Rear bumper for AD with S10 swap... 49 or 54 with notch?

[gigamanx]

Hey all, PA requires a rear bumper on our trucks and mine never came with one, so I'm scouting out ideas. I am down to two...the original bumper triple chromed or the 54 bumper that has the notch for a license plate?

https://www.classicparts.com/1947-53...tinfo/65-022C/



https://www.classicparts.com/1954-Bu...ctinfo/65-024/



I'm considering the 54 bumper because I remember seeing someone who flipped it over and put a tow hitch where the notch is. Kind of seemed like an elegant idea.



Also wondering how the rear bumper gets mounted to the S10 chassis. Do I bother buying the original brackets or am I going to need to fabricate my own anyway?

[joedoh]

it depends on the taillights you use. if you use 47-53 lights they have a tag light built in and if you run a rear bumper the light gets flipped over so the tag is on top and further out from the body. the 54-55 lights do not have a tag light in them, and you will need a tag light in the center.

on an s10 swap you make the brackets. having an original set of brackets helps too.

[gigamanx]

Darn...I posted this in the wrong forum didn't I. Should be in the 47-53 one. haha. You were on top of things today JD.

I have the plate lamp bracket already installed that puts the plate and the light on the drivers side rear. So you're saying the stock bumper is the way to go from there. How about those brackets?

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by gigamanx

How about those brackets?

on my 47 we used the original brackets installed with a custom bracket, and it looked good but a little far away from the bed.

IMG_0871_zps7crny6c4 by Joe Doh, on Flickr


when I do it again on the next truck (starting a 49 in feb!) I will just make all new brackets. making brackets is a double edged sword, the factory brackets are spring steel so you can bump into things and not bend the bracket, but making brackets the steel is not spring steel so if you bump something it will bend. dont hit anything, right? well thats the goal but it happens sometimes.