Trying to understand early rear bumper styles Options

[Barry Brisco]

So I was inspecting a '73 1.7 yesterday that is for sale not too far from me. The seller stated that it has a "914-6 rear bumper". I was skeptical that there was such a thing as a "914-6 rear bumper".

Checking Brett Johnson's book, page 30, my reading of it is that 1970 model year chrome bumpers had a slightly larger rear plate area and a sharper bend on each side of the recess for the plate. But that bumper type was used on both the 4 and the 6 cars.

For the 1971 model year the rear bumper changed slightly, the plate area was a bit narrower and the bend on each side of the recess was more curved. But again, no difference between the 4 and the 6 cars. That rear bumper style continued up through the 1973 model year.

Anyone have any information to the contrary? Below is a photo of the rear bumper of the '73 1.7 I looked at.

Now of course the rear valence was different between the 4 and the 6 cars; but not the bumper. The 6 valence had a hole for the exhaust; the 4 valence had a cutout and is slightly more inboard than the 6 hole.

Thanks,

Barry Brisco
San Mateo, CA