early bumper differences

[hayesbd]

I hope the experts can clear things up a bit for me. I am going to be looking for another left rear bumper for my 73 Spider and I have found that the 73 and 74 model years apparently had unique bumpers. Can anyone tell me exactly what the difference is compared to the earlier ones? I think it may be that the main mounting brackets were moved farther outboard on the 73/74 models, but are there other differences? Has anyone put earlier bumpers on a 73/74?

Thanks,
Brian

[vandor]

The easiest way to tell a 73-74 bumper apart from an earlier one is that the 73-74 style uses a pin to mount on the end, while the earlier style uses a flat bracket. The reason fort the pin was that if the bumper was hit it could slide forward without damaging the body. The '73-74 bumpers were bolted to the car via large rubber blocks and stood a few inches away from the body. The earlier bumpers bolt straight to solid brackets and are ~1/2" away from the body.