Does anyone have a good source for a chrome front bumper with the impact strip, and no license plate holes (not necessary)? I'm putting together a list of what I'll need IF I decide to stay with the trim and molding.
My '98's been demolded, so when I bought my '97 I wanted to go in the opposite direction.
It came with a front smoothie & a no-trim basic black rear.
So I put the deluxe trim Fr-n-Rr bumpers. Being the cheap-ass that I am, I wasn't about to buy new.
Took a bit as I wanted really clean ones. No dents/scuff/scrapes.
Front one I got for $50.00, but I had to remove it.
...in the guy's driveway.
...on gravel.
...with hand tools. (Good thing I brought the 1/2" drive stuff!)
...by myself. (Seller watched from his deck with a beer in his hand. Wouldn't help, 'cause..."Hey! 50 bucks! Whadya expect?")
Took a while to find a primo rear one. Even then, ouch! $200.00(!) Already removed, though.
Anyways, the point of this babble was, while the bumpers were in good shape, the trim on either wasn't, so I bought the rear step pad & trim from GM. Yea. GM! For cheap! IIRC, the top pad was around $50.00. The small one in the center...$30.00 & the two side impact strip pieces were about $15.00/ea.
The front impact strip came from GM too. $60.00!
Now I hate the fact that we need to run a front plate here. Especially with the factory bracket on these trucks. It's way too bulky looking.
So when I pulled the new front trim outa the box, guess what? No holes for the L/Plate bracket! Yay!
Time to get to some modification of that L/plate bracket!
After some slicing & dicing, I had cut down the bracket & mounted it to the holes originally meant for the lower bolts of the L/plate mount.
That kept that nice new front bumper strip in one piece, looking sm-o-o-o-th!
Now the plate sits low & tighter to the bumper & tucked back under the leading edge. The lower edge of the plate now sits about 3/8" lower than the valance.
So for you, not having deal with a front plate, you wouldn't have to cut that new impact strip for the mount. Keep that new strip all in one perfect unmolested piece.
You could use a bolt with a smooth head, like a carriage bolt, to fill those lower mount holes in the bumper.
I've seen dually trucks not requiring a front plate, where the owner's have used all manner of fancy bolts in those holes, including short little 2" spikes that resemble the ones on their wheels.
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