I've read on here that the '54 front bumpers are not the same as the '52 and '53. But what are the actual differences? I need a better front bumper and i'm having trouble finding one that is not over 1000 miles away. There is a guy parting out a '54 about 3 hours away from me that has a decent front bumper. Can a '54 bumper be made to fit a '53? Or is the work it would take to make it work not worth it?
The bumper brackets and splash pan are night and day different, the 1954 is one year only and the changes were because of the switch to the OHV V8 from the flat head and the new ball joint suspension. When I bought one a while back I had it shipped by Greyhound shipping was much cheaper than UPS. The 1952-54 rear bumpers are the same. This will show you the difference. Print it and flip it over.
Thanks. Looks like some pretty significant differences to the shape. The side pieces on the '54 look much shorter and the '54 has a point in the middle where the 52-53 is smooth there. The splash pans look very different as well. Guess i'll keep looking for a 52-53. Shipping is getting more expensive and many options are no longer available. I don't think Greyhound does it anymore. Last quote I got for a bumper from Northern California to Georgia was $400. I'm sure there are some decent bumpers in GA somewhere. We just don't have the salvage yards full of old cars like we did when I was growing up.
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