How to tell diff. '35/'36 bumpers

Bruce, the difference is at the ends of the bumpers. The '36's have an angle of roughly 45° at their ends while the 35's have an angle of roughly 60° at their ends. If you have a Ford parts suppliers catalog that shows V8 Ford bumpers you can easily see this difference.

Here's another option.... I live about 15-20 miles north of you...bring those bumpers up to my place and I can quickly tell you which year they are. If they are '35's and are in nicer condition than any of the existing bumpers on my cars, I will buy them from you :) Problem solved!! :)
 
Last edited:
This should help.
 

Attachments

  • 35_36BUMP.jpg
    35_36BUMP.jpg
    25 KB · Views: 63
So, since the outside mounting hole appears to be "lower" on the 36 is that why the outer bumper brackets are either straight across or have a slight (3/4 inch) deflection downward?

I've got 1 bracket with the deflection and one straight across.

If I'm guessing correctly, the 35 bracket would got straight across andthe 36 would have a deflection.
 
You got it Tom. It is surprising how many people think that all 35-36 Ford parts are interchangeable. Not so.
 
Also, since we all assumed Bruce was asking about '35-'36 passenger car bumpers, no one mentioned the differences on '35-'36 light commercial vehicle bumpers. Look at the bumper on the front of Lawson's avatar picture. Straight across with no dip in the center like '35-'36 pass. car bumpers. And there were other differences between '35-'36 comm. vs. pass. that Lawson could tell you about.
 
Here are a couple other points to ponder. As much as I appreciate and respect Don Rogers, author of the 1935-36 Ford Book, I have to say his picture/sketch of the '35 bumper is not correct in the angle shown on the end. That sketch shows the end to be nearly straight or possibly a slight reversed angle of what it should be. I will take some actual close up pictures of '35 vs. '36 bumpers and post them here. Randy you were correct, we should have posted some pictures of actual bumpers in the beginning.
Tom, the first '35 sedan that i bought in '76 had a '36 bumper on the front that was bolted to the stock '35 bumper brackets. I was proudly showing pictures of this car to someone who knew a lot more about '35-'36's than I did and he informed me that that bumper was incorrect for '35. We can all learn something new about these old Ford's everyday if we have a mind to :)
 
Hi Don, thanks for posting the correction. That looks more like the bumpers on my '35's now. I kind of felt like the student correcting the teacher on this :) but when someone chimed in and said "you got it" I felt I had to make my post. So now I can also say "you got it Don" ;) I have looked at that '35 bumper picture/sketch in my first edition 1935-36 Ford Book many times and thought that doesn't look quite like my '35's but never said anything. That picture has probably been corrected in the later editions.


I took some of these pictures today especially for this thread, so I'm going to post them any way.
 

Attachments

  • 35vs36 Ford Bumper Ends.jpg
    35vs36 Ford Bumper Ends.jpg
    62.3 KB · Views: 112
  • 36 Ford Bumper-1.jpg
    36 Ford Bumper-1.jpg
    50.9 KB · Views: 87
  • 36 Ford Bumper-3.jpg
    36 Ford Bumper-3.jpg
    57.8 KB · Views: 87
  • '35 bumpers 1.jpg
    '35 bumpers 1.jpg
    67.4 KB · Views: 87
  • '35 bumpers 2.jpg
    '35 bumpers 2.jpg
    83.5 KB · Views: 87
  • '35 bumpers 4.jpg
    '35 bumpers 4.jpg
    62.9 KB · Views: 70
  • '35 bumpers 6.jpg
    '35 bumpers 6.jpg
    66 KB · Views: 74
  • '35 bumpers 3.jpg
    '35 bumpers 3.jpg
    70.7 KB · Views: 81
  • '35 bumpers 7.jpg
    '35 bumpers 7.jpg
    73.8 KB · Views: 80
  • '35 front bumper end.jpg
    '35 front bumper end.jpg
    46.8 KB · Views: 74
  • '35 rear bumper end.jpg
    '35 rear bumper end.jpg
    65.6 KB · Views: 75
Last edited:
A couple new worms for the can.................

I now know that my bumpers are 36 based onthe pics/drawings supplied by you guys. I just bought (for $100 on Epay) a set of front brackets that are "supposed to be" 36. I wish I knew the difference before I bought them so I could have asked the right questions and got pics to see if they really are 36 with the downward tilt on the outer bracket. Here's hoping.

Next worm? The rear brackets seem to fit either bumper but, on a 36 they tilt slightly down on the outside to meet the bumper hole. On a 35 they would be level. Was there a different bracket for the rear each year?
 
JM 35 Sedan, This is my first post to any forum ever so i don't know if im doing it correctly. I just signed up for help and found your 2010 and 2012 post on 35-36 bumpers very helpful. On the way to a car show Friday, my friend in his 55 Chev handyman special rear-ended me and the bumper is toast. Can you or anyone else help point me to somewhere i can find one. If not, is there any chrome shops left in the US that you folks trust? I have Two painted ones I could maybe use. Lastly, are the Front and rear bumpers suppose to be exactly the same on my 36 Ford Roadster. Thanks, Steve in Sandy Oregon
 
35 and 36 bumpers appear on Ebay frequently. Front and back are identical on pass cars.Pickups are straight,no dip in center.Sedan delivery rears curve in for easy access to the back door.Pacific Northwest members here might chime in on a good chromer.
 
Just a "small" detail for 35 & 36 Sedan Delivery "rear" bumpers.....35 is the same bumper front and rear as ALL other 35 car models......36 "ONLY" for the "bend-In" easy rear door access bumper which carried on to 37 &38.
 
Thanks for the reply guys, still trying to figure out this posting thing. Not sure if i need to start a new post to try to find people on the west coast with contacts. I have heard some real bad stories on chroming since i started my search. All i found on the internet were old, bent and rusty.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top