Question for Feather Duster owners?

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Hi, as far as i know there is no such thing as aluminium bumper brackets from the factory.

There is a thread somewhere here on FABO, a guy is making these - do a search, maybe he knows about the weight difference!

Michael
 
Feather Duster.

The Feather Duster included aluminum replacements for the inner hood, trunk bracing, bumper brackets, and intake manifold, cutting weight by 180 lb (around 5%). It had a smaller single barrel carburetor, economy distributor calibration, large exhaust, and a 2.8:1 rear axle ratio, with a choice of three-speed automatic or four-speed overdrive manual transmission.

While acceleration was compromised, the Feather Duster was now rated at 22 mpg city, 31 highway with the automatic (a stunning 24 city, 36 highway with the manual), and was larger inside than many other economy cars, though acceleration took a hit. The Feather Duster was a fine alternative to the extra-slow Japanese imports that customers were waiting to buy, at list price; or at least it would have been, had more people considered it over the quick-rusting Coronas, Civics, and Datsuns of the time.
 

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Just to clarify, like the posted sheet says, the bumpers have an aluminum "reinforcement". What is usually considered "brackets" are the shock absorber assemblies that bolt to the frame at one end and the bumper with aluminum reinforcement bolts on to the other.

There is a significant weight difference between the aluminum reinforcement and the regular steel version, but the "shock absorber brackets" make up for some of it. I haven't compared the weight of a Feather Duster/Dart Lite front assembly to a '73-'74 Duster/Dart Sport front assembly, but the earlier version with the regular channel-style brackets could end up lighter, or at least very close to the aluminum set-up. You may have to do some fabricating to be able to interchange the 2 styles.
 
Thanks much guys. Going with fiberglass bumpers. Just wondered if I could
save a little more weight, without spending to much money.
Going to paint the bumpers body color. Been wanting to do this for a while.
 
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