71-73 front Bumper Schooling

7173Mustangs.com

Help Support 7173Mustangs.com:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Joined
Jan 14, 2014
Messages
1,170
Reaction score
15
Location
Martinez, CA
My Car
73 Coupe 351c
I know someone will chime in and set me strait!

I thought 73 was the first year for the 5 mph bumper and hence it is rubber in the front OK no prob.

I see 71 and 72 Mustangs with a rubber front bumper?

Can anyone sort this out?

Thanks

Paul

 
Well, yes and no. The '71s & '72s had body colored "urethane" (more like vulcanized rubber) bumpers on the Mach 1s, Springs, Sprints, and for special order as part of the Deluxe Exterior Group (I believe that's what it was called).

The '73s were the first year for the 5-mph bumper... which was "urethane" as well.

So you were right on both accounts. ;) :D

Hope this sorts it out.

 
The '73s were the first year for the 5-mph bumper... which was "urethane" as well.
Yep - and for the uninitiated: The '73 bumpers are noticeably bigger than the '71-72 bumpers, and they cover the lower valance entirely.

The '71-72 bumpers are almost flat, but the '73 bumpers stick out in the center and taper at the headlight/corners. The shape pattern is eerily similar to a 2005-2009 Mustang.

-Kurt

 
It's not the rubber that makes it a 5 mph bumper. As all three years have some sort of rubber as you know. The 73 bumper is extra heavy and reinforced. Its backed up by a impact absorption assembly. The 71-72 uses the same stiff brackets as the chrome bumper.

 
All Mustangs in 71 & 72 came with chrome front bumpers as standard equipment, while Mach 1s came with the eurathane front bumper. As mentioned above, there were a couple of optional trim packages in 71/72 that included the Mach 1 style eurathane bumper also.

For 73, all cars sold in the US had to have 5mph front bumpers and 2.5mph rear bumpers, so the Mustang's bumpers for 73 reflected this change.

The new 73 eurathane front bumper was then included on all models...no chrome front bumpers on any 73 Mustangs.

The rear bumpers on 73s are the same as 71/72, yet are mounted an inch or so farther away from the body with some rubber spacers to hide the gaps.

Many people are mistaken about what a "5 mph bumper" is supposed to be designed to do...they think it should withstand an impact up to 5mph with no damage: not true.

The regulation was that a direct frontal impact of up to 5 mph could not damage any critical or functional part of the car...cooling, steering, engine, etc...

There is no regulation as to cosmetic damage.

I remember when the 73s were new, the new HUGE front bumpers combined with the 14" wheels/tires on the Mach 1 made the car look badly proportioned to me, I hated them.

But they grew on me and now they look just fine to me.

I had the same reaction to the new 79 Trans Am front end when it was new...I thought it was horrible.

But it grew on me...I love them now.

 
All Mustangs in 71 & 72 came with chrome front bumpers as standard equipment, while Mach 1s came with the eurathane front bumper. As mentioned above, there were a couple of optional trim packages in 71/72 that included the Mach 1 style eurathane bumper also.

For 73, all cars sold in the US had to have 5mph front bumpers and 2.5mph rear bumpers, so the Mustang's bumpers for 73 reflected this change.

The new 73 eurathane front bumper was then included on all models...no chrome front bumpers on any 73 Mustangs.

The rear bumpers on 73s are the same as 71/72, yet are mounted an inch or so farther away from the body with some rubber spacers to hide the gaps.

Many people are mistaken about what a "5 mph bumper" is supposed to be designed to do...they think it should withstand an impact up to 5mph with no damage: not true.

The regulation was that a direct frontal impact of up to 5 mph could not damage any critical or functional part of the car...cooling, steering, engine, etc...

There is no regulation as to cosmetic damage.

I remember when the 73s were new, the new HUGE front bumpers combined with the 14" wheels/tires on the Mach 1 made the car look badly proportioned to me, I hated them.

But they grew on me and now they look just fine to me.

I had the same reaction to the new 79 Trans Am front end when it was new...I thought it was horrible.

But it grew on me...I love them now.
IT's funny how that works there were many cars in the 70s I thought were ugly and now I love them.

 
Do you know how many times I've seen a 71-3 bumper for sale that is actually a 73 only? I try telling the seller but they never listen.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 
I know your right. It's not just bumpers, a lot of people think 71-72 and the same as 73s but there were a lot of subtle design changes in for 73 some are interchangeable and some are not so much.

 
Well, yes and no. The '71s & '72s had body colored "urethane" (more like vulcanized rubber) bumpers on the Mach 1s, Springs, Sprints, and for special order as part of the Deluxe Exterior Group (I believe that's what it was called).

The '73s were the first year for the 5-mph bumper... which was "urethane" as well.

So you were right on both accounts. ;) :D

Hope this sorts it out.

It is called the 'Décor Group'. :D

http://www.7173mustangs.com/thread-decor-group-71-72-73

Ray

 
It is funny when we go to the Good-Guys shows. The cars are 1972 and older but some people bring their 73's (including us when we bring out our Cougar). All of the 73's stand out like sore thumbs with the front bumpers sticking out but no one gives us any grief about it

 
All Mustangs in 71 & 72 came with chrome front bumpers as standard equipment, while Mach 1s came with the eurathane front bumper. As mentioned above, there were a couple of optional trim packages in 71/72 that included the Mach 1 style eurathane bumper also.

For 73, all cars sold in the US had to have 5mph front bumpers and 2.5mph rear bumpers, so the Mustang's bumpers for 73 reflected this change.

The new 73 eurathane front bumper was then included on all models...no chrome front bumpers on any 73 Mustangs.

The rear bumpers on 73s are the same as 71/72, yet are mounted an inch or so farther away from the body with some rubber spacers to hide the gaps.

Many people are mistaken about what a "5 mph bumper" is supposed to be designed to do...they think it should withstand an impact up to 5mph with no damage: not true.

The regulation was that a direct frontal impact of up to 5 mph could not damage any critical or functional part of the car...cooling, steering, engine, etc...

There is no regulation as to cosmetic damage.

I remember when the 73s were new, the new HUGE front bumpers combined with the 14" wheels/tires on the Mach 1 made the car look badly proportioned to me, I hated them.

But they grew on me and now they look just fine to me.

I had the same reaction to the new 79 Trans Am front end when it was new...I thought it was horrible.

But it grew on me...I love them now.
Almost right Kit. The 2 1/2 MPH rear bumpers were not mandated until the 74 model year. The 73 Mustang or any other 73 car back then did not have 2 1/2 MPH bumpers. Remember the 73 Corvette that had the new 5 MPH bumper but the same split chrome rear bumper?

Most cars in 73 had the massive chrome bumper that stuck out like a sore thumb. I thought the 73 Mustang Mach 1 front bumper was very well done especially when you compared to most othe 73 model cars back then.

 
"I thought the 73 Mustang Mach 1 front bumper was very well done especially when you compared to most othe 73 model cars back then."

Me too!

1973-jaguar-e-type-640.jpg

73JAG-1.JPG

Ray

 
On April 9th, 1971 FMVSS #215 (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard) was issued and approved. It took effect on September 1, 1972 for all model year 1973 passenger vehicles. It required 5 mph protection in front, 2 mph in the rear when striking a solid perpendicular fixed barrier.

Testing required no damage to lighting, cooling, fuel or braking systems when striking a solid barrier across the front at 3 mph, and diagonally on the corners at 1 mph. This was supposedly equivalent to striking an actual vehicle of the same weight at 5 mph.

The rear bumper used 1.5 across and .5 on the corners, resulting in a 2 mph rating. Thois is one reason why many bumpers now have large angled corners on them.

The manufacturers were not told how to meet the requirements...only that they had to do so. The massive bumper "overiders" seen on many cars were the answer from some manufacturers.

In '74, the rear standard was raised slightly from 2 to 2.5 mph.

 
Last edited:
I remember my girlfriends parent's bought a brand new 1973 Chevrolet Impala and the front bumper looked like they took a guard rail and chrome plated it and stuck it on the front and rear of the car. It must have jutted out about 10 inches from the front of the car.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
"I thought the 73 Mustang Mach 1 front bumper was very well done especially when you compared to most othe 73 model cars back then."

Me too!

Ray
That car has twin vertical spoilers on the front. lollerz

Since this is an informational thread I'll add that the entire '73 front bumpers were not one solid color from the factory. When new it had an area that was blacked out. There is a molded section in the bumper just in front of the grill opening and under both head lights that was painted black. This section was a 2 or 3" strip that went the entire length of the grill area. It was painted black to make the bumper not look so large.

During repaint sometimes the blacked out area isn't painted black, either by mistake, owner request or whatever reason.

cd3b_4.JPG

IMG_5418006a.jpg

IMG_7165b.JPG

mustang 0481.JPG

p135005_large+1973_ford_mustang_convertible+front_passenger_side.jpg

1973_00091_01.jpg

BJPS-1973Convertible-1.jpg

 
It is funny when we go to the Good-Guys shows. The cars are 1972 and older but some people bring their 73's (including us when we bring out our Cougar). All of the 73's stand out like sore thumbs with the front bumpers sticking out but no one gives us any grief about it
Sore thumbs!!!

Our's is bigger than yours by a few inches and you're just jealous.

 
Don't be saying anything about anything being "too big" on these Mustangs. Haven't we all learned our lesson? :)

 
Back
Top