73-74 Charger bumper gasket
 

Hi All, :)

I have looked around (Steele, Year One, etc...) and not been able to find a replacement for this part. On the original '73 and '74 Chargers there was a bumper moulding. It was originally grey metallic neoprene. Most, by now, have hardened, cracked and/or turned brown. I have seen a few on Chargers in pictures that look new, just black instead of grey...however, I have not been able to find a source for the replacements. Even the folks who I have seen post the pictures with the mouldings will not respond with a source. Does anyone know where I can get repro of these gaskets?

Thanks, :)

RE: 73-74 Charger bumper gasket
 

To my knowledge, those aren't being reroduced. If you look closely at the ones that look good from a distance, they will usually show signs of age (cracking, dryness, etc..) or they maty be painted over. Best bet is to find a half-way decent used set, but that could prove difficult as well.

RE: 73-74 Charger bumper gasket
 

Thanks for the reply. I would swear that I had seen it somewhere a long time ago that these were being reproduced in Canada or something like that. Unfortunately, I never did get a company name. The set I have is intact, barely. But, they are hard and brown from time. I guess like you said, they are painted or just left off completely.

Thanks again,;)

RE: 73-74 Charger bumper gasket
 

If you leave them off it doesn't look too good. There is a huge gap to fill. On my 74 I modified the bumper supports on the front and rear to raise and bring in the bumper closer to the body. I also lost the huge ugly bumperettes. The car is probably close to two feet shorter now. It looks much better, but don't be playing bumper tag with anyone.

Traveller

RE: 73-74 Charger bumper gasket
 

Hi Traveller,

I got the replacement bumpers on the car. One on the front was a warranty (lifetime-gotta love that) and I bought a rechrome for the rear (took the core to Carlisle with me). I went through all the molding that I had and selected the best pieces. Cleaned them all with laquer thinner and painted them with vinyl paint. Even though they do not really flex much, I thought it was better to use a flexing paint.

I am leaving off the bumperettes (since I am fairly certain that the bolts embedded in the rubber that hold them to the chrome pieces would snap off if I attempted to remove them) and I asked Tri-City plating about rechroming them and they told me it would be about $60.00 each and would take about 10 weeks. So, I decided to leave them off. I made a couple of small patch panels to fill in the slots on the rear splash pan and welded them in place. Then took out the dents, preped, primed, painted...etc...

I will post some new pics on my site when I get the rest finished. :)