rear bumper replacement?
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 395
Likes: 0
From: winterville NC
rear bumper replacement?
I took my 1979 vette to my local body shop today to have him fix a couple of places on my bumper that the paint actually popped up .......he actually suggested that I possibly replace the bumper with a new 1. He said that he was not 100% sure he could promise me it would not pop up some where else, he told me that he would be painting over someones else s screw up. I am not sure about finding a replacement rear bumper....maybe some suggestions would be great. Thanks in advance
here is a pic I took earlier when I got the car.....it has gotten worse than the pic shows now..it is on both sides..srry about kinda hard to see in pic
here is a pic I took earlier when I got the car.....it has gotten worse than the pic shows now..it is on both sides..srry about kinda hard to see in pic
Last edited by McVette; Jan 23, 2012 at 08:26 PM.
Racer
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 327
Likes: 3
I'm not really a pro but I bought my 74 when it was 33 years old and the car was sitting without being driven for five years before I got it. Well within 3 miles of me driving it the rear bumper was starting to crack, within one hundred miles the front was starting to crack. When I took off the rear it already had been repaired. So what I'm saying is replace it and you might as well replace the front while you're at it. From what I'm seeing I don't think any of the rubber bumpers last more then 35 years. And it doesn't pay to just have them repaired.
Pro
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 741
Likes: 46
From: Hebron IN
I'm not really a pro but I bought my 74 when it was 33 years old and the car was sitting without being driven for five years before I got it. Well within 3 miles of me driving it the rear bumper was starting to crack, within one hundred miles the front was starting to crack. When I took off the rear it already had been repaired. So what I'm saying is replace it and you might as well replace the front while you're at it. From what I'm seeing I don't think any of the rubber bumpers last more then 35 years. And it doesn't pay to just have them repaired.
Same scenario with my '75. Sat 5 years in a heated garage. About a week after I bought it there was a sub zero cold snap, went out to the garage and there was a long crack in the rear bumper...wasn't there the night before. Next morning 2 big cracks magically appeared on the front bumper.
Few days later I get home from a short drive and notice a large chunk of the rear bumper missing.
If your bumpers are original, I bet you can push your thumb through them without trying too hard.
A new set of Tru Flex bumpers is the way to go. Repairing original 3+ decade old bumpers is throwing good money after bad imo.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 1,093
Likes: 2
From: long beach California
I got an ecklers fiberglass rear bumper for my 79. Same exact thing drive the car to work about a dozen times an when I got out to put gas in it noticed the rear was coming apart. I got mine from a guy off Craigslist I think I paid $100-150 an it bolted right up looks straight an fits better than my stock bumper did before it cracked I am gonna get a new from to before painting it. This picture is before getting all the bolts all tightened up an it still looks better fit than the original
Last edited by jesse10886; Jan 23, 2012 at 11:15 PM. Reason: I phone problem
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 395
Likes: 0
From: winterville NC
yea I went back today and drove her home...gona do a little research and buy a new 1 instead of putting good money in patching this 1 up.........is the True Flex the way to go and if so about how much is this going to set me back...
Burning Brakes
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 1,093
Likes: 2
From: long beach California
I'm not sure of which one is the best fit mine is the fiberglass an i love it
they run around $350-400 for the fiberglass and true flex and replacing the orignals with new rubber front or rear bumpers right around 350 bucks
they run around $350-400 for the fiberglass and true flex and replacing the orignals with new rubber front or rear bumpers right around 350 bucks
Burning Brakes
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 780
Likes: 1
From: Shelby NC
Mine are soon to be 3 yrs old and were fixed. I did the work so only materials as to cost. NAPA has a primer that is really good. I painted mine reg way first and they cracked trying to install so I got the pleasure of stripping them again and doing it all over. I sanded them real hard to cut the cracks/bad areas down and used NAPA #PP-64481 activated primer. You put this stuff in a cap and let it harden and take it out it will bounce like a rubber ball, very flexible. Never seen anything quiet like it.
I had spent so much on it already, so I just didn't want to spend another 800 plus for covers. I know at sometime they will go to crap but right now so far so good. Car stays in a controled heat/cooled basement so I know that has helped greatly. Covers are original--
I had spent so much on it already, so I just didn't want to spend another 800 plus for covers. I know at sometime they will go to crap but right now so far so good. Car stays in a controled heat/cooled basement so I know that has helped greatly. Covers are original--
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Team Owner
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 38,923
Likes: 1,481
From: Southbound
Cruise-In II Veteran
Personally, I don't think you actually need a replacement bumper cover. Your painter is understandably covering his backside concerning a possible repaint of what is there.
Ask if he would be willing to take it to bare urethane, prime, and then repaint.
Ask if he would be willing to take it to bare urethane, prime, and then repaint.
Racer
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 327
Likes: 3
Maybe there's a flexability test for your urethane bumpers. Something like being able to press in a 1/2" or more and then see if they bounce back to original shape? Then maybe they are good? I know if I pressed in on mine at all they felt hard and brittle. When I took off my rear bumper cover it came off in about a dozen pieces or more. If I took the biggest piece it would just crack almost like peanut brittle. It was almost comical how hard it was compared to a new urethane bumper. I put Flexfit bumpers back on mine. I had to go to Ecklers for my rear because they were the only ones that made a true split bumper for my 74. No split urethane was available.
