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ok, so I am swapping over my 72 headlight/grill to the 76 two headlight set up. So I pulled off everything from the 76 and was gonna put it on the 72, and theres a problem when mounting the bumper. These things are welded on the frame (see pics). I know I'm going to have to grind them off, shouldnt be too hard just time consuming, but Am I going to have to drill the 3 holes and what not for the bumper mounting brackets, because I didnt see any, but I was wondering if anyone else has run into thie problem and what they did or found to be easiest. Thanks

I think you're the first to come across such a problem. Looking at the pics, it shows that the mount brackets are destroyed. Here's what they look like:



Either find some at the junkyard or fab some new ones.

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

I see what they originally looked like now. I am swapping on the 76 bumper, so I am just going to grind the welds off and take those brackets off since they are screwed anyways, and just go get the 76 brackets welded on since it will be easier to weld them on than try and drill 3 holes in the frame for them to bolt onto like they did in 76. Thanks for the pictures

Welding the 76 style bumper mounts onto the frame will make it very hard to remove the bumper later. The bolts that hold the bumper to the mounts are very inconvenient to reach on the truck. You also lose all the adjustment ability to get the bumper on the frame just right. If you miss on the welds at all the bumper will hang crooked and there won't be a lot you can do about it.

I know it won't be simple to replicate the 76 style mounting on the frame, but I'd say it would be worth it and about as hard as welding the mounts in place. At worst, you drill a few holes oversized and weld a nut into them. They don't have to be exactly in the right spot since the mounts have wiggle room in the holes for adjustments.

Whatever you decide to do, good luck. Personally I prefer the 76 and later style bumper, though I'd stick to the 77 and older 4 headlight look. My 79 4x4 is setup like that now.

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95 Isuzu Trooper Daily Driver
86 Isuzu Trooper reliable backup
77 LUV 2wd stock beltway blaster (resting)
79 4x4 LUV project: 2.6L, 5spd, 31s (eventually)

MEPR: Man, my 4x4 makes all other LUVs look good