Clear up the confusion 73 to 71 front bumper swap.

[Paul M]

I did the swap to the 71 bumper and brackets. Yes, you have to change out the fenders & the brackets. Pic 1 shows a 71 complete assy. next to the 73 urethane bumper & brackets. The 71 complete assy. is 35 lbs (even with the bolts). On the 73, the bumper alone is @ 75 lbs + each telescoping bracket is 23 lbs. This is very bad ballast that far in front of your front wheels. I saved @ 90lbs. Picture 2 shows you a blue 71 fender vs a 73 brown fender. The 73 notches are smaller for the heavy battleship bumper. Once you get this together, the rear bolt and nut plate assy will line up fine, however, the front bolt hole will limit how far back you go. It's best to relocate the forward hole a little further back and a little higher for a good tight fit.

 

[Hemikiller]

Many have done the 73 to 71/72 bumper swap without changing the fenders. It does require you to modify the 71/72 bumper mount front bolt holes so the bumper will match the lower 73 bumper cutout, and you may need shims to level the bumper.

 

[Kilgon]

I did the swap to the 71 bumper and brackets. Yes, you have to change out the fenders & the brackets. Pic 1 shows a 71 complete assy. next to the 73 urethane bumper & brackets. The 71 complete assy. is 35 lbs (even with the bolts). On the 73, the bumper alone is @ 75 lbs + each telescoping bracket is 23 lbs. This is very bad ballast that far in front of your front wheels. I saved @ 90lbs. Picture 2 shows you a blue 71 fender vs a 73 brown fender. The 73 notches are smaller for the heavy battleship bumper. Once you get this together, the rear bolt and nut plate assy will line up fine, however, the front bolt hole will limit how far back you go. It's best to relocate the forward hole a little further back and a little higher for a good tight fit.

Never really paid attention to how much difference there is between the two. A big difference in weight. Thanks for posting the info.