bumpers

[SteveZman]

Hi people,

I just joined this forum, this is my first post. I just bought a 73 240z last week to tinker with. I had a 78 280z when i was in highschool and regreted getting rid of it since. So I finally got around to getting another Z.

My question is: I'm not sure if these are stock bumpers or not correctly installed or what, but i can't open the hood all the way. about half way up the hood hits the top peice of the bumper. It's like the bumper is to close. There is a pic below anyone know why this is?

TIA

Steve

[2ManyZs]

Hard to tell with the pic, but is the top bar (what we call the overrider) mounted on top of the rubber on the bumper guards? If it is then it might need to be put under the rubber or you could just remove it. That's one of the things that was always a bit of a problem with using the overriders, they gave very little room for the hood and if the bumper was ever hit or the bar mounted incorrectly it would interfere with the hood.

You could either remove just the overrider or you could remove the bumper guards all together until you can find a way to mount the bar without interferring with the hood.

[SteveZman]

Thanx for the reply here's a better pic of the problem and actually it hits the bumper guards that the overrider bar is mounted to.

are those overrider bars stock? how would i get around that? can I adjust the hood hinges that much or can the bumper be moved out some?

I kinda like the overrider but i can take it off if i have to.

thanks again

steve

[2ManyZs]

Ok, now I might have seen the problem. The 73 bumper sat out from the body a little further and had a rubber filler piece on the ends to "blend" it into the body and fill the gap. It looks almost far enough out in the first pic but it's hard to tell how far the gap is.

I'd say someone may have put the bumper mounts from an earlier bumper on in order to set the bumper back closer to the body. Take a look at the mounts coming from the body out to the bumper, if they are just a flat piece of steel then they are the earlier mounts. If they are a beam with a round tube on the end that the bumper fits over then they are the later (correct) mounts.

You might need to change them and get the rubber filler pieces if you want it back to original specs.

IMO, it looks better with the bumper set back and would take the bumper guards and overrider off. The bumper guards were standard, but the overriders were an dealer add on. Go to an auto parts store and get a pair of stainless bumper bolts and put it in the hole that mounts the bumper guard and you're all set......

Not sure if I can find a pic of the 73 mounts, but if I come across one I'll post it. Motorsport Auto has the 73 mounts new, but they are 93 bucks a piece:tapemouth The earlier mounts for the 70-72 are only 27 a piece. Now you can see the difference, one is just a bent piece of flat steel while the other is made quite differently....

The bumpers themselves are all the same, the only difference is in the mounts. There might be a little bit of adjustment in the mounts but not sure if it will give you the clearance you need. Before you do anything, loosen the mounting bolts on the mounts and see if you can pull it out any.

[SteveZman]

thanks

i'll check that out. The guy i got it from had about 3 Z's at the time and others prior. So he made have changed bumpers mounts etc..

i may take it off and see how it looks

[bonniec75209]

Nice looking car!:classic:

[BadDog]

Wow, when I read the first paragraph of your post, I had to look and make sure *I* didn't write it.... I had a '78 280Z when I was 18, and regretted getting rid of it ever since... and got a '73 240 last February! Mine's silver though :-) Good luck with her, and have fun!

[CNIXZGO]

go without the overrider bar. IMHO I like the look of the 240 z without the big bar. I had a 73 240 when i was in college, had to sell it, and i just got a 280z in Nov. to get back into the game, enjoy!