My bumpers are straight but the chrome is badly worn. Is it cheaper to re-chrome or replace? If re-chroming is the preferred option can anyone make a suggestion of a good place near Allentown Pa.?

Thanks, Paul

 

Better to get them rechromed.
Aftermarket will not fit correctly.

 

Better, but not cheaper.

 

Librandi's Plating, located in Middletown ... near Harrisburg, may be the closest to you.

They do quality work.

 

Hi,
I'll second the vote for Librandi.
They're adjacent to the Harrisburg airport on Airport Drive in Middletown.
Regards,
Alan

 

It's pretty much a wash cost wise, but I'd say if you like the fit of your bumpers, then your better off getting them rechromed.

You can expect to pay at least $300 per bumper for chroming, while the good US made repro bumpers cost about $360 each.

Frankford Plating in Philadelphia, has been doing collector car plating for over 30 years. They do a lot of work for the restoration shops, in the Delaware Valley. They're right off of I-95, near the Betsy Ross Bridge. The number is 215-288-4518.

 

I was very disappointed with Frankford on some smaller chrome parts.

I ultimately had Librandi's do the bumpers and they came out perfect.

I tried another shop and after ruining my original bumpers, they refunded my money and I had to find a good set of cores for Librandi's to plate.

This is not an area on which to go cheap IMHO.


Bill

 

i was always thinking there are only chinese ones available today, where can i find those, and is there any experience with them ?

 

For a 'normal' street C3, it is less expensive (and less trouble) to purchase a new bumper. If you purchase one from a reputable supplier, it should last you many, many years.

If you NEED to keep yours as an 'original' factory bumper, have it rechromed. But, be aware: once you get the front bumper rechromed and see how good it looks, you will want to get the other chrome stuff redone, too.

 

I had mine re-chromed at M&P refinishing in Jeanette , Pa. They did a great job and it has a lifetime warranty .I think it was a very reasonable price for everything at $1139. for show chrome.

 

Hi EG,
Check out the bumpers produced and sold by Paragon Reproductions.
You never know how new bumpers will fit until you mount them.
This is why if you're happy with the fit of your present bumpers, it's a good idea to have them re-chrome plated.
Regards,
Alan

 

I thought I read somewhere that Paragon was getting their bumpers from a guy that somehow got the original dies from GM ??? and this guy was using these old original dies to still make reproductions that are available today???

 

Thanks Alan, fitment may not be the main concern in that case, as that build is a conversion, there never have been chromeys on it before.
So there is chance to make the glass fit the bumpers, if anything.
I was more thinking of quality and look all together.

Though there is a lot of complains about todays far east produced spare parts, i also know this must not apply to any specific part from there.
On the other hand i think it is not guaranteed the western parts are always great.
On another place recently i have seen a replacement dash from Al Knoch, fitment can only be called extremely terrible (then again i don`t know where those are made)

 

some of the aftermarket bumpers seem to have a myth regarding fit. do your research. if you get your existing bumpers rechromed you have issues of how well it is done, how long it takes and how long you are in the work queue.. additional add on costs potential, plus shipping both ways and the months down time you will have.

i would find a good reputable vendor that will sell you guaranteed new ones and then sell your old ones. no downtime, no worry about shoddy work.. no surprises from the rechromer who will want extra money for this or that, no extra shipping, no sitting at the back of the shop for months at a time..... I wouldn't use a rechromer unless I absolutely had to.. i have heard lots of horror stories here regarding shoddy rechrome work.

 

With C3's, particularly early C3's,..really talking 68's now, a lot of the front bumper chrome bits and pieces and the bumper didn't bit too well. But sticking to stock bumper parts, rechromed..is a safe procedure. There are repro front bumpers for C3 that don't fit...I have a very nice repro bumper that doesn't fit.

I recently had my 68 body extensively restored. The body shop rechromed my original front bumper (looked fine to me!) and then merged the body to match the bumper...They also broke loose the front clip and moved the inner finder wells etc to match the hood into the front. They also matched the door panels with the rear quarter panels and the convertible lid to be exact...from the factory there was gross miss-alignment. There were a lot of micro-cracks in the body, plus some fiberglass areas that had to be replaced due to oil contamination. Total cost was about $18,000, of which $3500 was for the paint and painting labor/materials. In the restoration process, parts of the body were ground out and replaced with bit splotches of fiberglass/resin, an occasional body blemish was just completely ground out. Their fiberglass guy did a fantastic job. All these initially ugly splots of fiberglass/resin were ground out extremely smooth. The body looks perfect, with a glass smooth uniform curving surface and no orange peel. Better than show room stock, even with remedial fiberglass repair.

 

That's what I've read. If you buy a repro bumper, you really need one of these. I bought a bumper on ebay, and it didn't fit. It was a repro bumper probably made by someone other than Paragon..Chinese???

 

You had a front bumper rechromed for $1139? I had my 68 front bumper just rechromed here in SoCal for $350.00. This is an area where the EPA is really causing replating shops to incur great expenses.

I'd like to read more details about your $1139 show chrome replate. Maybe your chrome replate shop used shaped anodes/cathodes...which what a perfect rechrome job should use. .

 

I could be wrong, but my understanding of bj1k's post was that the $1139 paid was for all of the bumpers and related chrome on the car. If that is the case, $1139 isn't a bad price.

 

You are correct . I said $1139. for everything . That included the front bumper and both back bumpers and the turn around time was only 2- 1/2 weeks . Not many places that offer quality re-plating will get it done in that amount of time. Very nice people to deal with.

 

I had my front bumper rechromed by Librandi's this past winter. It cost me around $300 for triple chrome show quality. They did a great job. It did take 8-10 weeks to get it complete but I had it done over the winter so I could care less about the time frame. It was well worth it to me to get my original one rechromed as I didn't have to worry about it fitting correctly..