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Tue Jan 04, 2005 5:04 pm

All right. I am currently rebuilding my 67 and have started to plan for bumpers. I had wrongly assumed I could get them from Wolfsburg West. They do have Front Bumpers for the 67, but the rear bumpers only go to 66. Now I don't know what to do. I am planning on having a beautiful car, but apparently with only a front bumper.

I do have the original 1967 bumpers that came from the factory. However, They have been left out in the rain, sun, sleet, and snow for about 8 years, so I am sure you can imagine what they look like. They are very heavily rusted and probably pitted (It has been a while since I last looked at them). So, I decided to go Wolfsburg West. As you can see above, the rear only goes to 66.

So, it's opinion time. I searched through the forum but none of the topics really hit on the 67 rear bumper dilemma.

Another question, let's say I can't find a good '67 rear bumper. Will a 66 fit on the car, or did it change due to the new decklid?

Finally, my vin is 117 765 171. I did see on one post where it might matter what the vin was. Aparently some 67 vin's can use 66 bumpers??

Thanks again for the help,
Adam

Tue Jan 04, 2005 5:22 pm

I have a 67 rear bumper on my 63. I believe the only difference is the overrider bar slopes down by the license plate. Otherwise they are identical to the earlier bumpers. An older bumper should fit on your 67.

Tue Jan 04, 2005 5:42 pm

oc63rag wrote: I have a 67 rear bumper on my 63. I believe the only difference is the overrider bar slopes down by the license plate. Otherwise they are identical to the earlier bumpers. An older bumper should fit on your 67.

This is true. You can also put 67 tubes on a pre 67 bumper if your 67 tubes are still good.

Tue Jan 04, 2005 6:08 pm

The 1966 bumper will fit on your bug. The 1967 style started on chassis 117171365.

To the untrained eye, the difference is not that noticeable.

Tue Jan 04, 2005 7:41 pm

Before chucking those 67-only bumpers, why don't you post your chassis # on here. The sloping overrriders were installed late during the model run. If you've got an early 67 (Aug 1966-Nov 1966) Using the 1956-66 bumper may be correct. Just post your chassis # and the resident 67 expert (Bill May) will get back to you shortly about what your car should be equipped with.

Tue Jan 04, 2005 7:47 pm

Stevie just got a nice used 67 rear bumper on ebay.

Here's his post:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=96333&highlight=

Wed Jan 05, 2005 6:06 am

[email protected] wrote: Before chucking those 67-only bumpers, why don't you post your chassis # on here. The sloping overrriders were installed late during the model run. If you've got an early 67 (Aug 1966-Nov 1966) Using the 1956-66 bumper may be correct. Just post your chassis # and the resident 67 expert (Bill May) will get back to you shortly about what your car should be equipped with.

Yup, my '67 is an August production date. It has the '66 and earlier style overriders on it. The later in the year production runs had the ones that sloped toward the center.

Wed Jan 05, 2005 6:22 am

this is my 67 with the 66 style bumper on it....mine was Sept 66..
Dont' mind the spray paint job by one of the previous owners :shock:

the later ones, in 67 model year, have the over-rider tubes that kind of slope out away from the engine lid...to allow it to open when they changed the engine lid size a bit.

check this thread out and get the book suggested by "Hippie".... a great book to have.

Wed Jan 05, 2005 7:47 am

The "slanted" bumper over-riders were the final step in VW's "tranistion".
The pre-'67 USA versions suffered engine lid-to-bumper clearance problems, if the rear bumper took a light hit, or if the bumper had been replaced because of a more severe hit, and the bumper mounts weren't pulled back out. How many cars did we have to twist the lid to get it past the bumper?
The first step in the tranistion was to alter the bottom of the decklid, and the apron, which was successful, to a degree. The problem then became the bumper over-riders getting in the way of the lower corners of the '67 lid. So the next logical step was to "slant" the inner ends of the over riders, to provide additional clearance.
Personally, I think it was somewhat short-sighted on VW's part, since the bumpers would undergo a complete change only a few months later, along with additional shortening of the engine lid.
I also think it would have been easier to move the bumper out an inch, rather than re-design the rear lid and apron, which turned out to be a short-lived feature, anyway.
Same goes for the front bumper, where the over rider tube received a pronounced arch in the centre for late '67, which corresponded with the change to the rear.
Then again, I'm not an engineer.

Wed Jan 05, 2005 8:16 am

since the 67 vw only used the huge over riders in usa instead of small european over riders with no tubes,well what can i say.

Wed Jan 05, 2005 8:37 am

Adam,
Here's a pic of my Dec. 66 bumper...overlook the dent. Where are you located in Nashville? I'm in West Meade.
Jeff

Wed Jan 05, 2005 2:06 pm

Okay, let me get this straight. There is a '67 only FRONT bumper too? I know about the rear bumper with the slanting over riders my late '67 (chassis #117 776 566) has them, but unfortunately I don't have the original front bumper (only the rear). I have never noticed any difference in the over riders being more 'arched' on the front. Can someone clear this up? THANKS!

Wed Jan 05, 2005 2:34 pm

For the 30+ years that I've worked on and owned various ACVWs, I certainly recall that "'67-only" front overrider bow, but until right now never realized that it was only correct for the '67. Thank you for that explanation, joemac :). We are talking about the large horizontal bar, not the blade itself. The "'67-only" has a section that comes forward ever so slightly between the vertical overriders, instead of exactly following the contour of the blade. Very subtle difference. You can only really see it when viewing the bumper straight down. The rear '67 bows can be seen while walking up to the car and therefore much more noticeable.

A side-by-side shot from above of both bumpers would show this contour clearly.

I wonder if VW carried that "67 only" front bow in their parts dept. in addition to the earlier style, or just superceded the early one for the later one since it would also fit the earlier cars??

Wed Jan 05, 2005 3:56 pm

wow. well thanks guys. you learn something every day! Nice to know that now I have yet ANOTHER '67 part that is hard to find :shock:

I will be on the look out.

If someone could post pics of the front bumper (from angles mentioned in above post) that would be helpful. perhaps compare it to a '66 bumper.

question. was the '67 hood the cause of this.. is there a difference then from a '67 hood to a '66 and down hood? wow what a can of worms. :roll:

THANK YOU ALL.

Wed Jan 05, 2005 4:15 pm

Wow, you guys work fast. I posted this last night and already there are 13 posts. I will shoot a pic of my 67 rusty bumpers to see what you guys think. Otherwise I guess I will keep my eye out on ebay.

I've just been trying to plan ahead. I've got the floor pan and all the running gear in new condition and ready for assembly. I hope to finish it in about 2 months, then it's time to start the body. And the bumpers fall under this category.

It's good to know that the 66 bumpers will fit. However, I would really like 67 bumpers on my car. After all, it just seems kind of dumb to spend all this money on my VW just to put an incorrect part on it.

Last question, If I find a 67 rear bumper, how do you recondition it? If it is rusted and pitted can you fix it and get it rechromed? I don't mind spending the money, after all the Wolfsburg West ones are around $400, but I don't want to blow the budget on bumpers either.

Thanks again for all the great help!

Wed Jan 05, 2005 4:16 pm

kn4kt wrote: Adam,
Here's a pic of my Dec. 66 bumper...overlook the dent. Where are you located in Nashville? I'm in West Meade.
Jeff

Hey Jeff, I'm in Bellevue, just about 4 miles or so from West Meade.

Wed Jan 05, 2005 4:21 pm

[email protected] wrote: Before chucking those 67-only bumpers, why don't you post your chassis # on here. The sloping overrriders were installed late during the model run. If you've got an early 67 (Aug 1966-Nov 1966) Using the 1956-66 bumper may be correct. Just post your chassis # and the resident 67 expert (Bill May) will get back to you shortly about what your car should be equipped with.

Chassis number is: 117 765 171

Wed Jan 05, 2005 5:09 pm

Is the over-rider tube sometimes called a "towel bar?" I've seen that term and wasn't sure what it meant.

I assume from the description here that the bumpers on my '67 are correct for that year. Am I right?

BTW, does anyone know what that sticker is on the rear bumper (the red oval with black vertical lines).

Wed Jan 05, 2005 6:04 pm

Here are pics of my front and rear bumpers. Apparently they are both from a 67. You can see the bow in the front overrider. If anyone has 66 and earlier in the same condition and would like to trade for 67's let me know.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=103034
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=103035

Wed Jan 05, 2005 6:08 pm

blacter wrote: Is the over-rider tube sometimes called a "towel bar?" I've seen that term and wasn't sure what it meant.

I assume from the description here that the bumpers on my '67 are correct for that year. Am I right?

BTW, does anyone know what that sticker is on the rear bumper (the red oval with black vertical lines).

It looks lik your taillights are switched around. :?: