After 25 years of sitting in the desert, my front bumper rub strips were surprisingly good. After two months of sitting under a shade tree in my yard, they disappeared or disintegrated. The two vertical ones are the first to go , but the long wide one that runs all the way across is bent and sagging. I may use orange RTV on that one. Just to defer the complete loss. I had to pry , cut and chisel some orange RTV off an air cleaner and that was really hard. The vertical bumper guards look bad without the rub strips since they have holes drilled for them. I think the bumper is going to be the same. I don't see any other 73 plus Rancheros with bad rub strips. Do you guys have a secret supply somewhere?
A lot of people are resorting to using the rubber strips found on boats where the hull and top piece mate. You would have to come up with your own mounting system.
Hillbilly, are the overriders for the '73 and '77-'79 front bumper the same? If so, I have a pair I'm willing to part with from a '78.
According to the parts manual they are not the same and have different part numbers. Judging by the illustrations they mount differently as well. Rubber pads also have different part numbers between '73 and '77-'79. For '73: Overriders: LH = D3OZ-17997-B , RH = D3OZ-17996-C Rubber pads: D3AZ-17A812-B Check out eBay, someone is offering a pair of pads for $110!
I will post a picture of the bumpers with the slots in them for comparison with yours. Looking at pictures on the itnerwebs, the bumpers themselves look very different , but the vertical bumper things look exactly the same. The rub strips on the early cars 1973 for example look rectangular and the ones on the Elite front end 78-79 cars look oval. Like a Ford oval but on end.
When I get home, I'll dig one out, see if it's the same or if the rubber strips are mounted the same. I will say, the strips on mine are not inset, far as I recall.
I posted that as a full image, not just a thumbnail. I find it very inconvenient that this site only lets you view the full image of a thumbnail if you are logged in. Since it is nearly impossible for new members to join, that prevents non members from using the pictures as a resource. Tell me guys, can you see the full image when not logged in? Anyway, even though my car was made in fall of 72, the front clip is from a 74 and newer. Notice the April 75 date on the bumper over ride? So , it had three vertical slots in it. It seems to have a bit of a depression where the rubber goes.
Also, the bumper over rides say "L" for left and "R" for right, as well as that date . The difference isn't enough to see at a glance. Perhaps that is why they were marked in the first place.
