PINTO CAR CLUB of AMERICA
Welcome to FordPinto.com, The home of the PCCA => General Help- Ask the Experts... => Topic started by: Jparks on May 12, 2020, 06:36:04 AM
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Well I finally convinced my dad to sell me his 1980 pony. It’s been sitting in the barn since 2007 and I got it dug out the other day. I have a million questions but my first one is can I swap bumpers off like a 77 onto an 80 and tuck them in? I’ll post some pics once I figure out how thank you
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Likely it is possible but visually the center point in the 77 bumper would not match well to the flat-ish 80 grill and hood. Sadly, (In my opinion) nothing looks as good as the 71/72 bumpers. And I say that as a 73 owner. Never much cared for the 74 and up look as they progressed towards the rakish front. That said the 79/80 square front at least works with the squared off back of the wagons. Post 73 was just an awkward time for cars trying to meet new crash mandates.
Some British cars had an atrocious 6" of rubber hanging off the bumpers. But the good news there was removing that huge chunk of rubber the car looked pre-73. USA Manufactures did that pretty much in 73 only.
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Well darn. One of the rubber ends of the rear bumper rusted off and I was gonna swap them over to full steel bumpers as they look better to me too
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The rear bumper is much easier to deal with than the front. Like Wittsend said it’s the flat front of the ‘79-80 that is the issue. I’m using ‘71 bumpers on my ‘77 Cruiser. Here’s the back. (https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200513/2e8bc8d8b2cfd0eb598bb609ebda7a34.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200513/7925c79a0117c3237c3a155ed825c124.jpg)
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I would think the back bumper from a '74 up might work? Isn't the back of the car the same? I think so.....
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Did you use factory mounting for the rear? What are you doing with the front bumper? I know the 79-80 are a different front end than your 77. I wish I could find a bumper to mock up the front and see how it looks
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I made the mounting brackets because they are nothing alike but l really think the ‘74 and up are the same in the rear. I’m using a ‘71 bumper in the front as well. Everything is custom made. (https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200513/4fd53eca41f3afd5687d70e5a7c1506b.jpg)
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Well looks like I better keep my eye out for a 74 up rear and see if I can make it work. I guess if all else fails I’ll have to find a complete front end off a 71-73 and front clip swap it down the road. Anyone done this swap? Do I need core support, fenders, hood and bumper
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‘74 and up would be the easiest swap. 71, 72 & 73 use a different frame setup. And you can tuck the bumpers to make them look better. Core support is the same you just need the bolt on stuff and it’s a direct swap.
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here is how I did my 77 bobcat. I do not know if any of this will help you.
https://www.fordpinto.com/your-project/simple-fat-bumper-fix/msg120637/#msg120637 (https://www.fordpinto.com/your-project/simple-fat-bumper-fix/msg120637/#msg120637)
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I have a 79-80 bumper, if you want it. In Washington state.