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No rechroming for mine. I need bumpers. Who has the best. Front and rear.
I'm about to buy a set as well... My dad has been using the GM Restoration labled bumpers from Corvette Central on two of his C2s and both fit pretty well.
That's likely what I'm going with as well for my 71.......
As I understood from others, Paragon got the original bumper dies or whatever the forming tool is called and so has the best chrome bumper repo's. I also understand the dies wear a very little with each forming, so maybe the last one is not as crisp as the first one. I bought a Paragon front bumper new and I thought the quality was excellent.
I bought the rear foreign repros from Corvette Central. I think they are about $250 each now retail. Both are pretty well flawless and fit very nicely. I wouldn't have a problem using them again and have no complaints.
I bought the rear foreign repros from Corvette Central. I think they are about $250 each now retail. Both are pretty well flawless and fit very nicely. I wouldn't have a problem using them again and have no complaints.
Those look great. How was the chrome and were there any grind marks. I bought a cheap repo for my GTO and you can see some grind marks on the bottom. Can you get me a couple more pics if you have a chance.
Those look great. How was the chrome and were there any grind marks. I bought a cheap repo for my GTO and you can see some grind marks on the bottom. Can you get me a couple more pics if you have a chance.
There are no grind marks anywhere. They are virtually flawless even on the bottom side and the chrome job is the same. The fit was also perfect and it only took about 10 mins. each to install and line up. I have had those ones on for 4 years now and even the back sides still look new. I thought they were a heck of a deal at half the price of US made so I took a chance. No idea on the quality of the front ones but I think the rears are better quality than the originals. I might have just gotten lucky with that set but I would buy them again. Below is the corner view and below that is a pic of the underside of the bumper (no grind marks) after 4 years of service when I removed it recently.
Last edited by CanadaGrant; 01-21-2018 at 02:59 PM.
There are no grind marks anywhere. They are virtually flawless even on the bottom side and the chrome job is the same. The fit was also perfect and it only took about 10 mins. each to install and line up. I have had those ones on for 4 years now and even the back sides still look new. I thought they were a heck of a deal at half the price of US made so I took a chance. No idea on the quality of the front ones but I think the rears are better quality than the originals. I might have just gotten lucky with that set but I would buy them again. Below is the corner view and below that is a pic of the underside of the bumper (no grind marks) after 4 years of service when I removed it recently.
Thanks for taking the time to get some extra pictures on here. They look great. I also read the foreign made fronts don't fit well.
That's what they look like after 4 years use. No clear or anything else used inside other than a new set of attaching bolts. I was recently replacing the gas tank and removed them to clean up and paint the mount points. I have also heard complaints about fit with the repro front bumpers but have no experience with them. The rears are pretty straight forward as far as fit goes and it's a huge price difference. I can't see how finish can be much better than these.
That's what they look like after 4 years use. No clear or anything else used inside other than a new set of attaching bolts. I was recently replacing the gas tank and removed them to clean up and paint the mount points. I have also heard complaints about fit with the repro front bumpers but have no experience with them. The rears are pretty straight forward as far as fit goes and it's a huge price difference. I can't see how finish can be much better than these.
Those bumpers look great after 4 years. Are they as heavy as the stock ones. Any one else have any experiences with buying bumpers.
No rechroming for mine. I need bumpers. Who has the best. Front and rear.
I've said this on here a number of times, but I'll say it again. If your car is already painted, and you like the fit of your current bumpers, you really should consider having them re-chromed.
After 40-50 years, not many Corvette bodies, are the same as they were when they were new. If you're planing buying new bumpers, you should buy them and fit them to the car's body, before painting it.
As far as which bumpers are best, there's no question, it's the ones made by Paragon. Paragon's bumpers are stamped out on GM's original tooling, here in the US. They are the only US made bumpers I'm aware of. After stamping thousands of bumpers, the tooling is worn, so not even every one of Paragon's bumpers are perfect, but they're still the best available.
There are some decent foreign made rear bumpers, but Paragon's front bumper is the only one to buy.
The picture below is of how the foreign made front bumper, typically fits. This one was on a 71 I did a pre-purchase inspection of, but it's not the only one I've seen like this. The foreign ones never fit right on the passenger side, and no amount of adjustment will fix it (though this one fits worse then most). This is the bumper a lot of companies list as their driver quality bumper, and sell for around $325, verse the $525 Paragon one.
I ordered the rear ones from Corvette Central. I bought the import ones.
The front one is where you are more concerned with the fit. I will order that from Paragon.
After 40-50 years, not many Corvette bodies, are the same as they were when they were new. If you're planing buying new bumpers, you should buy them and fit them to the car's body, before painting it.
Agree and another thought for you:
Per Richard Newton's book, entertaining and educational read I might add, excerpt: "the dirty little secret you never knew: The top dog Corvettes are actually built around the bumpers.".... "you start with the bumpers and build the rest of your Corvette around them". Which I thought was all extremely funny but makes very much common sense when you think about it.
01-21-2018, 12:11 PM
but makes very much common sense when you think about it.
