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49 Fleetline swap to a 55 chevy rear bumper

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by FleetWadd, Mar 31, 2013.

  1. FleetWadd
    Joined: May 17, 2012
    Posts: 19

    FleetWadd
    Member
    from Sharon, Ok

    Mounted up my rear bumper last week, so I thought I would post up some progress pics. After a lot of debate I decided to order a California style smoothie 55 chevy bumper for my 49. I did some measuring on my brothers bel air and decided it would be a near perfect fit for the curves on the rear of the fastback. I have the replacement tailpan, just not installed yet so don't mind the rust. I'm sure someone has probably made this swap before, but I was unable to find any pics. I think it's a big improvement over the factory 49 bumper.
     

    Attached Files:

  2. FleetWadd
    Joined: May 17, 2012
    Posts: 19

    FleetWadd
    Member
    from Sharon, Ok

    Another pic,
     

    Attached Files:

  3. FleetWadd
    Joined: May 17, 2012
    Posts: 19

    FleetWadd
    Member
    from Sharon, Ok

    And another,
     

    Attached Files:

  4. willys1
    Joined: Oct 31, 2012
    Posts: 1,021

    willys1
    Member
    from South Ga

    That looks perfect to me. Good Job. Never seen that done before>>I LIKE it :)
     

  5. FleetWadd
    Joined: May 17, 2012
    Posts: 19

    FleetWadd
    Member
    from Sharon, Ok

    Thanks!
     
  6. thedrick
    Joined: Jun 29, 2012
    Posts: 10

    thedrick
    Member
    from latrobe pa

    sweet.. looks like it gets rid of that little filler panel on the bottom of the tailpan too. and thats good cause mine is thrashed..
     
  7. FleetWadd
    Joined: May 17, 2012
    Posts: 19

    FleetWadd
    Member
    from Sharon, Ok

    It almost does. My rear filler piece is actually in good condition which is hard to believe considering the tail pan rust. I'm going to cut the factory one down to cover the inch or so gap that is left towards the edges now.
     
  8. s55mercury66
    Joined: Jul 6, 2009
    Posts: 4,335

    s55mercury66
    Member
    from SW Wyoming

    I thinks it looks pretty good too. Do you have any plans for the front?
     
  9. FleetWadd
    Joined: May 17, 2012
    Posts: 19

    FleetWadd
    Member
    from Sharon, Ok

    I have a pair of 55 chevy bezels I am considering modifying the fenders to fit.. As far as bumper and grille I'm leaning towards factory stuff but I'm not set in stone on it..
     
  10. maddog1949
    Joined: May 22, 2010
    Posts: 50

    maddog1949
    Member

    looks very good like it was made for the 49.
     
  11. FleetWadd
    Joined: May 17, 2012
    Posts: 19

    FleetWadd
    Member
    from Sharon, Ok

    It does almost seem to fit on the fastback rear better than on a bel air.. IMO
     
  12. Cruiser
    Joined: May 29, 2006
    Posts: 2,241

    Cruiser
    Member

    Looks cool, a very nice fit to your fleetline. Here's a social group for you, just click on the KFC icon.

    [​IMG]
    Kustom Fleetline Cruisers
     
  13. FleetWadd
    Joined: May 17, 2012
    Posts: 19

    FleetWadd
    Member
    from Sharon, Ok

    Thanks, and thanks for the group add. I'll probly start a build thread soon. Not all of my car will be HAMB friendly with my Ls engine and accuair e-level air ride... But that is true for a lot of cars on here.
     
  14. waldo53
    Joined: Jan 26, 2010
    Posts: 863

    waldo53
    Member
    from ID

    I've never heard of this swap before but I'm thinking you'll have a lot of company very soon - that '55 bumper looks like a perfect fit for your '49. Nice job!
     
  15. koolkemp
    Joined: May 7, 2004
    Posts: 6,005

    koolkemp
    Member

    Fitzee on here picked up a set of 55 bumpers for his project Flatliner as well , it looks great!!


    Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad
     
  16. That is a great fit and looks like it was made for it!
     
  17. KoolKat-57
    Joined: Feb 22, 2010
    Posts: 3,073

    KoolKat-57
    Member
    from Dublin, OH

    Now that is slick, good thinking!
    KK
     
  18. Egghead
    Joined: Jun 6, 2012
    Posts: 55

    Egghead
    Member

    Looks great! Love those fleetlines. As the oldtimers say, "Had one just like it when I was a kid"
     
  19. Schmidy
    Joined: Mar 1, 2011
    Posts: 58

    Schmidy
    Member
    from Minnesota

    What are you going to do for the front bumper?
     
  20. Nice idea looks great
     
  21. Caddy-O
    Joined: Aug 8, 2006
    Posts: 1,644

    Caddy-O
    Member

    that really looks good....so, what bumper brackets are you going to use.... 49 or 55?
     
  22. FleetWadd
    Joined: May 17, 2012
    Posts: 19

    FleetWadd
    Member
    from Sharon, Ok

    Still unsure about the front.. Possibly stock 49.. The 55 rear fits so well with almost no body mods, I don't think it will look out of place to run the front stocker IMO
     
  23. FleetWadd
    Joined: May 17, 2012
    Posts: 19

    FleetWadd
    Member
    from Sharon, Ok

    I cut up the factory 49 brackets and used the angled pieces that go through the quarters to hold the ends of the 55 bumper. The center was trickier as the smoothie 55 had brackets welded to the rear of it but they hit dead center in the 49 frame rails. I cut the brackets off the 55 bumper leaving a couple inches to bolt on new ones, and then I welded new brackets extending from the frame rails to bolt to the cut off bumper brackets. The main thing was I was able to get it all modified and mounted up without damaging the chrome on that $500 bumper.
     
  24. tkmark
    Joined: Jan 23, 2011
    Posts: 126

    tkmark
    Member
    1. 49-54 Chevy Cars

    Fleet, it looks great!!! any chance you might share some pics of the mounts you just described? it always makes more sense if I can see what your talking about. Great insite on the bumper switch!
     
  25. repeater
    Joined: Aug 20, 2012
    Posts: 60

    repeater
    Member

    Does anyone know whether a '50 Pontiac has the same rear dimensions? My bumper design is pretty much the same, but the rear quarters don't have that recessed spot where the bumper sits in. I'd like to do this swap on my '50.
     
  26. 50 Fastback
    Joined: Jan 25, 2013
    Posts: 270

    50 Fastback
    Member

    I like the look of that bumper, maybe I will try it on my 50.
     
  27. kiwi chevy
    Joined: May 26, 2013
    Posts: 4

    kiwi chevy
    Member

    You had a couple of 250 engines for sale a while ago do you still have them?
     
  28. BIG REDD
    Joined: Dec 4, 2011
    Posts: 149

    BIG REDD
    Member
    from upstate NY

    mind snapping a picture?
     
  29. kiwi chevy
    Joined: May 26, 2013
    Posts: 4

    kiwi chevy
    Member

    You had two 250 chevy engines for sale a while back do you still have them?
     

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