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I was told by a Packard expert, that he thought the bumpers on my 1937-115C 4door sedan were reversed - front bumper on back, back on front. I looked up the bumpers in the parts catalog but they don't say which one is longer. So, does anyone know if the front or rear bumper is longer. It appears one is about 2" longer then the other. The mounting holes are the exact same distance apart so that doesn't help.

Also, is there more space between the front bumper and the car body or the rear bumper and the car body? I am now not sure if the mounting brackets are also reversed?

Thanks for your assistance,
Bob

Sounds like questions for The Flackmaster!

I have a 115C and can take measurements. It will be a few days before I can get to the car. I think mine are on correctly as the "Flackmaster" has seen the car and not made any comments.

(o{I}o)

Thanks JW. I would really appreciate it. If possible, could you also measure the distance from the front of the radiator cowling to the bumper and from the trunk to the bumper? I was told I had the mounting brackets mixed up also.

Thanks again,

Bob

The rear bumper bar is the longer one and has more curvature than the front. Distance between the bumper bar and the rear body panel is about 5 inches.

Distance from the prow of the grille to the top of the front bumper bar is about 10 inches. The front brackets extend farther out from the body than the rear.

BobG, I finally got to visit my 115C and took some photos of the bumpers. They are shown below. The distance from the front center edge of the grille to the top of the front bumper on my car is 8 3/8". The front bumper overall width on my car, measured straight across end to end, is about 66 3/8". The width of the rear bumper on my car, measured the same way as the front, is about 67". I noted that the front bumper has four holes for the brackets and guards, and the rear bumper has six holes, four for the brackets and two for the guards. Also note that my car has the optional luggage rack. I hope this helps.

(o{I}o)

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In looking at JW's car the rear bumper has been modified at some point in time and the two holes that now have the guards attached to them have been added later. The two extra holes were added to allow the original guards to be used. When they are left in the inboard holes they interfere with the luggage racks range of motion. When a luggage is optioned on a 37 they utilize different guards. I have included a picture of both a 115C and a 120C to show them on a car. ( the cars in the pictures are ones sent to me from a fellow from CA that passed away a dozen years or so). But they are just like the bumpers and bumper guards I have on a 37 120C Sport Coupe I own.

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Don 37, thanks for sharing these photos. I have had my rear bumper off and the holes for the bumper guards look to be like the other holes for the brackets; that is, original looking. Either someone did an excellent job of drilling additional holes for the standard guards, or Packard offered two bumpers with the luggage rack option. I do not have a 1937 Six parts book so can't see if there are two rear bumpers offered. Maybe someone else out there can share their knowledge about this (Flackmaster?). Interesting, very interesting ...

(o{I}o)

CORRECTION

Packard supplied two different bumpers with or without trunk rack on both junior 35-39 and senior cars 37-39. The one with trunk rack had greater curvature at the ends to tuck it into the corners of the body. If you use a non-rack bumper on a car with extended bumper brackets and a rack, the tips of the bumpers would stick out and tend to get hooked on bumpers of other cars.

With trunk rack the square guards were supplied to allow the rack to fold down. They were mounted on the inboard bumper bracket holes, the same place that the tall pointed guards were. The car shown with the rack and tall guards mounted outboard of the rack is incorrect, someone drilled extra holes.

ON switching front to rear. The front of the frame is much narrower than the rear, you cannot switch bumper face bar or complete bar/bracket assemblies.

My 1935-41 Packard Parts List shows two rear bumpers for the 115C: 315997 with trunk rack and 315811 without the rack. Whether the 315997 bumper has 4 or 6 holes is not specified.

(o{I}o)