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So on my winter projects list right after chasing oil leaks on the 72 is to finish updating the chrome on it. All that is left is the front bumper which is a 15 year old zip-repop. I have a set of rechromed bumperettes, and also got original rechromed rear bumpers at Carlisle last summer. I could not find any real good GM cores for a front bumper or an original that had been replated.
Are the current reproductions as good as some sellers are claiming? Or does anyone know a good source for an original rechromed bumper that isn't $700+? thanks!
yes I'm familiar with ebay but if you take a $300-400 used bumper (that is in need of replate like all those) and spend another $300-450 replating it, plus shipping costs, well it goes back to the original question of how some of the newer reproductions are? The old ones were fair at best. It seems there are a few brands of reproduction and some are advertising better quality. But I'd love to hear from someone who has actually bought and fitted one up.
FYI
I did research on chrome bumper fitting problems and decided I would correct any problem areas myself rather than buy/return...buy/return poor-fitting bumpers until I found a "good one".
I bought a made-in-the-USA bumper years ago (forgot from whom).
Both corner radius bends had too much gap.
I used a hand-held propane torch to "warm the corner" and tweaked it to get an even gap along the side of the fender.
It has been 6 years...NO peeling/flaking/discoloration where the heat was applied I DID NOT heat the chrome until it discolored or started turning red...
I had a nice new re-pop chrome bumper and I spent the $ to have the originals rechromed. They don't fit as nice, they fit okay not terrible but not original good either. If I had no other choice or it's a nice driver a re-pop will work. If you can hold out try to find a used one local or swap meet and send it out. I can recommend a place if you're interested just PM as they are not a vendor here.
Thanks, sounds like I’ll keep hunting for a good original to have plated or pony up for what a show quality replated original is going for. I was kind of hoping to hear reposts got better but if the rears are any indication the originals are night and day better than the repo I took off. The repop fit fine, good enough for a driver but I’m trying to really get this Lt1 car as nice as possible within my budget and reason.
Last edited by 68sixspeed; Feb 21, 2020 at 07:20 PM.
You're gonna have to find originals and have them rechromed if you are really picky about the fit. I went through this last year. Paragon is the big manufacturer for the "USA made" bumpers, and they do fit better then the Chinese junk, but still not as good as originals. After going through some repros, I just pennied up and had my originals re-chromed. My rears were beat up bad, bent, creased...I didn't think they could be fixed...but they did and look/fit 10X better then the paragon bumpers. I think I paid $500 to rechrome the front and $600 for each rear.
Interesting. I have a rechromed original that has the same problem and I was thinking about trying to bring the ends in closer to the body. As it stands I cannot get one of the end bolts in. Any way to estimate how long you had the torch on it? Also how did you tweek it? With a rubber mallet? Rich
Interesting. I have a rechromed original that has the same problem and I was thinking about trying to bring the ends in closer to the body. As it stands I cannot get one of the end bolts in. Any way to estimate how long you had the torch on it? Also how did you tweek it? With a rubber mallet? Rich
This is one of those "For entertainment Only" answers: It worked for me, but I cannot recommend it for you as it is risky.
I taped 1" thick Pine boards cut slightly larger to fit the jaws on my shop vice to prevent scratching the chrome bumpers.
I clamped the bumper into the wooden "jaws" about 1" from the V.
Then I measured from tip-to-tip on the bumper and wrote down the measurement.
I held the propane torch about 10" from the bumper and warmed the metal all around the V.
I applied pressure to the long section of the bumper that was positioned so that I could push against it to "Close the V slightly about 1/2"
Then I let the bumper cool ON IT'S OWN....DO NOT put water or blow air onto the heated area--it could cause twisting or peeling.
After it cooled I test fitted it along the front of the fiberglass to see if it needed more tweaking---IT IS BETTER TO TWEAK AGAIN THAN TO BEND THE BUMPER TOO MUCH THE FIRST TIME.
The fit looked better, but I did the procedure one more time to get a good fit.
I used the procedure above to measure/heat/bend each corner---test-fitting each corner and tweaking.
I should have used an Infrared Gun to get a temperature reading, but didn't have one at the time.
I probably heated the area being rebent about 20 seconds...then applied hand pressure to force the metal to bend...then applied heat carefully until I could actually feel the area "bending"....ONCE IT BEGINS TO BEND YOU MUST STOP-COOL-TEST FIT IT ON THE CAR.
(I didn't take pics of the process as I need both hands to do the procedure)
Last edited by doorgunner; Feb 22, 2020 at 09:18 AM.
Designer Imagines A Corvette That Looks More Like a Corvette Than the Corvette
Slideshow: A Jaguar designer's personal project imagines what a modern front-engined Corvette might look like if Chevrolet revisited the golden age of the Stingray.
good chrome front bumpers
