

[jos51700]

I have a '75 Valiant, and the rubber behind the bumper (front and rear) is looking pretty sorry. Is it possible to tuck these, and if so are you just tossing that elastomer stuff?
I have (I believe) a '73 Valiant, and I'm hoping the bumpers will be slightly narrower than the factory '75's. There was a thread on here where a guy narrowed his bumpers, and they looked awesome!

 

[72bluNblu]

I have a '75 Valiant, and the rubber behind the bumper (front and rear) is looking pretty sorry. Is it possible to tuck these, and if so are you just tossing that elastomer stuff?
I have (I believe) a '73 Valiant, and I'm hoping the bumpers will be slightly narrower than the factory '75's. There was a thread on here where a guy narrowed his bumpers, and they looked awesome!

The guys that are just collapsing the shock mounted bumpers are just ditching the plastic fillers.

The '73 bumpers are not shock mounted, and they will not just bolt up to the '75 shock mounts. Using those '73 bumpers would mean ditching the shock mounts and adding all the mounting points for the standard brackets.

 

[H22A4]

Is the width of a 73 Duster front bumper different (narrower) than the width of a 75 Duster front bumper? I get the sense it is but does anyone have a measurement?

 

[plymouth67]

I tucked the bumpers on my 75 Duster. I found a usable 73 front with brackets and had to drill one hole on each side to mount it. The rear I drilled a small hole in each shock (they are filled with oil) then, I put them in my press and collapsed them. Once they were fully collapsed I put a couple welds on the shocks to keep them compressed then, just put it back together. It still sits out a little but, looks better than it would have with the rubber body fillers in there. Good enough for the "work car". It really needs a good set of bumpers but, I'm a tight *** so, these will do.

 

[H22A4]

I tucked the bumpers on my 75 Duster. I found a usable 73 front with brackets and had to drill one hole on each side to mount it. The rear I drilled a small hole in each shock (they are filled with oil) then, I put them in my press and collapsed them. Once they were fully collapsed I put a couple welds on the shocks to keep them compressed then, just put it back together. It still sits out a little but, looks better than it would have with the rubber body fillers in there. Good enough for the "work car". It really needs a good set of bumpers but, I'm a tight *** so, these will do.View attachment 1716235724View attachment 1716235725View attachment 1716235726

Looks great!

Do you still have your 75 bumper to measure against the 73 bumper? Is the 73 bumper narrower? If not, can you post a pic of the width of the 73 bumper so I can compare it to mine?

If there’s no difference in width then I might as well push my 75 bumper in by collapsing the shock absorbers to avoid drilling new holes in the frame rail for the 73 bumper bracket.

 

[plymouth67]

I don't have the old one. I will try and measure the 73 over the weekend

 

[Ozyduster]

Nice work!

So the 73 bar is different shape to the 74 5mph bar? I have the 5mph bar and just about to collapse the shocks on it to pull them in an inch plus cut out heap of reo from back of bar to save on weight

 

[72bluNblu]

So the 73 bar is different shape to the 74 5mph bar? I have the 5mph bar and just about to collapse the shocks on it to pull them in an inch plus cut out heap of reo from back of bar to save on weight

Front or rear?

The rear bumpers are completely different, the ‘73 rear is the same as the ‘70-‘72, much narrower, much lighter.

In the front, I’m not 100% sure. I had a ‘74 non-shock mount bumper. It looks the same as a ‘73 but with different mounting holes. But that’s going from pictures and cars I’ve seen in person but didn’t measure, so it’s possible the width is slightly different. I kinda think the ‘73 front is the same width as the later ones, but I haven’t measured them.

 

[Ozyduster]

Front or rear?

The rear bumpers are completely different, the ‘73 rear is the same as the ‘70-‘72, much narrower, much lighter.

In the front, I’m not 100% sure. I had a ‘74 non-shock mount bumper. It looks the same as a ‘73 but with different mounting holes. But that’s going from pictures and cars I’ve seen in person but didn’t measure, so it’s possible the width is slightly different. I kinda think the ‘73 front is the same width as the later ones, but I haven’t measured them.

The front i meant not the rear i know they different as have a 73 for my one