Balcrank Tubular Steel Rear bumpers

[Don Jr.]

Hi, I have an accessory front Balcrank bumper for our 1921 Dodge Touring but missing the rears. I am looking for curvature arc angle and length they would be. I can shape the pieces in a Hydraulic press I believe but need some dimensions to go by to match what was manufactured. With the spare tire in the middle I can build the 2 bumperette's for each side. I have the front attaching straps so I can match those. End caps are missing on the front bumper but can wing it unless someone can describe what they would look like. Lining up winter projects. Thanks.

[zepher]

Hopefully someone here has a set of rears that they can trace and send you a pattern.

 

Good luck with your quest.

[John_Mereness]

You need to post a photo of fronts as there are a lot of variances over production 

[Don Jr.]

O.K. Did not know that. Another learning curve. Will get a photo out tomorrow of front bumper. Thanks for the heads up.

[Don Jr.]

Hi here a few shots of the front bumper. Says Balcrank on bracket. 2 1/4 inch O.D. 1/8 inch wall. Straight part of bar approx. 40-42 inches long .Overall length 65 inches long. Thanks for any help.

[Rusty_OToole]

Someone doing a similar project used core plugs welded on the ends to finish them off.

[Don Jr.]

Yup,  already thought of that but see on line most originals have nice caps that cover the end tubes. Have to look on line to see what I can dig up for those. As far as rear bumperettes curvature they look to be parallel to the spare tires so that will work. Just need to know how much curvature they make rounding to the side.

[DFeeney]

Many cars used these bumpers "Back in the Day".  If you go to any of the major shows you should be able to see one in person.  I had a 29 WK that used the same bumper.  You might surf through the WK photo galleries looking for a picture and perhaps make a contact to have the dimensions sent.

[30DodgePanel]

On 10/24/2022 at 2:07 PM, Don Jr. said:

Hi, I have an accessory front Balcrank bumper for our 1921 Dodge Touring but missing the rears. I am looking for curvature arc angle and length they would be. I can shape the pieces in a Hydraulic press I believe but need some dimensions to go by to match what was manufactured. With the spare tire in the middle I can build the 2 bumperette's for each side. I have the front attaching straps so I can match those. End caps are missing on the front bumper but can wing it unless someone can describe what they would look like. Lining up winter projects. Thanks.

You might also want to scroll down to the Dodge Brothers section and post your request. 

[Terry Bond]

These are listed right now on evil-bay. Search for item number 223710183067.  They are more 20's looking than what is commonly seen on some Auburn speedsters.

Terry

[wayne sheldon]

I am not sure about this particular manufacturer, however, this type of bumper was offered for a number of years, for a wide range of automobiles makes and models and sizes. They were available in several sizes of tubing, length/width sizes, and differing bends and brackets in order to fit so many different automobiles. They were offered as factory options on many cars, as well as after-market models for almost anything.

It was very common in the 1910s and 1920s for automobiles to have a bumper on only the front! So using the front you have and not having a rear should be considered correct. If you do want a rear also, then it becomes more about matching what you have than duplicating a non-matching rear from some other car.

Simple steel bars, or flatstock bumpers were much more common in the 1920s, while a number of automobiles and after-market sellers used small tubing bumpers. the large tubing bumpers were less common, but look great on a lot of cars!

Bumpers, both after-market and factory production on several high end automobiles (like Pierce Arrow!) began showing up around 1910. They didn't start becoming common on many cars until about 1920. The majority of automobile manufacturers did not make bumpers standard equipment until the late 1920s.

[Don Jr.]

O.K. That is good news about not having rear bumper inn those years. Would have thought if you had fronts then rears were appropriate. I will get going and restore the front one I  have. And if I get lucky either find or fabricate a rear set. Thank you.

[30DodgePanel]

16 hours ago, wayne sheldon said:

It was very common in the 1910s and 1920s for automobiles to have a bumper on only the front! .

 

@ Don Jr:

A good example of what Wayne mentioned was the the new 1931 Dodge truck line. In the back of the salesman book per each model was a blue insert that the salesman could price to the potential buying customer if they wanted a rear bumper. Front bumpers were shipped at an added cost unless ordered otherwise. Here is a look at what those forms looked like. 

 

I don't have anything for the passenger cars as I've only researched trucks, but as I said, some of the car guys may be able to shed further light on the topic. 

Regards
Dave

 

 

 

 

Edited October 28, 2022 by 30DodgePanel (see edit history)

[John_Mereness]

What is amazing is that there should be 20 on ebay with no takers for any of them 

[Don Jr.]

When I purchased the car many years ago it was in a barn with a 1929 Chrysler series 65 coupe and a believe a 1930 Marquette. I bought the 1929 Chrysler and my brother in law purchased the 1921 Dodge Touring. There were parts piled on top of the Dodge so possibly the front bumper I got was not from it but I will make it work. Discovered the Dodge was local and never left the area from new. We had a small Dodge dealer in downtown. Located the little space where it was back in the teens thru 20's then they moved to a much bigger place that survived thru the late 1960's. My brother in law took the Dodge  all apart and finally I purchased all the pieces and putting back together like a jig saw puzzle. Thanks for the data above.