replacing 76 dart bumpers for 1972 bumpers

[Tim Bergin]

I would like to replace the large shock mounted style bumpers on a 1976 Dart swinger for the smaller 1972 style bumpers? It appears that I can remove the shock mounts and replace them with the older frame mounted supports and replace the lower valence panel. Will the older style bumpers match the contour of the front and rear fenders?

 

[Lee Robinson]

I would like to replace the large shock mounted style bumpers on a 1976 Dart swinger for the smaller 1972 style bumpers? It appears that I can remove the shock mounts and replace them with the older frame mounted supports and replace the lower valence panel. Will the older style bumpers match the contour of the front and rear fenders?

Earlier rails have 2 nut bosses for conventional brackets. To my recollection 74-76 rails have one big nut boss for the bumper shocks.
You will have to modify your frame rails for that swap. An extra nut boss and a smaller one for the earlier brackets. I don't know how
bumpers will fit later fenders.

 

[72bluNblu]

Lee’s right on the front bumpers, the frame mounts are in a completely different location. ‘74 was a crossover year so some cars had the frame mounts for both styles but a ‘76 won’t have that.

That’s not the biggest problem for the front though, a ‘76 has the “beak” while on a ‘72 the front end is straight across and has a lower valence. Basically the ‘72 Dart front bumper would require a full front clip swap -fenders, hood, grille, bumper and front valence. You might be able to work with the ‘76 fenders, but they’d need to be modified for the other parts (especially the valence).

The rear would be a little easier, but to truly make it look like a ‘72 you’d still be doing bodywork. That conversion hasn’t been done quite as much here so there’s less info on that.

Your better bet would be to convert it the front to a ‘73 style, which used standard brackets but had a larger bumper that matched the later design. You’d still have to deal with the frame mount difference. The back doesn’t really have an option like that, they went shock mount when the design changed to the one still used in ‘76.