71/72 mach 1 grill ?

[Barber]

Just out of curiousity, what do you all figure a NOS 71/72 Mach 1 grill in the box is worth now a days..... Not that I'm going to sell it mind you, but I know they were going for close to a grand back a few years ago before the reproductions came out...

Or a cherry, and I mean looks like it came off a brand new car, polyurethane front bumper for a 71/72 Mach 1 ??

 

[Kit Sullivan]

NIB/NOS 71/2 Mach 1 grill? $350-$500 maybe

Mint-condition, undamaged or worn 71/2 urethane bumper? I am guessing north of $2000 if holding out for right buyer.

I have long wanted a fiberglas repro of a urethane bumper. It would keep its shape, paint would stick to it and look good. Not very durable, but niether is the OEM unit.

 

[mrmach1]

I'm guessing with todays market the grill is worth around 500.00 but you might have trouble finding a buyer because of the Repo's The urethane bumper has got to be worth close to 2 grand. But at that price again you might have trouble selling it.

 

[Barber]

Really.... guess I did pretty good then... I gave $250 for the grill, and a even $100 for the front bumper....

 

[OMS]

Keep in mind any NOS grille should be in the Ford box as the USA repro has Ford logo and part numbers

 

[Boss1Ray]

Keep in mind any NOS grille should be in the Ford box as the USA repro has Ford logo and part numbers

I thought the Repro grills are almost perfect copies of the original? All the ones I have seen look very good. Haven't sat them side by side but not sure I can tell any difference.

Ray

 

[mrmach1]

Back a few years ago when I used to go to swap meets every weekend. I used to see urethane bumpers for all 3 years for about 50 bucks. I never bought one because I didn't need one for my car but I sure wished I had now. This past winter I refinished mine and put it back on the car. I like it much better then the repro. chrome one. The repro grills I've seen look real nice and I couldn't tell the difference. I wouldn't hesitate to put one on my car, If I needed to.

 

[mdan575]

I got my repro grill from Don and it is real nice. From what he said they are made out of a better material also. So they are a bit mire durable than the originals.

 

[Kit Sullivan]

The repro 71/72 "sportlamp" grills are made on a lost, found and then repaired original tooling, so...they should be "perfect" as far a dimensionally correct.

 

[mrmach1]

Now if only somebody could find the tooling for the urethane bumpers.

 

[luxstang]

Just to chime in on the quality of the repro sport lamp grille: I have one on my car and it's by far the best repro piece in terms of material quality and fitment I have ever bought.

Took me one attempt to get a great fit, no trimming, no squeezing, no compromising, no nothing.

 

[Barber]

I'm with Kit... a fiberglass repo bumper would be great... and yes my grill did come in a correct Ford box...

 

[luxstang]

Now if only somebody could find the tooling for the urethane bumpers.

Hmmm, we'd have to find one in perfect shape, make a mold from it and reproduce them in fiberglass.

When I say "we" I mean anybody except me because I'd make a mess trying it.

 

[OMS]

The repro 71/72 "sportlamp" grills are made on a lost, found and then repaired original tooling, so...they should be "perfect" as far a dimensionally correct.

The grille tooling was in a warehouse fire, after the fire it was left outside.

A lot of it is new tooling as it was pretty bad.

 

[Kit Sullivan]

A nice "real" urethane repro bumper for our cars would be awesome, but prohibitively expensive to make a quality piece. The metal sub-structure would have to be pricisely located within the rubber outershell during production. Seems like a costly manufacturing method.

I wish a hard fiberglass replica was available. Much cheaper and easier to make, would look far better from a 'straightness' and paint shine standpoint. Would offer virtually NO protectuion in accident...but neither did the originals!

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

To make the tooling for the bumper would not be too expensive. The inner metal piece is the hard part. The mold for the rubber is just scan a NOS part and cut a soft mold. I was never around the urethane molding was it just a two part mix, a thermoset? I do not know. My experience was in stampings, plastic and zinc die cast. Zinc is the easiest of all.

Is anyone on here hooked up with Ford that could ask for the original prints? I could get some quotes on the tooling that is what I did for the last 35 years was get automotive tooling built.

David

 

[sicndhed]

My background is composites. Before I got into carbon fiber and Kevlar stuff for spacecraft I did a lot of Corvette repair. I've been looking of a '71 bumper that is worthy of being used as a basis of a fiberglass reproduction. I did not plan on selling them but just making a couple for myself. I just haven't found one that was nice enough to made me want to get rolling on the project.