Mid fifties Cadillac Rear Bumpers

P

Pat MacPhail

Hello all,
I have noticed that the center section of my rear bumper on my 1956 Superior is styled after the '54 & '55 Cadillac center section...and it looks like this continues all the way into 1958. I was wondering who manufactured the rear bumpers on the Cadillacs during these years?
Cheers,Pat
 
I checked out photos of a bare center section and does appear to be a Cadillac piece.The bumper ends are another matter. I called a friend in California and had him inspect one of cast bumper ends for a '56 Cadillac hearse and they are made by the Alcoa company.
Cheers,Pat
 
Pat MacPhail said:
I checked out photos of a bare center section and does appear to be a Cadillac piece.The bumper ends are another matter. I called a friend in California and had him inspect one of cast bumper ends for a '56 Cadillac hearse and they are made by the Alcoa company.
Cheers,Pat
Click to expand...

superior made there own center section as did MM, Eureka and the rest. the point Paul was attempting to make was you car is not a Cadillac. it is a superior. GM made Cadillac bumpers not superior bumpers. that is for the most part. that changed in about 65 when the commercial chassis started coming with the stamped canters. then superior, MM, S&S and the rest modified it in there own way to make there ambulance step. they all keep the hearse bumper stock. so if the 55 was a Alcoa stamp not a GM one this is a new piece of Hx that is will worth sharing. as most of us have figured that they just cut up the stock bumper not had the ends made. if Alcoa made the ends why not the centers? or was Alcoa stamping bumpers for GM?
 
John,
Thank you for your reply.
I do know that Alcoa was involved in the manufacturing of parts for GM. One other example is the forged aluminum/steel wheels offered by Cadillac in 1955.These wheels were made in Alcoa's Cleveland plant. I only have photos to go by regarding the Superior center section.When I get my Superior bumper in my hands I will be able to compare it to the center section on my 1955 Cadillac for the difinitive answer. If the Superior center section is stamped steel it was probably made by A.O. Smith for Superior. As an aside,a old mag I have has Alcoa stating that the new 1956 Cadillac Eldorado contained 192 pounds of Alcoa aluminum.
Cheers,Pat
 
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