Bumper Interchange

[Charles]

:confused: Does anyone know with certainty if a Ranchero front bumper will fit a T-Bird? I am talking about the chromed fascia bolting to the T-Bird big square tubed 'inner' bumper. How about interchangeability between all the lines? LTD II, Ranchero, Cougar, T-Bird, for both front and rear? Thanx, guys. Charles

[78TownLandau]

Charles,

I can answer part of your question, since I have parts sheets for the '77-'79 T-birds and LTD II's: The front and rear bumpers from a '77-'79 LTD II are the same as those on the '77-'79 T-birds. This includes the chromed element, the bumper reinforcement (the 'inner' bumper you mentioned), as well as the impact absorbers. I own a '78 LTD II, which is now serving as a parts car for a '78 Town Landau. I'm in the midst of rust-coating the bumpers, and I've been pulling bits and pieces off the LTD II.

The front end of the '77-'79 Ranchero is the same as that of the LTD II; the rear is different. The Cougars were built on the same frame but I don't know if the chromed portion of the bumpers were exactly the same as those on a T-bird of the same era. From pictures, though, I wouldn't see why not.

Bottom line is that I think you're safe using a bumper from a '77-'79 Ranchero on your '77-'79 Thunderbird.

Hope this helps,

Po

P.S. Enjoy the snow/blizzard! It's just getting started here in Boston.

Originally Posted by Charles

:confused: Does anyone know with certainty if a Ranchero front bumper will fit a T-Bird? I am talking about the chromed fascia bolting to the T-Bird big square tubed 'inner' bumper. How about interchangeability between all the lines? LTD II, Ranchero, Cougar, T-Bird, for both front and rear? Thanx, guys. Charles

[Charles]

[quote=78TownLandau]Charles,

I can answer part of your question, since I have parts sheets for the '77-'79 T-birds and LTD II's: The front and rear bumpers from a '77-'79 LTD II are the same as those on the '77-'79 T-birds. This includes the chromed element, the bumper reinforcement (the 'inner' bumper you mentioned), as well as the impact absorbers. I own a '78 LTD II, which is now serving as a parts car for a '78 Town Landau. I'm in the midst of rust-coating the bumpers, and I've been pulling bits and pieces off the LTD II.

The front end of the '77-'79 Ranchero is the same as that of the LTD II; the rear is different. The Cougars were built on the same frame but I don't know if the chromed portion of the bumpers were exactly the same as those on a T-bird of the same era. From pictures, though, I wouldn't see why not.

Bottom line is that I think you're safe using a bumper from a '77-'79 Ranchero on your '77-'79 Thunderbird.

Hope this helps,

Po

Po, FYI, it looks like you are right on the bumper interchange between Cougars and T-Birds. I just bought a Plain-Jane 1978 Cougar 4-Door Sunday-Go-To-Meeting car for 250.00 with a trans that slips, but not bad enough to keep me from getting it back to my shop. The bumpers are the Deluxe type and are primo. Glad that monkey is off my back. Thanx again, Charles

[78TownLandau]

Charles: Good to know---thanks! Nice find with the 4-door Cougar; those are relatively rare. If I remember correctly, the 4-door model was phased out after model year 1978.

When I was trying to get trim parts for my 4-door LTD II Brougham, both 4-door LTD II's and Cougar's were just darn near impossible to find with decent pieces (hence I gave up after 5 years). On top of that, most of the LTD II's and Cougar's that were for sale did not have the trim that my Brougham needed (side moldings, rocker panels). [end of pent-up frustration :D ].

Po

Originally Posted by Charles

Po, FYI, it looks like you are right on the bumper interchange between Cougars and T-Birds. I just bought a Plain-Jane 1978 Cougar 4-Door Sunday-Go-To-Meeting car for 250.00 with a trans that slips, but not bad enough to keep me from getting it back to my shop. The bumpers are the Deluxe type and are primo. Glad that monkey is off my back. Thanx again, Charles