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Mechanical Articles - Converting Big Bumpers to Small

08.01.02 By Dennis Martin 

Note: The notch was on the 70 - 72 cars only. All others were squared off.

First thing you need to do is gather all the parts. Its best if you have a donor 
car near by, but you can just go to a junk yard & take measurements when you get 
your parts.

For the front you will need the following:
1. 	Bumper
2. 	Brackets. There are 6 brackets, 3 on each side, 2 go to the bumper, 
	1 goes to the valance.
3. 	Stone guard. This is the panel that goes under the grill & fills the space 
	between the grill & bumper.
4. 	Valance panel
5. 	Valance support, center bracket. This is the bracket that bolts on the center
	front of the core support. The hood latch bolts to it & it also supports the 
	grill, stone guard & valance panel. It is different from the 73 to 77 cars 
	because it extends down to support the center of the valance panel. The 73 
	is unique to 73 only so your donor car should be a 70 to 72 car, unless you're
	converting to 73 bumpers.
6. 	Front license plate bracket (if needed)
7. 	Parking light / turn signals (if desired)

For the rear you will need the following:
1. 	Bumper
2. 	Brackets. 1 on each side
3. 	Inner trunk supports. There is 1 on each side. These pieces are welded to
	the trunk floor & to the tail light panel. You must cut them out or easier 
	yet is to order the same part for a 67 Mustang coupe from any Mustang 
	supply house. They are the same.
4. 	Quarter extensions & small filler part at bottom of each extensions
5. 	Valance panel

Also get all the hardware of course After you remove all the parts from the donor 
car you will need to take the following measurements. 
1. 	The front fenders have a notch in them to allow the stone guard to come out 
	to the ends of the bumper. 73 & up M's & C's do not have this notch. You will 
	have to cut it out of your fenders. 
2.	You need to make a template of the bolt hole locations for the front bracket 
	bolts. The front of the frame has an arrow shape to it so use that as a 
	reference. 
3.	Measure for the rear bumper bracket holes or make a template. 
4.	Measure for the lower valance mounts. Now on to attack your car!!! 
	Always measure 5 or 6 times before you cut metal or drill holes. I'll start 
	on the front. 
5.	Remove your bumper, filler panel, brackets, grill, the vertical 
	support on the front center of the core support (the one that your hood latch 
	is bolted to), & headlight doors (not necessary but don't want to ding them 
	up). 
6.	After the front is stripped down you need to fabricate a mounting system 
	for the brackets. There are a number of ways to do this. I cut an access hole 
	in the front of the core support to get to the inside of the frame. You have 
	to cut out the old internal mounting bracket. It is spot welded to the inside 
	of the frame. I used a cutting torch & sawzall. It was not an easy thing to do.
	If you can locate the dimples on the outside of the frame you can drill the 
	spot welds out. I couldn't. Perhaps a better way would be to cut out the outer
	frame rail on the donor car. You would only have to go about 4 inches past 
	the rear mounting hole. 
7.	Then mark & cut out yours & graft in the needed	section. This is the way I 
	would go if I did it again. Another way is simply to weld the bumper brackets 
	to the frame rail. I talked to a guy who did this. While it is much easier & 
	faster, I don't recommend it because you will have no way to adjust the 
	bumper once its on. That may not be a problem if done with great care, but I 
	prefer to be able to make adjustments. Still another way is to drill through 
	both frame rails & put a bolt all the way through with a nut on the inside. 
	The only problem with this method is you have to take care not to over tighten
	the bolts because you can crush the inner and outer rails together. If you 
	could find some steel pipe just big enough for your bolts to slide into, 
	you could enlarge the holes in the frame rails, weld the pipe on both sides, 
	and grind the welds flat. That would prevent crushing the rails together. 
8.	I made an internal mounting bracket with a piece of 1/8" steel, approximately 
	2"X12". I marked the distance between the mounting holes. Then drilled the 
	holes & welded nuts over them. Then I marked & drilled the frame for the 
	mounting hole location. Now draw a straight line 
	between the holes & drill 2 more smaller holes on this line. I spaced mine 
	about 1 " from each mounting hole. Make these holes around 1/4 to 3/8". 
	They will be used to tack weld the internal bracket to the frame rail. 
	Now you can slide the internal mounting bracket in the frame till the nuts 
	line up with the outer frame holes. 
9.	Run the bracket bolts on them to hold them in place. Now you can spot weld 
	the internal bracket to the outer frame	rail through the 2 smaller holes. 
	Grind your welds flush so they don't interfere with the bumper brackets. 
10. Once this is done, you can remove the bolts, & close up the front of the 
	core support. Repeat for the other side. 
11. The next step is to cut the notches in the fenders. 
	After you have marked the notches, add 1/2" to the section being cut out. 
	You do not want to just cut out the entire notch, you need to make lips for 
	the stone guard to bolt to. Cutting out 1/2" less will give you these edges. 
	Just bend the last 1/2" 90 degrees to the fender surface. You will need to 
	make a relief cut at 45 degrees between the horizontal & vertical cuts before
	you bend them. Study the notches on the donor car & you will see what I am 
	talking about. Its a lot easier than it sounds. You could just change fenders 
	too if its feasible. Once the notches & mounting brackets are done, you just 
	bolt on all the stuff. If you use the lower lights for parking & turn signals,
	you need to wire them up accordingly. 
12.	The grill lights can then be wired so both parking & turn signals come on at 
	the same time with the parking lights. They are now officially sport lamps. 
	They will need to be run through a relay or they may overload the internal 
	circuit breaker in your light switch. Relays like these can be found at Radio 
	shacks or some car parts stores.

Now for the back (Rear Bumper). 

1. 	Remove the bumper, filler strips, & quarter extensions. 
2.	The bumper shock mounts need to be removed. Mine were so rusted that I 
	couldn't get them out. I used my torch to cut them off flat to the back of 
	the frame. Either way will work although I believe the shocks my have 
	pressure on them so be careful if cutting them. 
3.	Next, all those little holes in the tail light panel that the filler panel 
	bolted to will have to be filled. The big ones down on the quarter panels 
	will also need to be welded closed. These will be visible so do a good job
	or have a body shop do it Once all the holes are filled, the only modification
	is to locate the 4 bracket holes. 
4.	Once drilled you can line up & weld the	trunk braces to the floor & tail 
	light panel. Careful, there's a gas tank nearby!!! You need to drill holes 
	in the back of the quarter panels (one on each side) where the lower valance 
	panel mounts are. Get the location from the donor car. Mount the top of the 
	valance panel with self tapping screws. 
5.	Now bolt on all the rear stuff. If you have a 74, you should have the tapered
	gas tank & everything will fit fine. I believe the 75 & up have the bigger 
	squared off tanks & the bottom of the valance panel will hit the tank. All you
	have to do is pull out gently on the bottom of the valance, putting a bow in 
	it, till it clears the tank. This will not even be noticeable if done 
	carefully. Make sure you get some good self etching primer on all the bare 
	metal to prevent rust.


This page is a collection of information on modifying or "upgrading" the Ford Maverick and Mercury Comet.

 

 Any persons referenced in these pages are not responsible for anyone else implementations of the modifications. In some cases the modifications have been tried, some have not. If you try any of these Mods, you do so at your own risk.. The Ford Motor Company is in no way related or responsible for any information here unless otherwise noted. All trademarks and copyrights are owned by their respectful owners. Some assembly required. No purchase necessary. Batteries not included. Does not include MSRP and taxes.