Are C3 steel bumpers at all effective or strictly decoration?
 

As thin as they are do they provide any real "bump" protection against anything beyond a shopping cart or bicycle or are they as they appear to be just trim?

Back in the yesteryear my brother in his mid-70's LeMans and me in my '66 Fairlane wagon would horse around bumping each other from behind going down the road at low speed, with at most some surface marring of the bumpers. They would actually absorb a fair amount of energy without apparent damage.

They are a 0.0001 MPH bumper!

Trim really.....don't push any balloons!

unkahal

ps the urethane bumpers are not much better...in that you'll have to do $3000 worth of remediation work!

:iagree:

Jewelry.

I think I read somewhere C3 68-72 chrome bumpers were the narrowest ones that GM ever made.

I concur.. For years I was the Pres of the OPEL GT CLUB....I have both GM,s

The GT designed by Henry Haga of C-3 fame (of Course!) Had some pretty thin bumpers as a close analog to the C-3.

The 'web thickness' of the C-3 was thicker than the GT, however the cross section on the GT was thicker.....in any case good for splatting flies and little else.

However, the C-2 Camaro 'eyebrow bumpers' were no battering rams either!

Unkahal

Look at it this way: do you want to risk driving a 68-73 without the bumpers?
:)

Its it in the name "bump"ers

Don't forget that the metal bumpers are bolted directly to the "unbreakable" fiberglass. The 68-69 front bumper outer brackets were offset and if you bumped something, the bumper would bend upward dramatically real easy.
Don't ask me how I know this! My first wife drove my Vette one time and when she came home, she put in the clutch and the car kept on coasting right into the garage door. The metal bumper was fine but it smacked the fiberglass and
made a half circle crack about one inch from the "point". Lou.

Nothing but show.....you will find real bumpers on rubber bumper cars.

Weird isnt it that the 68 to 72s are the best looking most desirable, sought after and valuable, if you care about worth of the c3s,
I Guess we chromie owners dont care our bumpers are junk :rofl:

I think they do a good job protecting the car. I was pulling hard
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...33d3da9a34.jpg
on my 18 inch socket wrench to loosen the front brake caliper mounting bolts when the wrench slipped and I pitched forward and smashed my face into the bumper. There was not a speck of damage to the car's fender. Not so much for me. I had a shiner for over a week.

Ed, the pictures rock, i saved them, love em, thanks for sharing.
The funny part my chrome bumpers with be fiberglass fakes from don, and i still think they look better than Tupperware.

Damnnit man, ron,
I bet you saw all kinds of stars and meteorites when you hit.

See! Those bumpers DO have a purpose. They prevent their owners from bashing their body parts on the fiberglass!! :D

Shiny - that's all you need to know about this subject.

chrome bumpers are very effective. they double the value of your C3! just don't hit anything with them.

:lurk:

True. Those Bricklins had massive and effective front and rear bumpers.