Chrome bumper or not?

[mrmach1]

You know it's funny a few years back the Urethane bumpers for these cars were like flees on a dog and very cheep now try to find a good one. and be prepared to pay big bucks for it. I never would have guessed as I walked by so many for less then a 100.00 bucks that they would be in demand.

 

[jhawk635]

My '73 vette has a urethane nose with chrome rear bumper (only year they did it). I agree, your car looks awesome like it is! I say go where heart is. As you know I made a ton of modifications. I just saved all the parts so if someone really wanted to (it would be absolutely crazy though) they could convert it back to original. I even have all the correct hood, gauges, little console, radio, valve covers, you name it. So I say make it what you want. Unless your car is a rare configuration it only adds to the value (IMHO). It's funny how we see all these ideas for change and everyone who passes by or views your car is all thumbs up! ::thumb::::thumb::::thumb::

Cheers and enjoy your fantastic ride!

 

[Thin Lizzy]

Thanks for your comments chaps. I'll let things lie .

 

[mrmach1]

I agree with jhawk635 go with your heart. Your car looks wonderful and you should be proud of it. I would be if it were mine.

 

[GoneN6T]

The original intent was for the painter to include it in the paint job... but, among the other bone-head mistakes made, he used standard primer on it - which immediately cracked, of course. Rather than suffer through the rest of the folly, I just took it home and ordered a chrome bumper.

That's what's up with mine. The painter used a standard primer on it and there are stress cracks on the surface. I'm getting it resprayed properly next month, so it should look better. If it still cracks after that, I'll get a 71-72 chrome bumper.


So I'm a bit slow here, just realised the Mach 1 has colour coded urethane bumpers on the front and chrome bumpers on there rear. What was all that about? Why didn't they make them both colour coded? The front looks modern and the rear looks classic.

My wife recons I should put a chrome bumper on the rear of mine. She doesn't like the look of it at the moment. I recon it looks ok, what do you think?

Love the painted rear Bumper, good call

 

[rpmcarter]

this is a very sad day, now I have to pay a ton of money to convert mine to urethane bumpers and extensions. Hell mine may be a sportroof car and somebody put a fake Mach I sferial number on it.

So what is your car a Mach 1 or a Sportsroof? I always assumed from the picture it was a Sportsroof because there is no visible Mach 1 decal on the side.

I like the urethane bumper look the best but nobody ever built their car to please me. Now about that fake VIN#, I can have some of my friends in the auto theft division check that out for you if you like. I have witnessed how fast they can take a car apart looking for confidential VIN numbers. Not a pretty site but some crooks are pretty good at what they do these days. Joking of course, I know your car is not stolen, you probably just drive it like its stolen!

Mike

No, sad to say it is a true Mach I. The guy that had it before me put had an old paint job on it that was like it is now black/silver. I kept looking at the 71 red....and it JUST was too hard for me to accept. I started to go with 72 but the vermilion interior made me ill. So then I couldnt decide on the stripe... after much deliberation I have decided I DO like the stripe ...took me 4 years to make up my mind. As for the front end, he had 73 grill in it but the chrome AND bumper if changed were changed out many years ago. The chrome bumper I removed was aged appropriately, but again I LIKE it so I put another one back on. Nothing against the poly.... I just like the look. All serials match ! Marti Report defines all aspects of the car correctly as well.

 

[1-Mach-1]

There was a point where I was going have the chrome removed off of the bumper I replaced back in '81, and paint it to match the body, since the chrome bumper is more durable than the urethane bumper.

I may still do that with my old chrome bumper, paint and keep it as a back up, if I can ever get my oldtimer out of the shop.

I'm surprised I haven't seen more people try that idea.

 

[Thin Lizzy]

I found the correct 71/72 urethane bumper for my car, but the vendor wanted $390. So I passed on it and bought a chrome bumper from CJ's instead. I saw this photo and thought I'd give it a go.

Will probably use it as a spare or swap it around every now and then when I want a change or get bored. I'll take some pics when it's fitted and you can tell me whether it looks crap or not.

 

[Mister 4x4]

Did you get the "fillers" as well?

 

[Thin Lizzy]

No, do you think I need them? Also, do they need special bolts or can I just use standard bolts? CJ have them for $25 but that seems pricey for just 8 bolts! Clicky

Thanks for your help.

 

[Mister 4x4]

No, do you think I need them? Also, do they need special bolts or can I just use standard bolts?

Thanks for your help.

They are pretty much just plastic fillers to fill the gap between the bumper and openings on the fenders. The urethane bumpers match right up against the fender openings, whereas the chrome bumpers leave a bit of a gap (notice below - the gray bits are the plastic fillers).

You can get them from your favorite vendor - not really expensive, either. They come with fasteners the mount directly to the fender openings.

 

[Thin Lizzy]

$61 doors for a bit of plastic seems like money for old rope to me!

 

[Mister 4x4]

Wow - I don't remember them costing that much. :chin:

Are we talking about the same thing?

$52 through OMS: http://www.ohiomustang.com/store/order_page.asp?itemid=2087

$49.95 through NPD (might not have the fasteners, though):

https://www.npdlink.com/store/products/filler_front_bumper_to_fender-102379-1.html

Not as much as where you saw them listed, but still not horrible. Fifty buck is fifty bucks, though. I'm not trying to sound like a snob, either - just that after everything I had to buy to get mine back together (pretty much the whole car, piece by piece), it didn't seem a like they were that "expensive."

 

[Thin Lizzy]

The price was from CJs. Those prices you mention seem better, though with shipping and import duty it's still going to work out at around $100 for a bit of plastic. Maybe I'll get them when I'm feeling rich.

 

[Thin Lizzy]

Just don't understand how CJ's can charge only $118 for the front bumper, yet charge $61 for the little plastic fillers. Doesn't make any sense, other than the tooling cost, they must cost nothing to make.

 

[Spike Morelli]

I can't add anything new to this conversation. I agree with all of the above. I too have a '71 mach 1, and I have the original urethane front bumper, and I like the looks of it. The Boss cars came with the chrome front bumpers, and I also like the looks of those, enough so that I'd put one on if I was so inclined. Of real interest was the comment about why someone doesn't just market a fiberglass "shell" to go over the chrome one to look like the urethane unit, or even just a 'glass replacement that looks like the urethane. Either way, a look-alike front bumper would seem like a no-brainer for the aftermarket to pick up on.

I suspect, the aftermarket doesn't want to shoulder any liability in the event of bodily harm in a front end accident, and, you KNOW the mother-grabbing Lawyers would argue suit that the manufacturer would be at fault. A manufacturer would have to put a disclaimer on an all-'glass bumper like.... " Is not a bumper, Useage is limited to replacing Factory part for appearance . For racing only". Or, something like that.

 

[Thin Lizzy]

Call me crazy but I bought the 71/72 urethane bumper too. I gave the vendor a very cheeky offer and surprisingly they accepted. So I'll get this one sprayed up and see how it looks too. So I've got 3 bumpers now . . . :-/

 

[1973grandeklar]

Mark, I have a 1973 with the urethane bumper and a 1972 with the urethane bumper. This may have already been stated, but they are not interchangeable. The mounting is different for each one. With that said, the 71/72 urethane bumper you bought, does it have the metal support that goes behind the bumper and mounts to the 71/72 frame mounts? If not, you are missing part of the urethane bumper that is required to bolt it onto the bumper supports.

 

[Thin Lizzy]

Thanks for the info, yes I have the 71/72 frame already attached to my car. The existing 73 bumper is just bodged on with a couple of bolts, all in the wrong places.

 

[1973grandeklar]

OK, I understand how it is bolted on now. I was really having a hard time visualizing how that 73 is attached. But your description of "bodged on with a couple bolts" explains it well.