The 1973 Ford Impact Absorbing Bumper System 730032

The Federal government requires that all 1973 passenger cars be capable of withstanding a 5 mph front bumper and a 2.5 mph rear bumper fixed-barrier impact without damage to safety related components (lighting, latching, fuel, exhaust, cooling, propulsion, steering and braking systems). Two basic ways in which the impact energy can be handled are: (1) a thick flexible, external covering or large, flexible bumper guards attached to a rigid bumper-bar which is rigidly attached to the chassis by suitable supports; (2) a rigid reinforced bumper-bar attached to the chassis by means of compliant or compressible impact absorbing devices. While this general approach is used on most 1973 cars, the details of operation of the various systems are markedly different. Whereas, some of the systems utilize fluid-flow through an orifice to absorb energy, Ford Motor Company devices utilize shear deformation of rectangular rubber blocks.