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I know I'm a little late but you and DUB nailed it ! That is way harder to do than most people know when it comes to matching something that's already painted in both color and gloss !
Great job !
Ray!
Thank you Ray, the kind words are definitely appreciated!
First off, I would like to thank DUB for taking the time to outline his methodology and share visually his process for for rigid fiberglass bumper installation, as outlined in his linked thread here:
I read that thread with great interest because I knew I was going to need to replace the dry/cracking covers on my 1976...and I did not want to go back to urethane. In addition, my car still sports it's original paint and I was not looking to repaint the car, only the covers once complete...which is EXACTLY what DUB did on his customer's 1975 in the thread I linked above.
So here we go....
Here are pictures of the front bumper cover installed, after installing the factory brackets and mounting to the car. As you can see, the fit was not so hot, and not anywhere near what kind of fit I was wanting.
You did a beautiful job. Quick question for you where is the best place to pick up the fiberglass bumper?
I purchased these from Eckler's. My first choice for replacements was ACI, but I got such a good deal on these I couldn't pass them up. I believe DUB prefers ACI as well...they are thicker than most and well made.
I purchased these from Eckler's. My first choice for replacements was ACI, but I got such a good deal on these I couldn't pass them up. I believe DUB prefers ACI as well...they are thicker than most and well made.
Thanks again!!
Dave
Did you purchase the one in the link below, just want to verify that it is the same and that you think it is ok to go with
Thank you for that link. My jaw just hit the table when I saw that Eckler's is using MY CAR'S IMAGE from post 10 WITHOUT having gained my explicit permission. I will be contacting Eckler's first thing tomorrow regarding their unauthorized use of my car for their advertising.
I guess that answers your question though...that is the bumper cover I purchased from them, but at a reduced rate as a damaged return.
Thank you for that link. My jaw just hit the table when I saw that Eckler's is using MY CAR'S IMAGE from post 10 WITHOUT having gained my explicit permission. I will be contacting Eckler's first thing tomorrow regarding their unauthorized use of my car for their advertising.
I guess that answers your question though...that is the bumper cover I purchased from them, but at a reduced rate as a damaged return.
The bad thing is that they are using a photo of car that has had the bumper ALREADY modified and filled in to fit better.
Kinda laughable if you ask me...and touches on false representation. Which is what I often times state in many threads. You cannot always go by the photos of what the part looks like on the web site.
The bad thing is that they are using a photo of car that has had the bumper ALREADY modified and filled in to fit better.
Kinda laughable if you ask me...and touches on false representation. Which is what I often times state in many threads. You cannot always go by the photos of what the part looks like on the web site.
DUB
Wait no longer, DUB. The issues have been resolved...the issues being Eckler's violation of copyright infringement laws and false advertising when they copied an image of my car from the internet (photo one from post#10) and used the same said image for the sales and advertising of their bumper cover both on their website AND in their ebay listing. All images have now been removed from Eckler's site, and the active listing removed from ebay.
I learned some very important facts through this debacle from my attorney, who just happens to specialize intellectual property and copyright law. I will share my lessons below:
1) Any image a user posts on the internet is protected by copyright law. The image is protected from having another party copy that image and reuse it for ANY reason, unless the party of the first part issues written permission to the party of the second part granting permission to copy and reuse said image.
2) In Eckler's case of using my image without my consent, they had 2 options to reach a resolution -- a) Immediately remove my image from any and every place they had it published (which in Eckler's case was on both ebay AND their website) -or- b) Obtain written permission from me to use the image and pay me a royalty for the use.
By using my image as they did for the reasons they did, Eckler's also violated the law by committing false advertising. The image that Eckler's copied and used showed the bumper cover AFTER I had invested hours of time and $$$'s worth of material to make it look as it did...not as their product comes, which was blatant misrepresentation and false advertising on Eckler's part. Period.
For what it’s worth, I just got off the phone with ecklers, and explained to them that I wanted to buy a bumper from them and had some concerns with the quality control. 1 with the air voids by the inner flange and 2 with them pulling the parts “green” and them post curing out of the mold causing it to warp. They assured me that if I receive it and it is warped, or if I pressure wash it first and find the air voids, they will return it.
nice job fixing the part, did they make any attempt to make it right?
Last edited by derekd8915; 05-08-2019 at 01:24 PM.
I can say that when I get in a fiberglass bumper cover I do not wash it with a pressure washer. For me...that does nothing. I check the sharp edges by tapping on them with handle of a screwdriver and IF there are any air void...like shown in my thread. I deal with them and do not worry about trying to get them to cover anything or send me a new one due to it will more than likely have the same issues somewhere else on the bumper.
When I am tapping on it I am NOT trying to beat it to death...and IF there is an air pocket what would NOT show up with pressure washer...it may shock you on how thin the layer of gelcoat is that is just barely hiding the air pocket like one of my photos show In my thread.
So that is why I switched and get my bumpers from another company ....and so far...nothing major has shown up in my test method for finding air pockets in the flange,.....that I am going to grind on anyway to get it to fit correctly.
When I DID call the companies to let them know I found air pockets and HOW I found them they were NOT happy at all in my method of finding them and said that it was not away to find them.. BUT...like I told them...I AM NOT beating your bumper causing the GODD gelcoat to come off...I am ONLY finding where you have OBVIOUS air pockets.
And do not be surprised that IF you grind down the gelcoat near the flange that you also find that is it really thin and air pockets are just under it also. Which...in time...could result in air bubbles that show up AFTER you have it installed and painted.
Taping on it like you describe works good too. Pressure washer works for me, I do not use it like I am washing a car or driveway, I get within inches from it with a very narrow tip. But anyways, I called these guys up today https://americansportscar.com/about/ and asked them if they make the bumpers for ecklers, their glass shop manager is going to call me back. I looked into that place in Cali, but did not see any c4 bumpers. The air voids aren’t the end of the world, if the price reflects it, but it pissed me off that they charge so much for a bumper and it is still ****. That air void they get with the inner flange would be easily avoided if they just use some radius putty During the lamination process.
Taked with the people making the bumpers for ecklers. They told me their products go through 4 different people for quality control, and that they didn’t have the tooling that they do now, and this is why all the work is necessary to fit the bumpers. Then I asked them if I check for voids when it is delivered will they take it back, was told that if I go looking for air voids these are not the parts for me. What a joke, but I guess they are right. I don’t want parts from a company looking to excuse **** parts.
Taked with the people making the bumpers for ecklers. They told me their products go through 4 different people for quality control, and that they didn’t have the tooling that they do now, and this is why all the work is necessary to fit the bumpers. Then I asked them if I check for voids when it is delivered will they take it back, was told that if I go looking for air voids these are not the parts for me. What a joke, but I guess they are right. I don’t want parts from a company looking to excuse **** parts.
One thing I have learned is that NO TWO of these cars is identical in the front and the rear where the bumpers mate to the body. None. This is why GM used urethane instead of fiberglass at the factory. Soft urethane could be "adjusted" to fit each car on the line during assembly...quickly.
The companies making fiberglass bumper covers can have 100 different people for quality control, but they (fiberglass bumper covers) will still need to be reworked when they are matched to YOUR car. I'm not talking about those paper thin "flexi-fit" bumpers either---I'm talking real fiberglass covers. Just count on having the fit them to your car using DUB's method (as I did) when you mount them to your car....that is, IF you want a perfect fit.
I get what your saying Dave. But regardless of how the part does fit right out of the mold, has nothing to do with the air in the parts of the shape being off because they pulled it too soon. It’s ok though, I’m glad I got to see how their customer service was before I ordered a part from them.
06-09-2018, 07:10 PM
thanks for letting me know.
