Early C2 Bumper Brackets

[Gordon Peterson #4961]

As you are probably aware the bumper brackets used on 63's are 1/4" thick. From there on, they were 3/16" thick. I was working under the back of my late '63 this morning and realized that I have a mix in the back. On both sides, the inner bracket is 1/4", and the two outer brackets are 3/16".

Mine's never been hit in the back. I believe this mix is probably a result of being one of the last 63's (21102), and the assembly line running out of some of the '63 bumper brackets.

I'd be interested in hearing from owners of other late 63's on this. Are all your bumper brackets 1/4"?

Pete

[Michael H.]

Re: Early C2 Bumper Brackets

Gordon,

I suspect the 64 braces on your late 63 are possibly, or probably, original. At the end of each model run, several parts from the "coming soon" model that would not affect the package for the current model, were used.

A good example on your late 63 would be the use of a 1964 instrument housing. I'm sure you've noticed the small filler plate that is most likely installed on your car that goes around the steering column and lays flat against the face of the black grained part of the instrument housing. The new for 64 housing had a larger hole for the column than 63 did and the filler plate covered the gap created by this change. There are many more examples of this through the C2 era, and I'm sure the C1 and C3 guys can give a lot of examples also.

Michael

[Gordon Peterson #4961]

Re: Early C2 Bumper Brackets

Thanks, Michael -

I am aware of the numerous cross-over parts 63 to 64. I'm just trying to confirm that this is yet another example.

Incidentally, my car has a '63 dash, not a modified '64. I am aware of 63's made before mine with the '64 dash. Someone must have found one laying around as my car went by on the line.

Thanks!

Pete