1973 Riviera Front Bumper

[Guest Sled Lover]

Hello. I have a 73 Boat Tail. It has the one piece front bumper. I have seen pic's of a two piece bumper that exposes the grill. Does anyone have any information on these bumpers?

[NTX5467]

I found some pictures of CUSTOM Rivieras with a much taller (or lower) grille and a two piece front bumper (ala '70 Camaro RS). I highly suspect that as this was the first of the "safety bumper era", only solid front bumpers will be found on Rivieras of that time, as factory equipment.

Just some thoughts,

NTX5467

[Guest Sled Lover]

Thanks: I have seen pictures. I didn't know if these bumpers were custom made, or if they were offered aftermarket.

[Guest 75RivGS]

Those bumpers are custom made.

Leave out the absorbers to get both bumper parts as close to the front clip as possible.

Here's an example of a 73 Riviera without absorbers:

When using an original bumper core to customize make sure to cut the white part off the blue colored bracket (see attachement)

Same Riviera with split bumper:

Still you will need to cut the core, weld a piece of sheet metal in the (now) open spaces....and rechrome

Edited May 20, 2012 by 75RivGS (see edit history)

[The Continental]

Go for the split bumper.

[NTX5467]

As neat as the two-piece bumper mod might look, also consider how it might look if somebody carelessly backs into it in a parking lot, without that heavy protection of the full front bumper there to take the impact. What might have otherwise been a simple "touch" can quickly escalate into something in the thousands of dollars in a split second. NOT to forget the possible difficulty of finding replacement parts at this point in time! Plus time and effort of finding them and costs involved in doing the repair. Possibly fitting an earlier model boat tail front bumper, to replace the larger one, might be a better option?

And, hopefully, the offender would have sufficient insurance coverages to support the repair of your vehicle. In the case of "modified" vehicles, even paint jobs, all the insurance companies will pay for repairs is "for stock condition", usually, even if it's YOU and YOUR insurance company. Any modifications will need to be noted by the agent and added to your policy for any coverages to usually happen. We saw lots of this sort of thing during the custom van era of the 1980s in the USA.

Regards,

NTX5467

Edited May 25, 2012 by NTX5467 (see edit history)

[The Continental]

I've thought about that too as I'm considering a split bumper, but plenty of hot rods don't use bumpers and before '73 they didn't have the big bumpers.

[NTX5467]

1973 was the FIRST year for the federally-mandated energy absorbing "safety" bumpers. In '74, the regulation for the rear bumpers kicked in, too.

In theory, the federal regulations make it illegal to "defeat any safety-related device" that's factory equipment for the particular year of manufacture of the vehicle . . . which "the feds" dictate that needs to be there. Just like emission controls! Therefore, if you "defeat" the factory equipment safety bumper, it's illegal. Not a state issue, but a federal issue. It could also result in a state safety inspection sticker not being issued for your vehicle.

This also made it illegal to unhook the factory start-interlock mechanism that was supposed to make you fasten your seat belt before you could start the vehicle. Later, due to the unpopularness of that regulation, GM put out a factory TSB on how to correctly modify the system, per federal regulation revisions. This led to the buzzer and warning light combination in later model years, to remind you to buckle-up. The chime and warning light are what's now used on current model vehicles.

Back in the '80s, a guy I knew had an '80s car with a four spoke steering wheel. He thought it would be neat to cut the upper and lower "circle" off, to make it like an airplane "steering wheel". He spent one Sunday afternoon cutting his steering wheel with a hacksaw. He was pleased with how it looked and such. But when he took it in for the annual state safety inspection, it was failed due to the steering wheel not being "a wheel". So he and his dad had to get another steering wheel for the car so it'd pass inspection. Personally, I thought that was a little flaky considering the 10" diameter chromed chain wheels that were obviously "legal". I just know that that particular deal happened back then.

Remember, too, that the RS Camaro split front bumper vanished by the time the '73 model year happened. And the RS had the Endura front grille shell to replace the center of the normal bumper.

IF your car is not under US federal jurisdictions, and will stay that way for the rest of its life, then go with what your local/regional regulations might be in this respect.

Just some thoughts,

NTX5467

[Guest 75RivGS]

I was able to find a split bumper for a 73 Boattail, this evening I put them on...only needs adjustment, but it became too dark there to continue...

[Guest Superflylowrider]

How do you get the shock absorbers out of the bumper? I took out the 4 face bolts

[Guest Superflylowrider]

Can't get the bumper off

[NTX5467]

See the illustration above.  The energy absorbers attach to the frame horns. An "adapter" is the interface between the bumper reinforcement and the absorber.  The bumper has a heavy metal reinforcement which it attaches to.  So, the bumper bar, the reinforcement, the adapter, and the energy absorber, in that order, outside to inside.

 

Considering that the front energy absorbing bumper is part of the federally-mandated safety equipment of that model year's vehicles, it can be presumed to have the same significance as seat belts, air bags, and padded instrument panel pads . . . as "non-tamperable" items.  IF the vehicle came with a split bumper from the factory (as 1971 Camaro RS models) that's fine as that's the way the factory built them, but that ended for the 1974 model update. Check your state's vehicle safety inspection statutes.

 

Several years ago, an associate had an Olds H-car coupe he was working on.  It had a 4-spoke factory steering wheel.  He thought it would look really nice if the top and bottom sections of the outer circle were cut out, so he got a hacksaw and quickly did that.  He was pleased as it looked more like a jet fighter than something on a car.  When he took it down for the yearly state inspection, the station failed it due to the altered steering wheel.  So he had to search the salvage yards for a replacement.

 

NTX5467

[Guest Superflylowrider]

Thanks for the info, as for safety inspections I live in Alabama where they do not do safety nor emissions testing, and the bumper was split when I got just need to tuck, means it doesn't apply. I know all state vehicle codes and all they are about is lighting.

[Guest Superflylowrider]

Plus the shock absorber bots are the closest I can get to with the fillers in

[BendRivs]

Is it possible to swap a 71 front end onto a 73 Riviera to get the better looking bumper assembly.