Mustang Chrome Bumper Kit (1965-1966) Installation Instructions

1965-1966 Mustang Chrome Bumper Kit

This Chrome Bumper Kit will fit all 1965-1966 Mustangs.

After the paint, the bumper is the next thing that everyone sees when they look at your classic 1965-1966 Mustang. Replace both the front and rear bumpers with these triple chrome plated, steel, brand new bumpers! This kit includes new front and rear bumpers and the bumper bolt kit. Bumper brackets are not included.

Tools Required:

3/8 inch Drive Ratchet
Standard & Swivel Sockets
Extensions
Phillips Head Screw Driver
Painter's Tape

Install Difficulty:

Moderate Project

1. To start the installation of the Mustang Chrome Bumper Kit, you will need to remove the license plate light bracket from the rear bumper by unscrewing the two screws that hold it on.

2. Open the trunk lid to locate four bolts, two on each side, that are near the Mustang taillight panel.

3. Remove these four bolts using, in my case, a 5/8 inch socket. Be cautious as you do this because these are the only four bolts attaching the Mustang rear bumper brackets to the car, so the bumper needs to be stabilized to prevent paint damage.

4. Once the Mustang bumper is off of the car, the four carriage bolts holding the two brackets onto the rear bumper can be removed. I used an 11/16 inch socket.

5. Once the two brackets are removed, use four new carriage bolts and nuts from the kit and reinstall the two brackets onto the new Mustang rear bumper.

6. The installation of the new rear bumper happens in the exact opposite way from the removal. When reinstalling, leave the new bolts from the Mustang bumper bracket kit loose to allow for adjusting of the bumper for proper alignment. Once you are satisfied, begin to tighten the bolts up.

7. Now on to the front bumper. The two fender bumper bracket bolts will need to be removed first. These bolts can be located under the front of the Mustang fender, near the parking light and headlight bucket, and can easily be reached and removed using a 1/2 inch socket.

8. If you have Mustang front bumper guards, they need to come off next. The bottom one can be reached from the bottom edge of the front valance. The top bolt can be reached from under the front valance.

9. Once those are removed, you can move onto the four carriage bolts holding the bumper on. You can remove these in a couple of different ways, but I chose to use a swivel socket, 11/16 inch, and undo them from the front. Painters tape is very handy here to keep from scratching up the paint. I found that a second person is necessary for the front bumper removal/install to keep from scratching the paint. The painter’s tape applies to all four locations where the Mustang bumper bolts will be removed from the front.

10. Once the carriage bolts are removed and the bumper is off, the fender bumper brackets need to be removed from the old bumper and reinstalled onto the new Mustang front chrome bumper. The new bolts in the kit come with the two carriage bolts and nuts necessary to reattach to the new bumper.

11. The reinstall is the exact opposite. The bolts in the kit contain four new carriage bolts and nuts to reattach the bumper as well as two for the fender bumper bracket. I would suggest using some padding around the outside edges of the Mustang bumper for protection when reinstalling. A second person is really necessary to support the other side of the bumper when aligning to prevent damage to the car. All of the holes on the bumper and bumper brackets should line up to allow easy installation of the new carriage bolts and nuts. In my case, they aligned perfectly.

12. I elected to not reinstall the bumper guards for a cleaner look. Here is the final product on the front bumper install. The Mustang Chrome Bumper Kit fits great!

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