Bumper Guards: is there a L and R?

[Bodi]

Hey all,

I was wondering if the bumper guards for the 63-66s are directional. Do they have a driver's and passenger's side. I found ONE at a swap. It is a little beat up, but, a stock original that I can probably knock the dents out of and use just fine. The thing is, it fits the drivers side of my bumper way better than the passenger. The "upright" also has a heavy angle to it. Is that stock or is mine that messed up?

[vpersh]

No, both sides are the same....

[Bodi]

Wow, then mine is tweeked!

Thanks.

[aerotruk63]

[Bodi]

What's with the two part numbers?

[vpersh]

I'll tell what's with the two part numbers, They AREN'T the same. I ran out and looked at mine quickly and they looked the same. After seeing the assembly sheet I went out and looked more carefully, and, sure enough, they are indeed a little bit different... Sorry for the "too quick" look.....

[Bodi]

Thanks for going and double checking man. The two part number thing had me wondering. GM was pretty good about that sort of thing in those days. So, I am correct in that the "upright" has a slight twist to it? I thought mine looked too cleanly bent to have been done on accident. Mine has some impact dents from the front as one would expect, but, it would take a unique force to twist one of the towers. That's what made me think they are two seperate pieces. Well, what are the odds of finding a passenger side one now?!?!?!

[vpersh]

They aren't really twisted as much as the inside edge that goes against the bumper itself is taller on the outside edge and shorter on the inside edge to compensate for the side-to-side curve of the bumper... if that makes any sense.

[vpersh]

This distance is taller on one side and shorter on the other.....

[60-66]

Originally Posted by Bodi

What's with the two part numbers?

Those are accessory part numbers 985501 is the painted bumper guard and 985502 is the chrome guard

[60-66]

This is a set of NOS 63-66 front guards. Chevrolet was very good about marking these R+L if there was a r+l. These are not marked. I show ONE guard going to left or right side of a 66 bumper and the fit. I think your guard may be twisted ?

[60-66]

Notice in the accessory book accessory part numbers 985501 is the painted bumper guard and 985502 is the chrome guard . Also notice in the GM Parts book it says you need "2" instead of "R+L

[markeb01]

The guards on my truck were NOS in the factory sealed box when I purchased them in 1992. One seems to fit better on one side than the other, but they are both identical.

There are actually two different factory installation sheets for the bumper guards. One shows them mounted over the factory bumper bolts, and the other shows them exactly 3” outboard of the bumper bolts.

This is the instruction sheet that came with the guards I purchased. I don’t know which template GM produced first:





And these photos show how tight they fit against my original bumper:









As far as I know, the only difference between the 60-62 and 63-66 bumper guards is in the vertical spacing of the bolt holes, since the later frames are taller.

[60-66]

Mark, its been my experience that the GMCs put them outboard of the bumper bolts so they don't cover up the “GMC” in the grille. I think Chevy put them over the bumper bolts. This would be a great topic ??? I feel its also the difference from Assembly line /Factory installed verses Dealer installed

[Bodi]

Well, now I'll have to get some photos of mine and post them up. After reading what VPersh wrote I went home and looked at mine: he's 100% correct. There is no doubt a difference in the opening where the guard meets the bumper from one side of the guard to the other.

This dimension is also noticeably different. It looks to be about 5/16" larger from one side to the other. While mine is damaged from doing it's job guarding the bumper, I don't see any sign that it has been modified in any way. I do know for certain that it fits the drivers side much better than passenger, and I really don't think any of the damage done to it has anything to do with it's fitment. Kind of interesting.

[Irishbleueyes]

Originally Posted by markeb01

The guards on my truck were NOS in the factory sealed box when I purchased them in 1992. One seems to fit better on one side than the other, but they are both identical.

There are actually two different factory installation sheets for the bumper guards. One shows them mounted over the factory bumper bolts, and the other shows them exactly 3” outboard of the bumper bolts.

This is the instruction sheet that came with the guards I purchased. I don’t know which template GM produced first:





And these photos show how tight they fit against my original bumper:









As far as I know, the only difference between the 60-62 and 63-66 bumper guards is in the vertical spacing of the bolt holes, since the later frames are taller.

It looks to me like the inboard mounting over the bolts are for Chevys, mine came that way from the factory. The outer mounting out past the bolts is for GMC maybe to clear that center G M C emblem..

[markeb01]

While I agree the guards look better outboard on the GMC trucks, (which is where I mounted mine) I note both instruction sheets refer to series 10-20-30 which are Chevy identifications. GMC’s models are identified as 1000, etc.

I’m thinking the outboard instructions probably came first because they are not dated. The other instructions appear to be dated 1962, which may have been a revision when GM decided it was too much trouble to drill the extra holes, or perhaps it caused warranty problems with the plated bumpers.

[Irishbleueyes]

Originally Posted by markeb01

While I agree the guards look better outboard on the GMC trucks, (which is where I mounted mine) I note both instruction sheets refer to series 10-20-30 which are Chevy identifications. GMC’s models are identified as 1000, etc.

I’m thinking the outboard instructions probably came first because they are not dated. The other instructions appear to be dated 1962, which may have been a revision when GM decided it was too much trouble to drill the extra holes, or perhaps it caused warranty problems with the plated bumpers.

I got that buick bar like yours to copy and now I have the GMC grill for my c10. When I get it on I'll post a pic. I have the guards inboard from factory or dealer whoever put them on and we'll compare it to yours on the outboard... may take me a few weeks though..

[markeb01]

Looking forward to the pics.

[aerotruk63]

From the Chevrolet/GMC Parts Catalog, this is a page with the parts breakdown for the Accessory Bumper Guards. While it shows the different part numbers for the Chrome and Painted Guards and fasteners, it doesn't show a Left or Right. A Left Or Right application was separated by a single last digit. Right being an even number and Left an odd number. They must not have been available Left and Right as single units and came only as a pair, or , they are the same, both sides.

[BLK65K10]

In regards to the placement of the guards, I did alittle research in my 65 and 66 chevy accessorie sales fliers and they have pictures with two different layouts. It appears as though the general couldn't make up his mind. The photo with the blue truck with camper in the back is out of the 65 accessory flier and the others are out of the 66 flier. The ones in 66 are very wide apart wider than marks gmc. All very interesting info.

[jbgroby]

I was going through some old historical pics and found the GM Factory mockup for Guards. With this picture, there is no question where GMC wanted the guards to be installed.

[Lokin4AReason]

cool informative thread ...

[Brad54]

I saw a while back that one of the reproduction companies in their catalog (I forget which company) specifically mentioned that you couldn't mix reproduction bumper guards with factory bumpers, and vise-versa.

[Clyde65]

I think they all say the aftermarket guards are only for the aftermarket bumpers.