It was common 50 years ago to remove the rear bumper so the tail gate could be dropped all the way down.
I had heard the rear bumper was an add on option at purchase in the 50's because most farmers/workmen wanted the gate to drop flat for pulling up to a dock and the front bumper on the rear didn't come into play til some years later when people began fixing them up and actual rear bumpers were hard to find.
These little details and homemade bits make this one of the most interesting vehicles I've ever owned.
I am not a restorer either.
lol. I'm quickly learning that I might end up owning three of these in the future. One to restore, one to rat, rod and slam and one to leave as a clean survivor farm truck complete with all the homemade parts
...And you could and probably would anyhow take it off, clean it up and reweld the welds so you know that they are up to snuff.
Already looking into it. Being a city dweller, I'd hate to drop a home depot load in traffic because my hitch failed.
From seeing the license plate light on the hitch I'd say that the same person who built the hitch modified the tail light brackets. Personally I like the tail slights down lower like that but I am not a restorer either.
Here's the passenger side tail lamp bracket...
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5097/5548006335_d148c8483f_b.jpgI wonder what the reasoning behind lowering them was??
The current upper turn signal lamps were added by the last owner within the past couple years but the brackets they're mounted to appear to be the same vintage as the tail lamp brackets.
