Rubber Door Bumpers

[damnyankee36]

How many bumpers are installed on each door? My truck has three holes. My truck's pre-disassembly photos show the top and middle holes having the bumpers installed. The photos don't include the area that has the very lower hole so I cant be sure if it was installed. LMC shows two bumpers, at the middle and lower holes.

Any ideas?

[1970cstblazer]

Both my 1970 Blazer and 1972 Cheyenne had those bumpers at the top and bottom location only. Nothing in the middle.

[1970cstblazer]

Some original trucks from Bring A Trailer:

1970 K20:



1969 K10:






1972 C20:



1972 K20:



1972 C20:

[damnyankee36]

Interesting... All the 69 and up trucks above show the top and bottom locations with bumpers but no middle hole.

1970cstblazer, I also assume your trucks had no middle holes?

Wonder if it's a 68 and maybe a 67 thing?

If have to check my stash of the removed parts to see if there a total of six bumpers. I'll probably use all six holes.

Thanks guys. Anymore input?

[Guy67UK]

My 67 has the three holes but I find that the rubber in the middle rubber keeps getting broken. maybe its just my fat butt catching it.

[pjmoreland]

My '68 has the top and middle bumpers, but there is no hole in the rocker panel for a bottom bumper. I believe the rocker panels are original.

[damnyankee36]

I just thought of something. The rockers on mine are repros. I would image my original bumpers broke upon removal as I don't have them in my stash and no photos of that area.

I'm going to assume it didn't have the lower bumper. I can't see a pattern as what years had what...

['68OrangeSunshine]

Originally Posted by pjmoreland

My '68 has the top and middle bumpers, but there is no hole in the rocker panel for a bottom bumper. I believe the rocker panels are original.

I will have to look again on my Orange '68 Stepside. It's only about 3 months older than Pat's and also a Fremont flower child.
I know my rockers are original -- they're still shot. They were solid when I bought it, but that was 51 years ago. At least I had the fun of splashing thru the surf on both coasts.

Looking for the Licorice Dots on my '67 K/10 Suburban, I was surprised to find only two. Upper and Mid. Also a Fremont rig.
This leads to the intriguing question: how many are behind Door Number Three?

Behold: Upper and Midline on Door #3.

['68OrangeSunshine]

Originally Posted by pjmoreland

My '68 has the top and middle bumpers, but there is no hole in the rocker panel for a bottom bumper. I believe the rocker panels are original.

Checking out Orange Sunshine:

We get Upper and Mid just like PJ.

['68OrangeSunshine]

Adding another post as the attachment system balks if I load too many images...
The white one is my '67 K/10.[So the Suburban has one Upper and 1 Lower. No Mid. Fremont truck.]
The blue is the '71 GMC JImmy K/1500. [And it, too, has one Upper, one lower. No Mid. St Louis build.]

[cericd]

I'm getting dizzy looking at the pics in this thread.

[Jeff M.]

My 69 has 3. Looks like the bottom bumper doesn't stick out as far as the others. It's a CST. Wonder if trim level has anything to do with it?

[cericd]

1970 C/10 St Luis, original rockers. Top and bottom bumpers no middle hole.

[PbFut]

So what is the trick to getting these little bumpers to seat? Lots of precision lube, but I tear the dang things before I get the keeper plug past the sheet metal. I have tried with lots of lube and nylon trim tool. Applied good force on head and tuck the plug in with tool. I end up ripping the shaft between the plug and head. What am I missing?

[damnyankee36]

I also use lube and push the edge of the bumper into the hole and work my way around it with a small common screwdriver.

[PbFut]

I just needed to step away. Not keen on a screw driver, but the nylon trim tools worked. I took a tiny bit of the edge off the lip of the keeper with a belt sander. Maybe reduced diameter by a 10th or so. That tiny bit was night and day difference and still a solid hold.

['68OrangeSunshine]

I used a pin punch with a blunt point in the hole to stretch the ''arrow'' on the end into the hole. Problem is we're not getting the same quality rubber that was original to these trucks in the '60s. The cheapest Asiatic rubber the venders can palm off on us, breaks when you try to stretch it into the hole.

[damnyankee36]

I tried the same method as you, also the same way the firewall plugs are installed, and it just punches through. Maybe there is a correct "plunger to pad" ratio that will work. Stretch it just short of poking through and the pad will do the rest.

[PbFut]

Yup, tried a punch and ripped the plug at the shaft. Got one installed but had small rip. Posted above question. Then occurred to me to make the plug section smaller. Using a harbor freight copy of a Dremel benchtop belt sander, I took just a tiny bit off the edge of the plug portion of the bumper. Effectively reducing the diameter of the portion you push into the hole. It was very little. I expected i would need a second pass as i wanted to creep up on the needed change. First pass fixed the problem.
I still needed a nylon trim tool to work the plug into the hole, but it was like I would expect the part to fit. It still feels rock solid in place so I know the application is not compromised. Of course a dab of Presision rubber lube is a must.

[Jason Banks]

I use WD40 for the lube...

[1970cstblazer]

Never had any issues with the installation of NOS GM bumpers. You get what you pay for.

[damnyankee36]

Wow, they're still out there?

['68OrangeSunshine]

Originally Posted by damnyankee36

Wow, they're still out there?

The problem is NOS parts for a 56 year old truck are gonna be 56 years old too, and brittle. But Detroit rubber was a better grade than ''fresh'' Thailand rubber.