Lightweight bumper J/Y score!

[GS70350]

Hey guys, i went to the junkyard the other day, because they just got in a new 84 regal limited, brown. and it had a nice, good front chrome bumper. since my front bumper chrome was well worn, and faded. and even had about 4 rust spots, i had to have a nicer one to match the back bumper. my back had a aluminum brace, the front was replaced though, and had a heavy steel one. I had thoughts of getting the new bumper, with a steel brace of course, and cutting it out to lighten it up. however, when i went to take the bumper off, i realized that it didnt have a brace at all. NO REINFORCMENT BRACE?!?! Wow. this is great. all is has, is 2 brackets that hold the outer chrome bumper itself, to the shock absorber mounts. i can cary this bumper around under my arm like nothing. the other one took 2 people to carry, one on each end. what kind of brackets are these? the back bumper had em too, im thinking of going back and getting just the brackets off the back bumper, and using them in place of my aluminum brace if you think that will save some weight too. the front ride height increased a tad though, guess its time for lowering springs. lol

if any of you know these braces, and some weight savings, perhaps how many total Lbs were removed, i would apreciate it greatly. thanks

 

[UNGN]

Those are the famous "export braces", part numbers 25517838 & 25517839

They save between 5 and 6 lbs over an aluminum support in bolts and support weight and around 25 lbs from a Steel support.

 

[FlyinGN]

Yup they are. I scored a NOS set of these on ebay and they now reside on my GN

 

[GS70350]

Sweet : ) ive heard about em, but didnt think id ever find any. thing is, this car wasnt an export, it was sold in birmingham alabama. kinda odd. but either way, the braces are great. im glad i just shaved 25 pounds off my front end, way out front, still got a better lookin chrome bumper, and all. hopefully if i find an aluminum radiator out of a GTA or Z28, and a hollow sway bar from the same, my front end will weigh about 35 pounds less which is what the powerstroke IC and pipes will probably weigh. just wanting to offset the weight addition.

thanks

 

[UNGN]

I don't think they are really for "export". In the early 80's, Reagan laxed the 5 mph bumper standards to 2.5 mph, and GM took advantage of this (the timing is right for them to show up on 1984 models).

Bad press, competition and insurance company pressure are the most likely reason our cars have 5 mph bumpers.

 

[gn1220]

I agree, I have seen too many at the yard to believe they all came back from Canada.

 

[jsta6]

Hi all.

I have found these parts for CHEAP!

$9.99 ea to be exact. (Plus $6.95 shipping.)

Check out http://www.vintageparts.org/
or
877.846.8243.

They have 26 of these 25517838.
and
They have 47 of these 25517839.

BTW, don't anyone even think about buying all of these up and selling them for $50 on ebay.

 

[FlyinGN]

wow great site.. Thanks

 

[stizkidz]

How many of each bracket do I need to order? Is this for the front and back bumpers?

Hi all.

I have found these parts for CHEAP!

$9.99 ea to be exact. (Plus $6.95 shipping.)

Check out http://www.vintageparts.org/
or
877.846.8243.

They have 26 of these 25517838.
and
They have 47 of these 25517839.

BTW, don't anyone even think about buying all of these up and selling them for $50 on ebay.

 

[usetaboost]

sounds like a great mod considering mine got wrecked and has a steel brace on it now. never seen it before, hows it go on?

 

[stizkidz]

Went to the junkyard today. Got a rear alum bumper support (complete with chrome bumper) for $25. I also pulled a front bumper off a Cutlass (aluminum support) but I decided not to buy it because it didn't look like it would bolt up to the front bumper on my GN. I stashed it, so should I go back and get the front support (will a cutlass support fit)? Which bumper support is harder to find - front or rear (aluminum)?

 

[GNVYUS 1]

The Canada braces are 3lbs each, the stock steel brace is 27lbs. You ditch 21lbs going this route and if you ditch 1 aluminum shim on each end of the support you save another 1lb for 22lbs total.

Not bad, especially if you can snag them for $27 shipped.

 

[stizkidz]

So do I order 1 of each bracket (part #) from that site above?

 

[mybuick]

why don't you cut the aluminum brace where the bumper bolts to the frame and save more weight?

 

[stizkidz]

Because I only have my stock steel brace currently. Before I buy a junkyard alum brace I want to explore other options.

 

[bilt2run]

?

do you need two of ea. part #

 

[stizkidz]

i give up.

 

[87grandnat]

Yes you need 2 of each, but they are sold out of the first number, I just checked.

 

[87grandnat]

Is that the gm part number listed above? I put it in on gmpartsdirect.com and its saying that the part number is invalid

Joshua

 

[UNGN]

Is that the gm part number listed above? I put it in on gmpartsdirect.com and its saying that the part number is invalid

Joshua

This thread is 4 years old. The export brackets are no longer in the GM system, as the guy it the thread bought them all. I think they were only $7 when I bought mine 8 years ago.