Rear Bumper Brackets

[jasinger01]

Hi, I'm wondering if I have my rear bumper brackets on correct? Truck is a 1969 GMC SWB with leaf springs. This is the only orientation that I could find that works for the brackets, and matched a picture that I found on an older thread.

Is the bumper supposed to stick this far out past the tailgate? There is a huge space there. Not sure if I have an incorrect combination of bumper/brackets?

Any feedback on if this is how it is supposed to look or if I'll need to buy a different bumper/brackets?

Thanks,
Jacob

[lolife99]

Looks correct to me.

[pjmoreland]

Member 71CHEVYSHORTBED402 has put significant time into tracking down the correct rear bumper brackets for a shortbed frame with rear leaf springs. They aren't reproduced, so he ended up modifying some other brackets to get the fit right.

https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...umper+brackets

[jasinger01]

Thank you, I did read that thread and it was helpful. I used the same holes as this image for my brackets. I did not realize the bumper is supposed to stick so far back from the tailgate.

Are there aftermarket bumpers/brackets that pull the bumper closer to the bed?

[jasinger01]

Can anyone confirm these measurements look right? From tailgate to top of bumper

[weq92f]

.

That looks excessive to me. My '67 SWB doesn't look like that.

Hth,

-Kevin

[jasinger01]

Originally Posted by weq92f

.

That looks excessive to me. My '67 SWB doesn't look like that.

Hth,

-Kevin

Thanks, yeah that's why I'm confused. Looks like the brackets match up to the frame fine but the bumper looks like it sticks out way too far.

[pjmoreland]

Take a look at post #240 in 71CHEVYSHORTBED402's build thread. He lists how much each hole needs to be moved in the bumper brackets.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...730025&page=10

[pjmoreland]

He also has a photo of the bumper and bed installed in post #306
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...730025&page=13

Look at post #389 too
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...730025&page=16

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

From my angle and best guess, the bumper mounts (literally) approx. 8.25" from the frame rails.

My sport bumper's top is .8” behind the bed’s body, located below the tail lamp bezels, and .4” below each tail lamps bezel phillips screw center. That's a guide only, I had to modify the brackets shown in the OP to fit the frame rails, and slotted the bracket bolt holes to allow for small adjustment.

My frame rails in a 2WD, SWB, with leafs has a 5.3" bolt pattern for the brackets. Most rails are 5" or 7.1", IMO. My brackets are not reproduced, and I wouldn't want reproductions anyway.

Is your truck 2 or 4wd?

[jasinger01]

Originally Posted by pjmoreland

Take a look at post #240 in 71CHEVYSHORTBED402's build thread. He lists how much each hole needs to be moved in the bumper brackets.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...730025&page=10

Thank you! I did come across his thread in my searches. I need to pull my brackets back off and measure to see which bracket I started with.

Originally Posted by 71CHEVYSHORTBED402

From my angle and best guess, the bumper mounts (literally) approx. 8" from the frame rails.

My sport bumper's top is 8/10” behind the bed’s body, located below the tail lamp bezels, and 4/10” below each tail lamps bezel phillips screw center. That's a guide only, I had to modify the brackets shown in the OP to fit the frame rails, and slotted the bracket bolt holes to allow for small adjustment.

My frame rails in a 2WD, SWB, with leafs has a 5.3" bolt pattern for the brackets. Most rails are 5" or 7.1", IMO. My brackets are not reproduced, and I wouldn't want reproductions anyway.

Is your truck 2 or 4wd?

Thanks for chiming in! It is a GMC 2wd SWB with leafs. I will measure from the back of the frame rail to the bumper mounting surface. These brackets looked like they came originally with the truck, since they mounted up easily, I will have to measure if they are 5.3" bolt pattern or if they just got slotted at some point in their life.

If they are the 5" 'coil' style brackets, I'm concerned that the modification to slot or re-drill 3/10" toward the rear will still not bring the bumper in close enough.

Will take some measurements/pictures this week. Thank you for the help

[jasinger01]

Pass side:

Butted the tape measure to the bottom of the frame rail and measured out to the bumper mounting surface on the bracket. ~8.25"

[jasinger01]

Driver side:

Same thing, butted tape measure to bottom of frame rail end. ~8.125" to bumper mounting surface.

[jasinger01]

Also didn't remove bracket, but I can tell by measuring between the middle of the bolt heads that the spacing is the 5.3" pattern.

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

Originally Posted by jasinger01

Thank you! I did come across his thread in my searches. I need to pull my brackets back off and measure to see which bracket I started with.



Thanks for chiming in! It is a GMC 2wd SWB with leafs. I will measure from the back of the frame rail to the bumper mounting surface. These brackets looked like they came originally with the truck, since they mounted up easily, I will have to measure if they are 5.3" bolt pattern or if they just got slotted at some point in their life.

If they are the 5" 'coil' style brackets, I'm concerned that the modification to slot or re-drill 3/10" toward the rear will still not bring the bumper in close enough.

Will take some measurements/pictures this week. Thank you for the help

Very cool. Fun how vendors suggest their replacement long inner brackets fit that pattern, they're not remotely close. The short ones are closer.

They don't reproduce inner or outer brackets for the 5.3" pattern. The mystery is contributed by 2WD, SWB with leaf springs trucks are so rare. Good luck finding a pair, but very cool if you have the right ones. If you don't.....

[pjmoreland]

Originally Posted by jasinger01

Pass side:

Butted the tape measure to the bottom of the frame rail and measured out to the bumper mounting surface on the bracket. ~8.25"

I measured the distance from the rear of my frame to the end of the inner bracket like you showed in your photo, and I got 8.25"

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

Originally Posted by pjmoreland

I measured the distance from the rear of my frame to the end of the inner bracket like you showed in your photo, and I got 8.25"

Good to know.

Jsinger, with that 8.25", I think you're good to go. Perhaps I didn't have to modify make-shift slotted so far to the rear, but I do like how mine finished. Besides, it's 8"ish I take it you have the original brackets. Them dudes are rare.

[lil hoodlum]

My 2 cents, I thought the 2" was close to what is on my truck with aftermarket brackets and sport bumper were, but I went out and measured and my gap was only 1/2". My truck is also coil sprung.

My 1968 C20 is leaf sprung but it has an aftermarket step bumper, so not much help either.

Is your tail gate OEM or aftermarket?

[lil hoodlum]

Originally Posted by lil hoodlum

Is your tail gate OEM or aftermarket?

Looked at your pictures again and looks like you have an aftermarket tail gate, shouldn't matter though. It must be your brackets.

From the photos doesn't look like it is sticking out too far, but in person problably looks much different, plus it's your truck and it you'd prefer it closer to the tail gate, I understand.

[Richard]

The bumper on my 72 SWB 4x4 sits much closer than that (leafs). I did push my bed as far back as it would go. Will try to get some pics up. I decided to use reproduction brackets as they had to be modified somewhat. The reproduction brackets are manufactured a bit different but are identical in measurements to the OEM SWB brackets I have in hand that were previously on the truck. Note that the frame end on 71shortbed402's truck looks different than mine. Mine does not have the bump out behind the rear spring hanger. Remember posting some pics in his bumper thread.

[jasinger01]

Originally Posted by pjmoreland

I measured the distance from the rear of my frame to the end of the inner bracket like you showed in your photo, and I got 8.25"

Thanks for the confirmation, if the bumper is mounted in the same place relative to the frame, then my bed must be forward. but 1-2" sounds like a lot..

Originally Posted by 71CHEVYSHORTBED402

Good to know.

Jsinger, with that 8.25", I think you're good to go. Perhaps I didn't have to modify make-shift slotted so far forward, but I do like how mine finished. Besides, it's 8"ish I take it you have the original brackets. Them dudes are rare.

Yeah I am more confident in my brackets to frame geometry now. I may take them off and slot them slightly more towards to rear to help pull the bumper in.

Originally Posted by lil hoodlum

Looked at your pictures again and looks like you have an aftermarket tail gate, shouldn't matter though. It must be your brackets.

From the photos doesn't look like it is sticking out too far, but in person problably looks much different, plus it's your truck and it you'd prefer it closer to the tail gate, I understand.

I do have an aftermarket tailgate and bed sides. I know that a lot of the aftermarket sheet is far from perfect, but I doubt the entire bed length is over 1" shorter. I think we've confirmed that my brackets relative to the frame seem accurate, but I may try to pull them more forward on the frame. Yeah the pictures make it look better than it does in person, it sticks pretty far out.

[jasinger01]

So it sounds like I need to get the bumper approx 1-1.5" closer to the rear of the bed.

I'm thinking of slotting the existing bracket holes further towards the rear by about 0.5" to pull the bumper forward.

I am also unsure about my bed alignment. I worked it side to side to get it to line up with the cab, and I also remember tucking it up forward to have a nice gap to the cab. Maybe I pulled it too far forward?

My concern is, if pull the bed back, then I imagine I will also have to pull the cab and the rad support back as well to maintain my front end gaps.

Is there that much play in the mounting holes for the bed, cab, and rad support? Would like to accumulate ~1" in total. Thanks everyone for the help.

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

I've never installed bumper guards before, but yours appears to be installed right. Perhaps it can move forward, can't say from here. If it fastens on top, seems that alone would tell you whether or not your bumper is installed right.

Pushing it 1-1.5" forward is ALOT. I don't understand why the gap. It's as though common 5" pattern brackets were installed, but if that's the case, would the gravel guards fit? And that's only a .3" difference anyway, what the heck?

The frame rails allow for a little play for the bed floor, consider a 1" gap between the front bed panel and cab. I just double checked my measurement, and same as two posters above, I got a 8.3"ish gap between the frame rail and where the bumper mounts.

[jasinger01]

Last night I confirmed the brackets are indeed the coil style brackets with 5" hole spacing. They holes had already been elongated slightly to get some bolts through the frame, but not slotted enough as I've already learned in this thread.

I worked on just the inner brackets first by slotting out the holes and also notching for the inner frame rivet on the leaf hanger. With the slots and the clearance for the rivet, I was able to pull the bumper in closer but also rotate it further up towards the tailgate which I think helps with the appearance. Previously, the rivet was interfering and causing the bumper to angled down towards the ground.

This is the spacing I ended up with ~1" back from the tailagte/bedsides. I could probably wiggle the bed back a little to make up some more of the gap. But looking much better already.

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

Originally Posted by jasinger01

Last night I confirmed the brackets are indeed the coil style brackets with 5" hole spacing. They holes had already been elongated slightly to get some bolts through the frame, but not slotted enough as I've already learned in this thread.

I worked on just the inner brackets first by slotting out the holes and also notching for the inner frame rivet on the leaf hanger. With the slots and the clearance for the rivet, I was able to pull the bumper in closer but also rotate it further up towards the tailgate which I think helps with the appearance. Previously, the rivet was interfering and causing the bumper to angled down towards the ground.

This is the spacing I ended up with ~1" back from the tailagte/bedsides. I could probably wiggle the bed back a little to make up some more of the gap. But looking much better already.

Figures. Welcome to my world, though mine worse. I bought my truck in my 20s (1989) and didn’t know anything about these trucks, just lucky destiny. I’d do oil changes and such, no desire to do more, wasn’t raised around it, and perhaps feared that kind of work. Anyway, I go to a wrecking yard and see a 71-72 blazer and pulled the brackets. Geez, looks like my truck, those must be my brackets.

The set had the longer inner bracket, the one’s vendors claim to work on our frames. Not even close, but I didn't know that. I hired some cool guys I knew to remove my step bumper (oh no) and install the brackets, which they did, kinda. 25 years later I see they didn’t have the right tools for the job, the brackets wouldn't work anyway, but at least they didn’t assault the frame. I even installed a receiver hitch, after all, sold the step bumper for $40 (oh no). Again, the frame wasn't assaulted, thank the lord.

My mom had bought me a rechromed sport bumper for my Bday. Probably paid $100, that was a long time ago. I installed that bumper onto the wrong brackets, where the inners couldn’t possibly work. Between that and bolting the bumper on last it left quite the distortions (oh no). I didn’t know what I was doing, and it showed. The bumper was refinished last year.

Anyway, good to see you got your brackets figured out. I was lucky, found NOS short inners, and my outers suited the purpose for mod. I didn’t actually modify my brackets. The guy who helped build this truck (e.g paint, body etc.) did the work. I only determined the plan, additional slots in places, sanded edges smooth, then off for blast & powder.