Hi Bert, Well I have a '73 Std Beetle and the original front bumper has, for all intents, a large beam located between the front brackets.
The beam fits inside the channel of the U-boxed bumper. Since the new/evolving U.S.standard was for 5mph frontal crashes, the rear bumper does not have the beam. 1973 was a transitional year for the new government-mandated crash safety standards (as well as low to no-lead gas). I can't say whether this effected European models....my guess would be probably not. As for Canadian models I have no idea. Since this was an across the board standard it would have been applied to all the Beetles/VW models sold in the US (Std/Ghia/Bus, etc). As the standard for crash worthiness evolved (the new standard for '74 being a "sustainable" system that would absorb a 5mph front on impact with no damage to the vehicle) the '73 front bumper setup became a one year only set up. Hope this helps.... Mike 73T1 _______________________________________________ vintagvw site list [email protected] http://lists.sjsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/vintagvw
