Old Chevy trucks with dealer name stamped in rear bumper

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Ive always thought these bumpers were cool. Especially seeing an ol beater from halfway across the country wondering how it got there. I saw this one today. Anyone have one of these trucks?
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Ivan Leonard, now a Hendrick dealer, put those on base model trucks down here into the early 1990s. By then most trucks except the absolute most stripped down ones had standard styled rear bumpers that looked better than the aftermarket ones. Aftermarket rear bumpers were very common before the 1990s.
 
Granddad had one of approximately that vintage. I don't know the exact year, because I was a kid (he died in 1991). It was that same color. Late 70s Chevy "Custom Deluxe". Single-cab, beige, manual gearbox, tobacco-colored vinyl bench seat that I slid around on when he went around corners. Not sure what engine. Mud tires on the rear only. A lot of people did it that way back then.

It had the name of the dealer stamped on the back bumper like that, but the stamping was painted red.

I still remember what it smelled like inside. King Edward cigars (he always had a box on the seat), old man aftershave, rusty steel, and Mississippi Delta earth.

My mom hated it when I rode with him. She thought he drove recklessly. She worried too much. The old man and I had a ball driving around the small town of Greenwood, MS. running errand and seeing friends of his.

I wish I had that truck.
 
Originally Posted by john_pifer
Granddad had one of approximately that vintage. I don't know the exact year, because I was a kid (he died in 1991). It was that same color. Late 70s Chevy "Custom Deluxe". Single-cab, beige, manual gearbox, tobacco-colored vinyl bench seat that I slid around on when he went around corners. Not sure what engine. Mud tires on the rear only. A lot of people did it that way back then.

It had the name of the dealer stamped on the back bumper like that, but the stamping was painted red.

I still remember what it smelled like inside. King Edward cigars (he always had a box on the seat), old man aftershave, rusty steel, and Mississippi Delta earth.

My mom hated it when I rode with him. She thought he drove recklessly. She worried too much. The old man and I had a ball driving around the small town of Greenwood, MS. running errand and seeing friends of his.

I wish I had that truck.


Wow. I can almost feel myself sitting in there. Good story.
 
Wow, that takes me back a few years. My dad had two trucks with those bumpers, a 1977 C10 and a 1981 F100 (these aren't unique to Chevrolet). My first full size truck was a 1988 Chevy 1500 and it had one similar but without dealership branding - I don't recall ever seeing a later model truck with one.

I remember working underneath one of them (I can't recall which one) and noticing that it had a license plate mount and light in the actual bed structure up under the tailgate. I was told at the time these trucks weren't equipped with rear bumpers at the factory, but they were required to have a place to legally display the plate. Basically step bumpers were a dealer installed option, and some dealers used the opportunity to stamp their name on them.
 
When I bought a truck in the early 80's a chrome rear bumper was an option unless you wanted a dealer stamped one, which was pretty heavy duty. All the trucks were sitting on the lot with no rear bumper. You wanted chrome you paid extra and if not they threw the stamped one on.
 
My first job out of college was for a step bumper company, Fey Bumpers (now part of Westin Automotive). Competition at the time was Hercules, which this bumper in the picture is, Masterguard, Luverne, and Bundy. It was true, until the 88 Chevy, all trucks came without bumpers. Bumpers for dealers were called imprints, and you had to verify with three people before they were allowed to hit the presses. A mistake in spelling was...well frowned upon...ask me how I know.

By the way, when those presses were stamping bumpers the ground shook. It was pretty cool to be a 23 year old gear head working in the automotive industry!
 
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Originally Posted by c502cid
My first job out of college was for a step bumper company, Fey Bumpers (now part of Westin Automotive). Competition at the time was Hercules, which this bumper in the picture is, Masterguard, Luverne, and Bundy. It was true, until the 88 Chevy, all trucks came without bumpers. Bumpers for dealers were called imprints, and you had to verify with three people before they were allowed to hit the presses. A mistake in spelling was...well frowned upon...ask me how I know.

By the way, when those presses were stamping bumpers the ground shook. It was pretty cool to be a 23 year old gear head working in the automotive industry!


Cool storyðŸ‘
 
Originally Posted by atikovi
What's with all the smoke coming out at the center of the bumper? Is that where Bubba routed the exhaust?


That's where some small time dealer waxed the exhaust system!
 
OP
I never let my chosen dealer even put their license plate cover dealer-name on any new vehicle I purchase. No decals either........ nothing!

None of these dealerships offer to pay the vehicle purchaser for free advertising on my vehicle....... for sometimes up-to 18 years of free advertising.

I once told Rinke Chevrolet in Warren Michigan in 2004 (my Chevy Colorado) that they could advertise their name on my vehicle, if they offered me one free oil/filter change for every year I owned the vehicle. They said no they couldn't.

I-then told my salesman I couldn't allow their license plate cover on my Colorado for free advertisement purposes.
 
Growing up in North central AR in the 80's, I remember a lot of trucks with the dealer name stamped into the painted bumpers. The chrome bumpers didn't have anything on them that I remember.
 
My '69 CST-10 had a dealer installed bumper (Vandergriff Chev........Ft. Worth TX.) stamped in it. While my '70 Custom-10 had a factory chrome bumper.
My '85 C-20 Suburban had a factory chrome bumper with a dealer installed V-5 receiver.
 
Ford's had them too. My grandfather's 1979 F-150 had the dealers name stamped into the bumper and the letters painted in red. Still remember it ... Bolton Ford (their tagline was "Where the sticker price means nothing.").
 
That is a flashback for sure. Bought a new base model 1986 Toyota pickup and had the same style but smaller bumper from the dealer installed on it with their info stamped in it. Actually was a better bumper than buying the optioned OEM one made in Japan.
 
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