The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Panels 'N Burbs 47-53 Suburban Rear bumper brackets

I have not been able to locate any rear bumper brackets or a filler panel for my 52 Suburban so I am going to fabricate both.

Can anyone tell me the dimension from the bumper to the body? Just a mesurement from the top of the bumper to the body to at the center would help.

Put an ad in the swap meet section, there may a bolter that has some. The filler panel " valence" can be purchased from vendors in fiberglass.

Rick, I ended up using a fiberglass valance for my panel. It was about 100 bucks and comes with the four fiberglass brackets. You will have to drill the holes on the back side but its no big deal.
Since it is lighter I only put the bolts in the "backside" to bolt it to the body. It left the top smooth without any bolt heads showing and looks really slick.

Oh, if you buy fiberglass the rubber gasket between it and the bumper will not be needed. The glass one has no place to attach it.
Hope this helps and as George says, give it a try in the Parts Wanted forum. I think they may be a couple guys parting a panel out. (was one guy down in Georgia) so don't rule out the Parts for Sale forum and look back for a month or two. Good luck.

If you want measurements I'm sure someone can accomodate you but it'd be a day or two before I could check mine...if the panel is the same as the suburban which I think for sure they are.

i have been told by a couple experts that the front bumper and brackets are the same as the rear on both suburbans and panel trucks.i have not tried it yet but if you have a front bumper and some brackets laying around, i think it would be worth a shot.it would save you alot of fab time.that way you could get your exact measurements you are looking for the rear valance panel.as far as locating a stock metal valance panel. i have been looking on ebay for about a year and the only one i have come across is a fiberglass one. like the guy in the last reply. hope this helps

The rear bumper brackets for panel truck/suburban are panel/suburban ONLY. Front will not work. Rear pickup wont work either. Also, 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton are different.
BUT,,,,the front and rear panel/burb bumpers will interchange.
Weird,huh?

I put the rear brackets on my panel in January. They bolt to the frame and dip down several inches, to clear the rear valence. Way different than the front. My right bracket had taken a hard hit and needed some persuasion, so I cannot give good dimensions.

The experts are wrong: As stated by others above, the 47-55 panel body rear bumper is the same as the pickup front bumper. And, the rear bumper brackets are different from the front bumper brackets.

As GMONIZ suggested, place an ad in the Swap Meet for the rear brackets (I got a pair that way).

Also, as stated above, it is hard to find good used rear valances, but it is worth trying (I am still looking, after buying a few pieces of junk). I am unfortunately using a fiberglass valance. It has a lip in the outer edge that allows the rear-rubber-seal to be glued to the fiberglass (and it seals nicely between the valance and the rear bumper).

Thanks for the help..

I have an original front and what I beleive to be an original rear bumper. What I found is that the front bumper is the same as the pickups including the 54 that I have. The rear bumper has is more curved in at the ends to fit closer to the body lines. I have a number of pickup front and rear brackets and none of them fit correctly to the frame width.

My plan at this point is to modify a rear set of pickup brackets and fabricate a filler panel using a hammerform.

man it good to know that the rear bumper brackets are suburban and panel only.so i dont waste my time trying front brackets. does anyone have pictures of the rear bracket for a suburban or panel trucks.so i know what to look for

So we know that the rear bumper brackets are different than a truck.
My question,is the rear bumper of a truck the same as a panel and suburban ?

Tim

The rear bumper of a pickup truck is not the same as the rear bumper of a panel body truck.

The rear bumper of a panel body truck is the same as the front bumper of a panel body truck.

The front bumper of pickup and panel body trucks are the same.

So the front bumper of a truck,will fit the front and rear of a panel or suburban?

I would never of even imagined this to be so !

Tim

These bumpers have 5 square holes in them. On the rear bumper, the center hole serves no purpose.

Rear bumper bracket/braces - Jim Carter

part # 3700438 Front Bumper 47-55 1/2 and 3/4 ton
part # 3700438 Rear Bumper 47-55 1/2 ton Single Unit Body (panel body)

From 47-55 the center hole on the rear bumper served no purpose.

What was the purpose for the center hole on the front of the 1/2 and 3/4 ton bumper?

"Lost Bumper Bolt" - Jim Carter

The front center hole is for the splash apron which uses all 5 holes to fasten to.

Whether it is true or not I find Ricks mention of the curve on the rear bumper quite interesting. After installing my fiberglass valance I thought "why does there look to be to much gap between it and the valance on the end". I am always "suspectful" of stuff like this and we may never know the real truth as the parts books may have called for only one replacement??
Still its interesting at all the observations from Bolters and makes for interesting thoughts.

...and yes yes yes, the rear bumper brakcets are different on the panels as has been discussed...and the bumpers are the same front/back on panels. I just put a set on.
Mmm, now about the curver on the rear bumper

Maybe Rick has a 47-53 pickup rear bumper?

As far as I know the Panel and Suburban have the same rear bumpers and brackets. The frames are the same and the mounting points/holes are the same.

I know 2 guys locally with panels and have looked at their frames. They look just like my Suburban. Unfortunately neither run a rear bumper. One had planned to run a bumper but could not find brackets. There are reproduction bumpers on the market but not brackets.

The frames are the same on all 1948/53 trucks including the suburban and panel. There are a few differences, the most critical is the body mounts. As far as the bumper goes, the suburban/panel and the canopy express use the same bumper in the front and rear. It has been pointed out that the front bumper has a center hole that is used to attach the valence, that is true. From what I have seen, the rear bumper also has the hole, but it serves no purpose and uses a dummy bolt to cover it

The rear bumper brackets are unique to the Suburban/Panel and Canopy Express, they drop down so that you can step into them and also let the doors/hatch open without hitting it..

In my pictures, the next to last one shows fairly clearly the bracket for the bumber on my panel. They are fairly crude, so it seems that a few pieces of flat steel bar along with some heat and persuasion, you could make something that would work.. maybe.

The rear bumper of a AD Panel or Suburban is the same as the front bumper of the same or pick up truck (1/2T, 3/4T 3800 1T).
The rear bumper brackets are different between the 1/2T and the 1T because the frames are of different widths.

Fit wise the bumpers are the same but as wbrowne says the frame will make the brakets different for th 1/2 and 1 tons. Also the bumper on the back of a 1 ton is subtantially heavier than the 1/2 ton bumpers. My picture isn't detailed enough to use for making brkts, but as I said, it shows they are simple enough I think a set could be blacksmithed.