Horatio Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 Anyone welded the end pieces of the rear bumper to the center section and shave things clean?? If so, PICS?? I'm considering this for a cleaner look and to save some cash on rechroming (chromer charges per piece!). I'm concerned about fit once things are welded together. Guess I could get it on the body to fit like I want it then tack it prior to welding. Did some searching buit couldn't find any info on anyone trying this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue72 Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 Yes, it has been done and it looks great. I've got some pictures on my hard drive of an Aussie with a '71 who had his done. Just have to know where to look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aziza z Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 I also would like to see how this looks. How much are they going to chrome it for btw? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horatio Posted July 31, 2008 Author Share Posted July 31, 2008 I also would like to see how this looks. How much are they going to chrome it for btw? Not sure yet on cost. I'm going to go talk to the chrome guy Monday and he'll give me a quote then. I'm not too concerned with messing mine up. It's nice and straight but needs a good amount of metal work to fill in some pitting. I'm filling in all the rubber bumper holes as well. I scored a Euro bumper on ebay a little while ago for $140 in great condition so I want to carry the same hole-less and one piece look to the back of the car as well. I've been taking pictures as I go so i'll post things when it's complete. One area of concern that I have is the overlapping joint where the end pieces meet the center bar. Seems like that's a great area for rust to build up once things are welded together. I'll taken advantage of the lap joint while welding and had considered cutting off the remainder of the "under-lapping" material from the center section. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 I did it, but for black-look no chrome. That was because my flares dictated I reshape the parts that hook around the back of the car, and once I shortened those, it was like...well...while I'm at it. I checked my photos, and you can't see anything against the matte-black of the bumper. Basically, I welded with a heavy bead, well proud of the surface, then used a long bastard file to get the profile close. Moved to the double cut in a finer grade, then to the black silicon carbide emery paper in finer and finer grades as I got towards flush and once all the other chrome was off. Once I was down to bare metal the whole thing was sandblasted with fine silicon carbide for a very even matte finish, and then primed and painted. Much the same way you metal work a car body from the 40's...it's slow work once you get close to the profile. Ask your chrome guy how close he 'needs it' before you give it to him...any low spots or undulations will require him to heavily copper-coat and buff to smooth, usually at an extra charge. Any undulation or divot will show with chrome, and your eye will be DRAWN to that spot forever more... one of the reasons I went matte-black. You can't tell mine from an FRP replica! lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aziza z Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 Let us know how much chroming will cost please! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horatio Posted July 31, 2008 Author Share Posted July 31, 2008 Let us know how much chroming will cost please! Will do! I'm not trying for show car perfection. I'll make it look as good as I can afford!! I've been filling in the holes, grinding them down, then leveling as much as possible with a file. We'll see what the chromer says! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horatio Posted July 31, 2008 Author Share Posted July 31, 2008 Let us know how much chroming will cost please! I had talked to a co-worker out here who had bumpers for his '69 charger done. He sadi his bumpers were similar to ours in that the front is one piece and the rear was in three pieces. He said he remebered paying over a hundred for the front and then over a hundred for EACH of the three rear pieces. Apparently the chromer saw this as three pieces he had to dip and not as ONE bumper. I can understand that. So, I could potentially be saving over a couple hundred bucks by welding the rear bumper together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 tuff z Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 here is mine. couldn't afford the chrome so i had it de-chromed, then mounted it, welded it, pulled it, welded the backside, holes, ground everything down, a bit of bondo, paint and voila! did this back in 1991, holding up pretty well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
palosfv3 Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 Before any welding or repairing is done all chrome should be removed. Chrome costs will vary depending on what the condition, shape and detail of the part is , quality of the metal work, whats expected as a final finished piece. Good quality platers are not cheap. Plating is just like painting the cost is in the preparation. Chrome is actually clear in appearance and the nickel is what actually gives the silver color that most think is chrome. Many have said so and so plated my stuff for $???.??. (insert dollar amount lower than $400.00). I havent seen anyone plate at these prices that will produce a show quality part. While you may not want to use a show chrome shop that does "Pebble Beach" quality plating for you Z you should expect to spend at least $650.00 for something presentable. The "Pebble" guy could easily get into the $1500.00 range for a rear Z bumper. As far as welding and metal finishing the pieces go the ends will present most of the difficulties . Welding up the big holes and working around the reinforcements for a plated bumper are not for the unskilled. Thought I'd add a couple of pics of some 260Z bumpers I'm currently doing. These will be plated . The front is close to being ready to send to the plater, Note the difference from a standard Z front bar . This one has been slightly narrowed to fit closer to the body without sealing strips or fillers and has the center section point removed and the center arced . The front bar took a skilled tech almost 16 hrs . The plater will probably spend another 8 before its ready for nickle and chrome. the rear end caps are ready to be joined to a new center. Hote the modified inner brackets these were removed to take care of the holes , modified and welded in so as not to distort the filled outer surface. About 6hrs an end to this point. Were expecting about a $2000.00 bill at the plater for these. I know some will think the costs and times are out of bounds but the finished product tells all and if your gonna do it , Do it right. Larry www.wgmauto.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horatio Posted August 1, 2008 Author Share Posted August 1, 2008 Yikes, That's some expensive stuff!! Looks like nice work though. Not sure i'm a fan of the rounded end of the front bumper. The point at the center section fits well with the point of the hood. Like I said, I don't intend this thing to be show quality. I'm also certainly willing to spend hours of my time getting it as close to perfect as I can get it before I take it to the chromer. We'll see what he says when I get there. I anticipate numerous trips back and forth betweeen the chromer and my garage! Hopefully he'll be willing to point out the shortcomings of my work and be able to give me advice as to what to do to fix it prior to chroming. I plan to start welding things together this weekend. Wish me luck!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WizardBlack Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 My Z has it's butt shaved clean. I will post pics. They didn't do it right and it's been welded too much, etc. I am gonna get a new rear piece to blank it out. I will try to grab some pics. My tails are blacked like Tony's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
palosfv3 Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 Yikes, That's some expensive stuff!! Looks like nice work though. Not sure i'm a fan of the rounded end of the front bumper. The point at the center section fits well with the point of the hood. Like I said, I don't intend this thing to be show quality. I'm also certainly willing to spend hours of my time getting it as close to perfect as I can get it before I take it to the chromer. We'll see what he says when I get there. I anticipate numerous trips back and forth betweeen the chromer and my garage! Hopefully he'll be willing to point out the shortcomings of my work and be able to give me advice as to what to do to fix it prior to chroming. I plan to start welding things together this weekend. Wish me luck!! The rest of the front sheetmetal has also been modified. The hood was also arced to confrom with the bumper Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horatio Posted August 5, 2008 Author Share Posted August 5, 2008 Well, good news and bad news!! Went and talked to the chrome guy. He said that I was doing a good job of welding in the holes and grinding everything down and smoothing things out. That's the good news. He said they specialized in high quality/show triple plate chroming. He said if I were to do it I wouldn't even have to finish welding/shaving cause it wouldn't affect the price anyway. He basically said they weren't in the business of doing anything besides high quality chroming. Implied they didn't want there name tarnished by a lower quality product (which I can understand). Price to have him do everything as four pieces would have been $6-700, which is not bad for a high quality job in my opinion. However, still too expensive for my project. He said the price would be no different if I would make the rear bumper one piece.. actually he said he'd prefer it as three pieces (said it'd be simpler to chrome that way). He told me there's a chroming shop in Richmond that would do the type/quality of chroming that i'm looking for. I''ll look into that and let ya'll know. There's a powder coating guy here locally that I may visit as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WizardBlack Posted August 6, 2008 Share Posted August 6, 2008 He basically said they weren't in the business of doing anything besides high quality chroming. Implied they didn't want there name tarnished by a lower quality product. Puhleaze.... Good luck with your chroming. I'm sure it'll turn out great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted August 9, 2008 Share Posted August 9, 2008 Shipping them to L.A., home of insidious environmental regulations will get you triple plating for about half that. Looks ggod to me, and far better than what was on the OEM. I think LA Bumper and Chrome is the place that does em... Generally it once was $125, now its about $250 a bumper. My 'vair was done in 91, and it's still great looking finish, living outside and unprotected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aziza z Posted August 9, 2008 Share Posted August 9, 2008 Generally it once was $125, now its about $250 a bumper. My 'vair was done in 91, and it's still great looking finish, living outside and unprotected. Pictures? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 He told me there's a chroming shop in Richmond that would do the type/quality of chroming that i'm looking for. There are a few platers in the richmond area that cater to the classic car / hot rod business - http://hanlonplating.com/ Classic Chrome Plating Richmond, VA 23233 (804) 301-5690 and some that are in other industries, but will do car parts on the side - Production Metal Finishers Inc 1802 Currie St Richmond, VA 23220 (804) 643-8116 Packaging Gravure Inc 5124 Glen Alden Dr Richmond, VA , 23231-4319 Phone: 804-226-4111 CUSTOM CHROME OF VA LLC 615B RESEARCH ROAD RICHMOND VA 804-378-4653 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted August 12, 2008 Share Posted August 12, 2008 I don't have any photos with me...I don't know what I could show with exteriors... I know Ianz sent his 240 bumpers to the same place and was really happy with the result. He's as anal as anybody and if he's happy... He did this around the time of MSA, and has gotten them back. I think his orange car will be at the Hot August Days GroupZ car show at Rickie and Ronnie's Drive In on the corner of Sepulveda and Normandie in Torrance (10 to 2) this Weekend. Check out www.groupz.com, the newsletter should be up on the site soon for details on time, directions, etc. The car should be there to check out the bumpers in person. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.