Difference between urethane and 'glass bumpers

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Jan 26, 2009 | 08:26 AM

73LS7454

Thread Starter

1st Gear

Joined: Jan 2009

Posts: 1

Likes: 0

From: Adelaide SA

Difference between urethane and 'glass bumpers

Hey all,

got my 73 in the shop getting a full rebuild and respray at the moment, and i am needing to locate a suitable replacement front bumper for the totally f**ked up one that was on there... it disintegrated....

which leads me to my question.

i note from my limited research that there appears to be 2 types of replacement panels, one urethane and a few different fiberglass ones...

my reason for asking is the urethane one seems to be consistently high in price, around $1400 (i'm in australia), and the glass ranges from $400 - $800..

has anyone with c3 had this issue? what are the benefits of the two??? I'm not aiming for a top flight car here.... i just need the best and easiest to paint solution so we can get the body finished...

Cheers Mates!

Jan 26, 2009 | 08:29 AM

a1sensei

Melting Slicks

Joined: Mar 2006

Posts: 2,465

Likes: 0

From: Orange Park Fl

The originals were urethane. Fiberglass will shatter if you hit (bump) something with it, urethane is flexible.

God bless, Sensei

Jan 26, 2009 | 08:53 AM

mooneyd

Drifting

Joined: May 2004

Posts: 1,442

Likes: 2

From: Flanders NJ

The fiberglass will look the best, urethane needs a special paint so it can flex, not always an exact match to the rest of the car. There is another one thats between those two. Has less flex than urethane and looks like fiberglass and looks good painted. I don't remember the name, but the big suppliers have them, check Mid-America, Ecklers, to get the name then look down there for one.
Hope this helps,
Dave

Jan 26, 2009 | 09:16 AM

Glass Act

Melting Slicks

Joined: Jul 2005

Posts: 2,545

Likes: 3

From: 406ci SB, AFR 180 Heads - 490 HP @5,600 RPM 529 lb-ft @ 4,100 RPM

Didn't like the downfall of urethane, (waves, paint matching etc.) so I installed glass front and rear a few years ago on our 79. True it will break if hit, but so will the rest of the body on the car. I found the glass very easy to fit and they mounted perfect to the body, painted nice and I never have to worry about spider marks showing up in the paint in a few years. I respect everyones view on the difference between glass & urethane, but from experience of having both, I like the glass.

Jan 26, 2009 | 05:27 PM

Solid LT1

Le Mans Master

Joined: Dec 2003

Posts: 5,727

Likes: 38

From: Fremont CA

One other thing about Urethane bumpers, you should make sure all your original bumper braces/brackets are in good condition because you will need them again if you go original Urethane route (most braces show signs of rust and failure even in sunny California where I live.) Wilcox Corvette has some of the best pricing on replacement bumpers, we just did a 74 Vette in December with the Wilcox sourced parts, pretty good quality.