Hey Guys, newbie here, I was doing some research into how I can tuck the larger 1974 maverick bumper a little more. Some people said you can slide back the brackets 2.5 inches into another set of holes. It looks like that has already been done on mine. Someone also mentioned you can cut part of the stone guard off to actually move the chrome bumper (not the stone guard) back on the stone guard, my confusion about that is how you would remount the bumper onto the stone guard since it would shift where the bolts line up. Has anyone done this? Let me know if there's any tips or a good guide anywhere, all I can really find is some vague pictures
You need to trim the front of the stone guard where it goes under the chrome bumper, not where it mounts to the car. I didn't relocate the bolt holes, as 2-1/2 inches or more would have been too much for my '73. I cut the front mounting brackets off, shortened the frame mounts by 2 inches, and then welded the bumper brackets back on. The frame mounts are still bolted in the original holes in the frame. The '74 bumper may be longer so relocating the mounts to the holes further back may work, as long as it doesn't cover the side marker light. Do you have any pics of the front of the car as it is now?...
Here are some more pics of the position on top of my other comment. The brackets looked like they were already shifted back to another set of holes (which as some people mention ford included), so the stone guard is now physically touching the body/fender of the car, so the metal part of the stone guard would have to be cut to move it back any further, so that's why I'm leaning toward cutting the rubbery part on the front of the stone guard like you mentioned. If I cut the stone guard, how will I remount the bumper on it? Won't the spots where the bumper mounts be shifted too far off to be used (besides the ones on the front). Let me know if that question makes sense, I haven't actually taken the bumper off of the stone guard so I'm not 100% where it mounts. And on that note - is your bumper still mounted to your stone guard on the sides? It looks like it overshoots it (which is required if trimming front of stone guard?)
'I like your paint my '74's roof and fenders same , . ... aside from 'aesthetics' '74 has the heavy and massive girder and heavy frame mounts under the light chrome thin steel 'bumper'. Removing the backing girder and frame elastic mounts with 'tuck' can eliminate over @ 50 pounds ahead of your front wheels. . . . . light slotted angle mounts bumper back on frame , ( probably safer as a crumple zone ? ) . . . . 'has a partial Comet GT clip, cut hood and radiator moved forward to fit SC plumbing under hood, saved the striped Grabber tin hood , grill and stone guard. . . . . . . . . . hav efun
w wow that's the biggest job I've seen yet and officially the 5th way I've seen to perform a tuck haha. It's hard to tell but did you have to notch the stone guard to move it back far enough?
since your thread: ... been awhile, think Comet stone shield moved toward radiator a little and just slipped further under bumper top, shield has to match the different bottom plastic contour of Comet or Maverick grill. . usually OEM stone shield is body color or a grey, R&R black is a favorite if not a purist ... . parts are from VIN '76 Comet GT - 200/C4 - PO added '74 250 3OTTs Grabber graphics . . . hav efn
The bumper does not mount to the stone guard. The stone guard is mounted to the body under the grill and slides under the bumper when the bumper is mounted to the brackets. If your bumper has already been moved back to the other holes, I don't know why you would want to tuck it more. It's pretty useless if the hood sticks out further than the bumper does, not to mention your side marker lights would be covered. Cutting the front (rubber part) of the stone guard is the way to go if tucking a bumper. The "lip" will no longer be there, but it really doesn't matter as you won't see it under the bumper anyway. Not sure why, but Ford painted all the '73-'77 Maverick stone guards argent gray Other models had body-color stone guards. I don't like the argent gray. It makes the bumper look even bigger ('74-'77 bumpers are already too big for the 2-door models), so I had mine painted body-color. Looks far more natural on a car that is any color other than gray...
my bumper is still a solid 8 inches in front of my hood, so it could use a couple inches more to tuck If the bumper doesn’t mount to the stone guard, how does trimming the stone guard let you slide the bumper further back? Or is the purpose of trimming the stone guard only to give room if you’ve ALSO cut and welded the brackets shorter? I need to just take my bumper off so I can comprehend how things are mounted under there, that’ll probably clear some confusion.
Yeah, looks like there is room to push it back further. You definitely need to take the bumper off. Then you will see for yourself how all that stuff fits together and your previous question will be answered...
i think I get it now, I was an idiot and thought the stone guard was both the non chrom part of the bumper and the stone guard. So, I thought you could cut the stone guard and just slide the chrome part further back onto the bumper. so, only real options are to either drill new holes in the plates that mount to the frame, or cut and weld the brackets shorter. You think it’s a bad idea to do this as a first time welder or a good way to learn? lol. I’m leaning toward drilling a couple new holes 1.5” on the plate.
You will have to decide which way is more practical. I don't know how to weld but have professional weldors where I work. 'Got it done for free by one of them...
... typically no need for any 'welding' with any part of 'tucking' bumper , maybe a few holes to drill . . OEM grey : . . . . . . have fun .
Welding was required for what I was trying to accomplish. And it's not just a matter of drilling some holes; there are threaded inserts that the bolts for the brackets go into...
