1973 Rear Bumper quard question
 

In 1973 was rear bumper guards still an option or was it standard equipment. If it was standard equipment. Did Pontiac make it standard equipment beginning of the year ,middle, or end of year. Thanks

option

IIRC......It may have been part of a trim group that year.....definitely more common in 73....especially on Esprits...

esprit may have had it in with the model package, they showed as separate item on my invoice. i don't have Tom's book handy atm.

Don't believe it was standard on Esprit.....but included as part of an optional group.

I will check my order guides when I get back to "the library"

i know of a 72 T/A with rear guards..efin' ugly in my mind, but if i had a cool car with them, id put them back on just for shock and awe.

There are plenty of 72 TA's with them. I had a 72 F455 that had them without rear spoiler.

My 73 SD has them. They are listed on the PHS as option #V32, $11.70.

I like the look...

My June SD does not have them. They were still an extra cost option as far as I know through '73. The bumper brackets were different for '73 though.

I like the bumper guards on my 72 T/A. Does anyone have a good set of the bolt on strips?

Irony: Bumper guards that owners would be aghast at actually bumping :)

Rear guards were not a standard feature on any model Firebird. They were both a stand alone option (V32) and a part of the Body Protection Group Y95 (not available for Trans Am) for '73.
IIRC, they were introduced as an option for the 1971 models in May. Anyone have a copy of the Pontiac letter announcing this? I've got a copy somewhere,...not finding it right now.

In '72 that's the "V30" option , '73 it was "V32 " for some reason

Option, not a standard part on any of the offerings.

I'm not a fan of them.

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...4&d=1452516841

Starting in 1973:
Code 732; UPC - V32: Rear Bumper Guards $15.00; Included with Formula Handling Package (342/Y99)

In 1972 it was V30 (code 731) as said before.
In 1971 it was V32 (code 734)
Neither part of a 'package' in those years (1971/72)

:)

And I'm not a fan of them either.

:)

The protection Group in 73 included the Bumper Guards, Side Moldings with
rubber inserts (ran center of door between the wheel wells) and also door edge
guards. No a Fan of any, but they would come in handy for a daily driver.

Yup in a group it was RPO Y95
Adding the door edge moldings at the dealership was a job NOBODY wanted.. wish they cost 3X as much, I think the cheap price was too attractive

The Y95 wasn't available on the TA, so would have to order the guards by themselves.

Interesting they were a part of 2 groups?
(Y99 for Formula and Y95 for all but TA)

Probably why it seems more 73's had them?

:)

a handling package needing bumper guards is like Ram Air coming with a tissue dispenser (?)

Does anyone sell or reproduce the rubber strips for the bumper guards?

Not that I could ever find and I looked long and hard. One guy on this forum found some rubber stripping that had the same approximate profile at a boating store and he glued it on, but I couldn't find anything close. I even visited several paint/body supply shops looking for stock rubber stripping. I ended up finding a pair of NOS guards that had a lot of shelf wear on the chrome, but great rubber, and I married those up with some re-chromed guards.


http://i1285.photobucket.com/albums/...pstc7wn5nz.jpg

http://i1285.photobucket.com/albums/...pskgzjaupw.jpg

http://i1285.photobucket.com/albums/...psbioq5sf7.jpg

I looked into getting a cad drawing made up, molds made up and material, and it would cost over $4,000 to get it going. With them selling for about $100.00 each.

If I win the lottery tonight I will do the initial investment and sell them at a discount!! :idea:

I'll need 3 sets. (but at the discounted price- LOL!)

Both of my 72 T/A's were ordered with the rear bumper guards. I also have an extra set of guards I'm considering adding to the 72 HO Formula. None of the rubber strips I have are perfect.

I hope someday someone will reproduce these.

I would also like to see a reproduction.

My '73 Formula got the Y99 Suspension Package, and came with this standard. The rubber is shot on them, so I'll either have to leave them off or figure out a way to replace it. It's an interesting look with the guards and no rear spoiler:
http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/z...pstn2c8uqy.jpg

considering the small number of people looking, I'm not holding my breath that these will ever be reproduced.

I bought a good set of gaurds in 2002 from a wrecker in (of all places) Rapid City SD;
It took me about ten years to locate a set of decent rubbers to mate to them.
Now they're sitting wrapped in my basement...
I had planned on putting them on my car;
I like the look...
(then again I used to mention that I liked the spoilerless look, and I could virtually hear the nationwide gasps... lol)

I figured my plight was unique because I was looking for rubbers only - and not a set of complete bumperettes!?

I like the look a lot. Y99 & no spoiler = cool IMO :)

I have a 73 rear bumper with the guards. I like the look. I have to fix that classic bumper sag these cars seem to have.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r...pstajvlldc.jpg

This was, and now is again my brother's '73 Formula that came with the gaurds, I ordered both PHS & the GM Canada packets, but cannot recall if the gaurds were stand alone options;
It's a very early '73 build car - meaning it had the 1st engine paint colour indicating it had the EGR system which would disable itself....

http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...0023_large.jpg
http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...0026_large.jpg
http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...0008_large.jpg

My 72 F455 was the same set up Y99, Bumper guards, no spoiler.

I love the look! (maybe because it was my first car)

Tom is ready to start on the body and paint on the Black Car on Saturday and I have to decide whether to delete the spoiler or not. It isn't on the build sheet, but bumper guards are...

http://i1285.photobucket.com/albums/...psq88s6h59.jpg

http://i1285.photobucket.com/albums/...pskp1dvr2m.jpg

http://i1285.photobucket.com/albums/...psk6sg07vg.jpg

On second thought, I vote spoiler

Great looking car and I like the rear spoiler so I would leave it on. I cant tell for sure but the end caps may be from a later year as they look a tad too long at the lower point. Very nice car though!!

Yeah, now I just think you are being nice. What's your wife think?

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...7ddaee08f0.jpg

She definitely digs the spoiler bling

If I have a vote it is no spoiler

My vote would be no spoiler.

The spoilers do look nice, and if it came ordered with one, there would be no question in my mind, but so many 2nd Gen Firebirds have one these days, that it makes it look that much more unique (not in a bad way either) in my books.
The fact that yours is already such aunique car, in my mind warrants it be done right - as in factory correct.

As much as I hate to say this - no spoiler. :doh:

To Spoil or Not To Spoil
 

I like Formulas with and without the spoiler. They both look great.

But for the Black car being so rare and unique, I would have to vote no for that particular car.

But its your car Bob, so you get the final say.



(Personally, I would have 2 trunk lids painted, 1 with, and 1 without the spoiler. Then remove the studs and modify the spoiler ends to have strong magnets bonded on. Why not have both?)

BWB, absolutely take that wing off :) you will not blend in, in a great way. Dead fluff weight sub 70 mph anyway.... (ducks) joke

seriously, it is understated now, today, how many people in 70-73 actually didn't order a spoiler by choice....

I prefer the spoiler look, and since the quarters are already "hole-y", my vote is to retain the spoiler, Bob.

However, on a non-spoiler equipped car, if the quarters haven't previously been punched, I wouldn't add one.

My $.02 . . .

I'm a spoiler fan, but were this mine, as special as it is, i'd put the effort into welding the holes shut, putting on a new deck lid and going original. I think with black, the low profile sleek look is really elegant. one of the very few instances where i say the spoiler ruins the lines.

My vote is get rid of the spoiler. F455 without it is a great sleeper. You could always put it back later if you miss it.

x2 Looks great as is. Removing it would freshen up the look for a little while, until you add it again.

I'd leave it off just for the clean look. Since getting the 73, the fast-back silhouette has sort of grown on me...

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...aIMG_1791a.jpg

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...ics%20008a.jpg

You can always have him paint the spoiler parts for future possible use.

This was what happened to me;
At first, I loved the spoiler look, but the lines of a Formula w/o the spoiler has grown on me to the point that I prefer to see the early Formulas w/o one.

I'll be going back without the rear spoiler on mine. Although I love the look of the Formula, I also like the uniqueness of the slickback early Formulas. I also couldn't bring myself to drill into the original sheetmetal. It was hard enough cutting open the Ram Air scoops after all these years.

Now I just need to find the rubber for the bumperettes...

There's no way I'd run it without a rear spoiler.

It looks way to good with it on there!