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Where to find smooth chrome bumpers for a '71?


Guest JAMIE T

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Guest JAMIE T

Hey guys, I'm looking to get some smooth bumpers like the ones on the car in the previous post. Help me find some!!!

 

Jamie

Deathstar

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Guest Anonymous

Yeah, pretty darn expensive, its no wonder so many of them end up being painted... (thats what I'm going to do, my back one has the chrome rusted pretty bad....)

 

Regards,

 

Lone

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All that extra weight. Got rid of mine all together and had a good body man weld and fill back bumper slots. Looks too cool. And very smooth.

 

zfan..Mike icon_biggrin.gif

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Weight - heh - you must not be talking about 240Z bumpers! They are so ridiculously thin, they weigh nothing!

 

I totally agree that the Z looks better without bumpers and the mounting areas smoothed. Especially in the rear.

 

I put and early 240Z bumper on the front of my Z since it doesn't stick out like the 73+ ones. Ground the chrome off, welded the holes shut and had the body guys smooth and paint it body color.

 

At the rear, I've used 280Z 1/4 panels (no indent for the bumper, taken the L-shaped ends off the center section of the bumper, cut 3/4" out of the "depth" front to rear of the bumper (tin snips!) and made little tapered ends that I welded onto the ends. The ends come just to the corner of the rear panel and 1/4 panel. It'll be painted body color and mounted within 1/8" of the body.

 

I decided to use bumpers to get even some small level of protection, even in parking lots. At the rear, I'm making heavy duty mounting brackets (the stock ones are a joke) and putting a length of 1" ID sched 40 iron pipe in between the brackets. So the modified rear bumper is no more than a bumper cover.

 

Hopefully, with it being body color, and of reduced depth, it won't "stick out" to the aesthetic eye.

 

I may do something similar to the inside of the front bumper.

 

I hate adding weight at the extreme ends of the car (not insignificant polar moment of inertia impact), but it's a compromise to the TONS of bucks I have in the body and paint work.

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Speaking of using pipe for bumpers, at some point some compnay was making 1" tubular front bumpers for 1st gen Z cars. About 10 years ago I took pictures of Z's I'd see in neighborhoods with those bumpers. They are good looking and are curved to the shape of the front end. All were painted matte black which did a great job of hiding the fact they were even there. Funny as it seems, they probably did a much better job of protecting the Z's than the stock bumpers did.

 

David

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Guest JAMIE T

$660 bucks, ouch is right. I am thinking of welding up all the holes, grinding them smooth and having them rechromed. Chroming the small bumpers should be pretty cheap($100 apiece?) Local shop wanted $400 to chrome the front bumper on my dads '65 Thunderbird(now thats alot of chrome)

 

Jamie

Deathstar

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