I'm finally getting to the point of doing body body/paint work on my 1980. I've stripped most of the car already, carefully using the razor blade method. I'll do as much work myself as I can, but will ultimately have a body shop doing the final prep and paint work. With that said, I've seen that new bumpers from the vendors run in the $400 range. My guess is the labor work necessary to clean up and prep my old bumpers, including any fiberglass repair, then paint them would probably be comparable to just buying new bumpers and having them painted. Is that a fair assumption to you guys? I would also think new bumpers would be less prone to having issues in the future, and my rear bumper wouldn't be wavy on top anymore... hopefully. I just don't want to waste time/money re-working old bumpers when it'd be more worthwhile and cost effective to just replace them. Looking for advice based on others experience.

 

Your choices are few. Replace with new OEM style RUBBER bumpers or go with solid fiberglass ones. There is no saving the old ones. Flex fit seem to have been a compromise between the rubber and the solid. As usual with compromises they don't satisfy most people sine they might get wavy also. I am going with the solid fiberglass. If it gets smacked, I can repair it just like the rest of the car. I am sure you have opened a can of worms here since most already have their corner. Search the forum and it will give you an idea of what to expect with either product. If you go with solid fiberglass expect to spend at around $400 plus shipping. And they will need to be fitted to the car, no matter who makes them. A bit more work but in the end I think they will be a longer lasting nice addition to your car. The rubber bumpers probably will be in the same $$$ ballpark, but they will eventually get wavey. Maybe that's what they mean when they say "Save the Wave"? No sure.

 

I getting ready to do my 80 too . Eckler’s for example has three choices , people I’ve actually talked to like the Flex Fit and haven’t had any trouble with warpage which is what I was learning towards but haven’t pulled the trigger yet either as I’m still investigating so eager to hear what others say too , I’m going to do front and rear at the same time

1. GM Restoration Parts which is urethane supposed to be made on the original tooling and haven’t heard anything positive or negative

2. fiberglass , cheapest cost and haven’t heard any negatives other than takes a little longer to fit but that may be a hit or miss depending on vehicle , it could possibly fit perfect too

3. Flex Fit , the most expensive by 20.00 and have had several people say the easiest to fit

 

I repair everything on my car myself, I am a mechanic. However, the one thing I don't do is paint. approximately 18-20 years ago. I had my 77 completely repainted. in the process, the Body shop gave me a call one day and basically said, your rear bumper cover is F@@ked. I ordered a flex fit fibreglass rear bumper cover. it fit up to the car with minimal body work. 20 or so bucks more for the flex fit is nothing compared to labor time to fit the solid one.
almost 20 years later, not a wave. not an issue.
up front I have a urethane, yes wavy. not as bad as a lot I have seen. but no where near as nice as the flex fit glass.

 

I highly recommend you do NOT use Trueflex or any kind of "flex" fiberglass. The theory is that due to the resins used, the bumper can be manipulated to fit the many different shapes of the car, allowing less bodywork. That is true. It has some flex. The downside is that the bumpers are too thin, and with the flex resin, they will not appear to be as solid as the rest of the car,....in fact will be more similar to the rubber bumpers originally installed. If you are looking for that, then Trueflex might be good.

The alternative is to buy solid fiberglass,...i.e., no flex, and face the reality that all aftermarket bumpers will required bodywork to fit. If you get a bumper that fits without bodywork,....you should also buy a lottery ticket. With a good solid fiberglass bumper, the end result will be the bumpers look as solid and wave free as the rest of the car. I made the mistake of using Trueflex, and while the bodylines were made to fit perfectly, which in itself was a large part of the paint job cost, BUT.....they both have waves, visible fiberglass mat patterns, and especially out in the sun, once the heat starts beating on them, they have visible and unacceptable waves, distortions, and pattern which are a never ending thorn in my side.

I recommend solid fiberglass bumpers, and possibly apply layers of fiberglass mat to the inside to increase the thickness to at least what the rest of the car has. The end result with proper bodywork will give the car the look it deserves, not some compromise. Why should anyone put any effort into bodywork on 90% of the car, and then accept less from the front and rear bumper covers?

Some may post they have had good luck,.....and even show pictures, but I contend the pictures don't show all the angles, and the effects of the sun heat,....it comes down to what your acceptable standards are. Mine are high. Waves are waves.....some are okay with different levels.

 

I agree with "Flyboy1958", go the solid fiberglass bumper route. I replaced front and rear bumpers on my 1980. Fit was very good.

 

I put a flex fit fiberglass rear bumper on my 76 about 12 years ago. Fitment was easy and no waves to date. I’ll eventually put a flex fit on the front too. I put a new urethane front bumper on it 20 years ago right before a full repaint. It was already wavy when I picked it up from the paint shop. Paint even cracked a couple of years after in one spot due to the waves and yes he used flex agent in the paint. I’ll never buy another urethane bumper for anything.

 

I bought and installed an Eckler's Flex-Glas Rear Bumper for my 75 back in 2006, still looks good.

 

same here but installed mine on a '74 in 2001

 

I appreciate everyone's input. I started to take the rear bumper cover loose and am finding that it's going to be a serious pain in the butt to get all the bolts out. One already broke off on the side as i was trying to get the nut off. I'm sure I'll probably end up having to replace all the mounting hardware. I had a body shop take a look at my car a couple months ago, just for an initial quote, and they said the rear bumper has probably been replaced, based on the fact that it doesn't line up worth crap on the passenger side. You can see in the pics the offset vs the thickness of my finger. The driver's side lines up perfect. It also appears to be a urethane bumper, not rubber. I don't know if the original would have been rubber or urethane.

Is it possible to build up a urethane bumper so it fits the car better, or is it a lost cause? Other than the passenger side fitment, it has a little work that needs to be done to the left of the license plate. You can see it in the pics. I always struggle replacing parts that don't necessarily need to be replaced. Especially if a body shop is going to have to do the work to fit a new bumper anyway. Why not just use what i have?

 

I would highly recommend you not waste time and effort trying to salvage an original or even a replacement urethane bumper that is more than 10 years old. I do not believe you will be happy with the results. Urethane bumpers become more brittle with each passing year. The use of solvents on them in the painting process also adds age to the urethane. If you plan to use a urethane bumper, start with a new, quality bumper and you will be much happier over the long run.

If you are planning to flip the car soon, well that's a different story...

Good luck... GUSTO

 

Never even heard of a "Rubber" bumper. originals were urethane. and not fitting correctly is very common. they shrink up with age. and quite frankly, they just rot away.
trying to "Fix" what you have is an exercise in futility.
I personally strongly recommend the flex fit fibreglass.
And no, I've never seen one wave like urethane.

 

One more time....Trueflex or any flex bumper does not have the waviness of rubber bumpers, but it is not as wave free as solid fiberglass. Maybe I just got a "bad" set of Trueflex bumpers, but I doubt it. Secondly, if you follow this forum, you know Dub. And Dub agrees we me. He has lots of experience. You pick how nice you want the car to be. Some people do not see defects in cars, even when they are there i.e. different standards of acceptance. And you don't want to spend all the money it takes, and then be disappointed. While some may post pictures of their Trueflex bumpers as proof they are "good"....it takes being outside in the sun, and looking at the bumpers at an angle to see the distortions and waves the rest of the car does not show, like you look at any car to see distortion. For me,. not good enough. You decide what is good enough for you.

 

Flyboy, I live in Queensland Australia. it doesn't get any hotter in the Sun than here. I am thinking you got a bad set!
Also, I really don't know the "True flex brand" you talk of.
I bought a flexible fibreglass bumper.

 

I previously purchase the GM restoration front and rear urethane bumpers from Ecklers, for my 1980 and had good success with them. They were easy to install as the holes for the mounting brackets and tail light openings are already cast into the bumpers. They required only minor trimming on the edges.
I no longer see them listed on their on line store, so believe they are discontinued. That is disappointing as they are a lot easier to fit, than fiberglass bumpers.

I installed the front in 2008 and the rear in 2011 and they both still look excellent.

 

I had to replace the original bumper on my 73 a couple of years ago. I had 'repaired" it a couple of times and it was cracking in several places so it was time to change it. I went with the flexaglass version thinking that the flexibility would make it easier to install and align. I spent a lot of time and effort getting it to fit. It was not even close to fitting on the bottom corners and the upper flange was the wrong angle to bolt to the car without putting the top surface in a bind and causing distortion. I finally got it but it took a lot of time, some fiberglass, body filler and some West Epoxy and high strength filler to finally get it where it was a good fit. If I ever do another I will go with the fiberglass one. The urethane ones all cup and warp over time, plus they eventually get brittle, split and fall apart. If your going to paint the whole car when replacing the bumper it will make fitting easier. If your going to fit it without painting the car, be prepared to spend substantial time making one fit.