The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Reason for bumper hole

Is there a reason for the hole in the center of the front bumper on the A/D Chevrolet trucks?

Decoration. A bolt gets put in there so the dome head shows.

Thank you.

My front bumper

I can't speak for the first series '55 but for my '51 the bolt hole for the front is used to help anchor the splash panel behind the bumper. On the rear, there is a hole filled with a dummy bolt (supposedly both the front and rear bumpers are made from the same blank).

Kent

What Kent said about the center bolt anchoring the splash panel. I had forgotten about that. Front and rear bumpers have a different contour, but could likely have been made from the same blank.

Great... another part I didn't know that I needed. Lol

You don't need a splash panel. It was an extra cost option. Most trucks don't have one. The bumper bolt is easy to find and cheap.

Rear middle dummy bolt

Otto I dispute your contention that the splash panel was an extra cost option. Take a look at the attached RPO (Regular Production Option) listing for 1955.1. No bumper splash panel listed there.
No, you don't NEED a splash panel, but if the truck came with a bumper (an option on 3700 and 3900 - Forward Control Chassis Trucks), it had a splash apron on it.
So most trucks coming from the factory had a splash panel, although may not have one now.

Ok. I believe you. It seems like AD trucks without splash guards outnumber those with them by 3 or 4 to 1. I understand that it would be discarded after a wreck but I see trucks rotting in fields with perfectly straight front bumpers with no splash shield.

Ol' Roy doesn't have one but his front bumper hasn't been smashed or bent.

Why would people remove them?

My front splash panel is supported by the help of the center bolt. Also the splash panel supports the front license plate assembly. The rear center bumper hole is not earning it's keep.

There was a bracket available at some point in time which was bolted to that center hole in the front bumper. That bracket was for supporting the hand crank just above the bumper.
It was designed to keep the grill and radiator from being destroyed if the hand crack did not get cammed all the way out when the engine fired up.

My ‘46 has the hand crank support, no idea what years had them. I don’t usually look for it, but I don’t think I’ve noticed them on other trucks.

Rick,
Can you post a side picture of that hand crank support?
I want to fabricate one for my '52 build. Thought it would be cool to crank start it at a car show.

Here is the bracket off the front of my '37, the lower portion is bent to match the curve of the bumpers back side. It was a straight shot to the crank center once you removed the grill opening at the bottom. I have no idea what the crank itself looked like, but it must have been pretty heavy duty to turn the engine from the far back.

The '37s used the same bumper front and back, so both of them had center holes, the rears used a plug bolt.

Joe, your picture with dimensions look very close to mine. But the overall height of mine looks to only be five and three-quarter inches. The height of the bracket above the bumper is approximately 2 1/2 inches. Yours looks like it might be taller. I think this is made out of 10 gauge material.

Non-stock bling mounting hole.

The brackets shape on my ‘37 has a bit different curve compared to the one on my ‘46. The bumper curves on each differ.

Probably a stupid question but, the bumper bolts on a 1946 Art Deco series, does the long dimension of the oval head go vertically or horizontally? When I bought mine, they were horizontal and still are now. I have seen pictures of them both ways I guess, but what was done at the factory? Or is it just what one prefers. Any information is appreciated.

Thanks, Tom

Probably going to have to find a 1946 brochure for pictures. I asked AI the question twice and got vertical the first time and horizontal the second time. Both answers were accompanied by bs explanations that seemed to back up the answer.

Thanks for the pics gents!

Are the crank handle braces available for AD trucks? I'd like to install one and get a handle for it.

I have seen them both directions also. But in doing some research of pictures of both what might be original and restored, it looks like an overwhelming number of them are mounted vertical, but I couldn’t find anything official on it in my manual as of yet.

The 1946 Chevrolet Accessories Data Book shows on page 52 a photo and description with a grill guard attached to the bumper. The bumper bolts are shown to be mounted vertically.

Well done, Sparky.

Thanks for the info. I guess someone may have had the bumpers off before I bought the truck. I plan on buying new ones since the existing don't look so good anymore and will probably need to be heated up to get the nuts off. I will install the new ones vertically.

Tom

A little late to the conversation, but I found my bumper and the bolts looked like this -

3800Guy, be aware that the new bumpers are in no way as good as the original ones. They are made of regular steel which will dent and bend. The originals are made of spring steel and resist deformation.

If yours is chrome, contact S&H Chrome Plating in Tennessee. The last time I used them, they had flat rates for bumpers based on year, make, and model. They do all the body work and straightening necessary prior to plating.

615-865-0100

The bumpers appear to be original. However, both front and rear have taken a beating over the years (by previous owner). I thought of getting new ones, but my son and I recently took the bumpers and carefully worked them back into reasonable shape on my 20 ton press. Didn't think they would budge much being the spring steel, but I was very surprised with the results. Front bumper was the worst, probably hit a couple times and ended up a bit wavy in shape, had to press it in two different spots to get close to the original shape. Rear was hit right in the middle by something and resulted in a minor V shape. Pressed it right at the crease and it turned out very nice.

They both need more straightening, etc..... to be nice again. I'm sure a good shop could straighten them even further, and a re-chrome would be great to have. Otto, I will keep the name and number handy for the shop in Tennessee. Thank you all for your input.

Tom