old style bumpers

[Jazgeek]

Does anyone have any experience with putting an old style chrome bumper set (front and back) on a newer model spider?

I'm looking at a nice set of front and rear pieces but I'd like opinions from people who've already done this. Ie signals, welding required etc.

thanks in advance,
Jaz

[So Cal Mark]

I put early rear bumpers on my 76. I used the stock bumper shocks, slightly collapsed and had to elongate the mounting holes but it was a very easy install.

[Torxx]

I bought new Old style bumpers from Bruce's Auto Parts. The quality is not great, and the fit will need to be tweaked. I like them anyway. No welding was required, an no parts from the old bumpers, shocks, brackets, etc, are needed. Basically the new mounts go where the old ones were. Very simple, but, not straightforward for a good fit. That will take a little creativity. Doable for sure. Gas tank needs to come out.

The bumpers in the pics below are temporally installed for fit. They will be removed before painting.

You also need to install six studs or pins that are secured to the body at the end of the bumpers to support the ends so they don't bounce around (there are places on the bumpers that rest on the pins). I haven't got to that yet. Any suggestions on that would be great.

[mdrburchette]

The early cars have a hole drilled in the lower quarter for a bolt to go through to the early rear bumpers. A bracket is attached to the bumper. Is there a bracket on these rear bumpers?

[So Cal Mark]

those sure are big letters/numbers on the plate. I bet the cops can read those from a mile away

[stefhahn]

Hi Jaz,

I did convert my '79 last year - I did buy rather rotty old original bumpers from Ebay but bought the newish brackets from http://www.del-priore.com (~100€). Bruces will have the same.

Getting the rear bumpers on is rather straight forward - at least with the right side. For the left side I had to lift the tank incredibly high (unbolt and use a piece of wood between the tank and the ) - so check that it is not full! - to get access to the bolt.

For the front it was rather tough to get the brackets in - I did use a lot of silicone spray to ease that work.

I did not drill the holes in the rear quarters nor in the front, but did use Velcro strips to protect the body and paint - this is sufficient , as the new style brackets hold the bumpers a lot more tight than the original pre-75 did.

As front signals I first tried the original signals, but that looks horrifying. But (with Ebays help) I did find VW Golf II (Rabbit in the US, I assume) signals, They look like this:

- they have the tendency to disappear as you look at the car.... check these two pictures:



It looks better than most aftermarket setups that I've seen (Harley signals or similar) but I plan to change it to the original pre-75 setup next fall.

And: check out http://www.spider-point.com - they will start to market stainless steel bumpers from June this year - it could be a good idea to wait for these. Their chromed metal ones have a rather bad reputation - they are told to produce a shiny look the first year but the chrome seems to peel off and the inside will start to rust after a short period - at least this was written by various people in the german spider forum.

ciao,
Stefan

[jasongibson]

There is a company on ebay (uk) who have stainless bumpers for sale
They are made and shipped from Vietnam, i saw a set last week and they look very good.
I will be ordering a set shortly as mine are past their best

Stainless Bumpers



and brackets to fit US bumper cars

[FiatColombia1]

Did you get to see any information about the factory in vietnam... I have a vietnamese with family there, who can help us to deal directly with them if we get the info.... I'm sure we can save some bucks.

[jasongibson]

http://www.groupharrington.com/shine/Fiat_spider.asp

[Torxx]

The pictures shown do not like stainless steel. They exactly like the kit I got from Bruce's parts for around $1200

[Elwood]

They exactly like the kit I got from Bruce's...

Did you also get the same mounting brackets?
If not, what did he provide?
Thanks,
D.

[sjmst]

This is an interesting option. So, my dilemma is keeping my Spider "all original" or make it look nicer!

[stefhahn]

As I was wondering whether or not to get the stainless steel bumpers I did check who did buy them and got the following reply:

As I received the bumpers I was enthusiastic - they look really stunning - but:

as I did put the to the car my happyness sort of disappeared:

1. the front bumper is to high in the middle, it looks as if the Spider would be sad and the corners of the mouth hanging down. I hope that I will be able to correct this by welding the brackets, I cannot tell whether this will be successful.

The rear one are ok though, but you need to cut off the holders for the license plate light - these brackets have an angle on the originals but on the replicas they are right-angled. Due to this fact the lights have a 5mm distance at the angular point!
The bending of the bumpers is not 100% either - what you cannot see - but at the license plate lights.

An additional disadvantage which on the other hand is an advantage:
it's a lot easier to get scratches into the bumpers - on the other hand it's a lot easier to remov them by polishing.
Altogether: next time I'll take the chromed ones.

Thought this could be interesting for people round here...

ciao,
Stefan

[WarbirdAL]

I posted this in the wanted secion but thought I would drop a line here too. I would appreciate anyone who has an older style chrome front bumper that they would part with for some cash. I cant afford those new ones listed here. this is a project car that I am not spending a lot on but have mounted the chrome rear bumpers and am now in need of a decent front one. I have a badly twisted and rusted front one that I doubt is fixable so if anyone has one they would like to part with I would appreciate hearing from you.

thanks!

[Torxx]

The bumpers i bought come with the exact peices shown in the picture above. The bumpers will require some massaging and tweaking. You have to be patent with them and they will end up looking great. I think mine do...