65 Fleetside rear bumper/bracket installation?

[white hope]

Okay, This has me confused. I have spent some time getting my truck ready for an original rear bumper installation. I have removed the after market roll pan and rerouted the exhaust system to make way for the new bumper. I bought all the parts from Classic parts(Bumper, brackets, bolts, etc). I get under there and now there is no way I could have the right brackets. I have reviewed my thoughts with the pictures in the OEM assembly manuals and verified what I ordered. The parts I have look like the right ones, They match the picture and line up correctly to the holes in the bumper. The brackets are not long enough and I mean not long enough to clear the back of the truck to hang the bumper. The bumper brackets also have a small hole on the top side that is used for mounting to the under side of the bed on the the cross sills, I am assuming. I can't figure that out either as there is no where to mount to.I have 2 thoughts.
1) Either the frame has been cut, and I can't tell. The bumper brackets line up perfect with the hole on the frame.
2) Take the truck to a body shop who has experience with old vehicles and ask stupid questions about what is the problem?
has anyone else experienced this ??

 

[LittleStar]

I'm looking at pg. 41 of the latest LMC '60 - '66 Chevy truck catalog. This page shows all of the bumper bracket kits for both the Fleetside and Stepside trucks. The picture of the 30-3621 is shown to be the bracket kit for the '63 - '66 Fleetside and I don't see any small holes on the topside of either one of the brackets that you describe that yours has. I'm thinking you may not have the correct brackets.

 

[greg65]

The small holes should be for the bumper bracket covers. This piece goes between the bottom of the tailgate area and bumper and should be painted the color of your truck. Hope I helped.

 

[Rich 5150 69]

Bumper and filler panels, bumper will sit one inch behind rear panels.

 

[dcsi5919]

Okay, This has me confused. I have spent some time getting my truck ready for an original rear bumper installation. I have removed the after market roll pan and rerouted the exhaust system to make way for the new bumper. I bought all the parts from Classic parts(Bumper, brackets, bolts, etc). I get under there and now there is no way I could have the right brackets. I have reviewed my thoughts with the pictures in the OEM assembly manuals and verified what I ordered. The parts I have look like the right ones, They match the picture and line up correctly to the holes in the bumper. The brackets are not long enough and I mean not long enough to clear the back of the truck to hang the bumper. The bumper brackets also have a small hole on the top side that is used for mounting to the under side of the bed on the the cross sills, I am assuming. I can't figure that out either as there is no where to mount to.I have 2 thoughts.
1) Either the frame has been cut, and I can't tell. The bumper brackets line up perfect with the hole on the frame.
2) Take the truck to a body shop who has experience with old vehicles and ask stupid questions about what is the problem?
has anyone else experienced this ??

The small holes on the top of the brackets are for the factory rock guards. Shoot me an e-mail to: [email protected] and I will take some up close photos of a 4-5-6 Chevy truck fleetside rear bumper for your reference.

When installing these, I loosely attach all the fasteners to get the bumper in the general vicinity. Then I put a 1/4" spacer (folded cardboard works good) between the bumper and the bed side end cap, for proper alignment and to prevent damage to the finish. When you are happy with the location, tighten the 4 nuts at the frame first, followed by the bumper nuts.

 

[rideblue]

In re-reading your initial question, i noticed you said that you removed the "Aftermarket Rollpan". Maybe the frame was cut to accomodate the rollpan? Im sorry that i dont have any dimensions, but someone else may be able to provide some help here?

 

[rideblue]

I also looked in the LMC online catalog on pages 14 and 15. On 15 it shows a diagram of the brackets and the mounting points on the frame. I cant give you a picture because my 66 is completely apart right now.

Tom

 

[Vin63]

Okay, This has me confused. I have spent some time getting my truck ready for an original rear bumper installation. I have removed the after market roll pan and rerouted the exhaust system to make way for the new bumper. I bought all the parts from Classic parts(Bumper, brackets, bolts, etc). I get under there and now there is no way I could have the right brackets. I have reviewed my thoughts with the pictures in the OEM assembly manuals and verified what I ordered. The parts I have look like the right ones, They match the picture and line up correctly to the holes in the bumper. The brackets are not long enough and I mean not long enough to clear the back of the truck to hang the bumper. The bumper brackets also have a small hole on the top side that is used for mounting to the under side of the bed on the the cross sills, I am assuming. I can't figure that out either as there is no where to mount to.I have 2 thoughts.
1) Either the frame has been cut, and I can't tell. The bumper brackets line up perfect with the hole on the frame.
2) Take the truck to a body shop who has experience with old vehicles and ask stupid questions about what is the problem?
has anyone else experienced this ??

Do you have a photo you can post of the back edge of your frame? It kind of sounds like you may have your bumper brackets mounted too far inboard? I quickly mounted my driver side brackets (just hand-tightened) to take this photo. Is this where your brackets are located?

 

[white hope]

65 fleetside rear bumper confusion

I want to thank everyone for the responses. I will take acouple of pic's to post on what I'm talking about.

 

[white hope]

65 rear bumper install

In re-reading your initial question, i noticed you said that you removed the "Aftermarket Rollpan". Maybe the frame was cut to accomodate the rollpan? Im sorry that i dont have any dimensions, but someone else may be able to provide some help here?

Well, I went to a car show today and luck would have it there was a 65 to look at. You were correct the frame on my truck has been cut and that's why the bumper brackets don't fit right.

 

[greg65]

Hate to hear that. I'm not crazy about roll pans on the 60-66 trucks. Good luck correcting your problem.