what year balzer bumper??
 

Im wanting to run a blazer/burban bumper on my 85 short bed. Some ive seen wrap around further, id like the smaller one. What year is the one that wraps less?? And do I use the balzer/ burban brackets?

Re: what year balzer bumper??
 

I also have a 85 swb and I used a bumper off a 88 suburban. I'm not sure on the differences of the 81-91 Burb/Blazer bumpers other than some had a rubber impact strip. The outer brackets are the same as the trucks, but the inner brackets are not the same. The suburban bumper had these little inner brackets that the bumper bolts attached to. You could make them work on your truck with some angle iron and drill some holes?. I ended up finding some sport bumper brackets (3rd pic) the 2 brackets in the middle came on pick up trucks only. Brackets for 73-80 may be different? Hope this helps.

Re: what year balzer bumper??
 

The variations are 73-80 & 81-87 (truck) or 81-91 (Burb/Blazer). Your 85 would use the 81-91 version for OE appearance but the earlier model will swap over. The front bumper brackets are different because the frame horns are different starting in '81. The rear brackets are similar but specific to the year model bumper. Trucks utilize a different bracket set-up vs Blazers & Burbs. Van bumpers are also close but the bolt pattern is slightly different vs truck/blazer/burb bumpers.

If you opt for the early bumpers on the later truck, don't do just one (front or rear). The earlier bumpers don't visually look the same as the later units so mixing a later front w/early rear doesn't look right (or vice versa).