Fibre Glass bumpers 1988 Car

[ClubSport 911]

Heres' one I've always wanted to ask.

We all know that the "lightweight" aluminium bumpers on the impact bumper 911's can often bubble up near the bellows area etc...and despite the many repairs, it always seems to come back.

Well, my car is living proof. I had the front bumper (expertly) prepared, acid primed / Zinc primsed / Bare metal sprayed etc, but once again the virus has invaded - albeit in a very small, it is there.

So....

Why has nobody thought to manufacture replacement fibre glass bumpers that match the fitting and look etc of our std bumpers ? - true bolt-on jobbies.

It would solve many problems:-

1) Bubbling aluminium
2) Weight
3) Cost

If someone knows where I can get these, or would be interested to investigate commissioning a set for the Impact Bumper 911's then why not signal your thoughts here ?

Rgds

Steve

 

[Simon Davidson]

Hi Steve, I Hope you are well.

I have looked into this before, we sell a few of the 73 RS style front and rear bumpers in GRP to peeps that want to save weight or make the cars look different.
What are you looking for , a complete GRP 3.2 bumper with lower valances fake bellows and so on or just to replace the main impact section of the bumper.

Drop me a line off-list if you want as I dont often get the chance to check the forum out.

Best Regards, Simon
simon@essentialstyling.com

 

[Anil]

Steve/Simon

My bumpers have also bubbled around the bellows area and I was thinking of getting them refurbed soon, but I'm a bit concerned if you reckon the repair will only last a couple of years or so.[]

So, I would also be interested in getting a set of good quality front and rear GRP bumper bars that would allow the OE rubber trim, bellows and rear overriders to be fitted to them to give a complete original appearance.

I'll drop Simon an email too...

Cheers

Anil

 

[Guest]

Wouldn't GRP bumpers compromise safety?
How about a thinner GRP cover to put over the original bumpers?

 

[Nick Moss]

Autofarm used to do them

 

[ClubSport 911]

Well, I think it would if it were thin GRP, but I'm thinking of something substantial and not unlike the pre-impact GRP versions fitted to RS 2.7..however, I don't want to lose the classic look of the car.

 

[ClubSport 911]

Nice one. GRP Bumper - substantially designed - YES. Lower Valence - As-IS looks - GRP - YES. Rear ? Well, the Bumper for a start, and if possible, like for like rear valence and flanking aprons.

got any thoughts Simon ?

I'm sure this is not rocket science...

 

[Mike58]

OK I'm in I want the 3.2 look in LWT, could'nt care less about safety, apparently RUF did a pattern in Kevlar ( £+++) but a couple of hillclimb guys have them ----- J Williamson?? and someone with Dairy sponsored on the side and also Bill Goodmans old hillclimb car had similar.
So c'mon what's the secret here I bet they are easily available in the USA .
I have contacted 930 Motorsport ( 9Meister) and after an enthusiastic early response have heard nothing for 2 weeks.
Let me know if the goods are available.
Mike

 

[ClubSport 911]

Thanks Mike. As of now, I see 2 people (3 with Anil perhaps) that are interested in identically looking, leightweight and non rusty parts...

Not bad out a total production of many thousands ! []

Rgds

S

 

[Guest]

I'm sitting on the fence at the moment, as it rather depends on 'how much'.
It is something that I have thought about, on and off, for some time, but never pursued it (until now ?)

Oh, and the other question is, how much weight saved ?

 

[Guest]

ORIGINAL: Anil

Steve/Simon

My bumpers have also bubbled around the bellows area and I was thinking of getting them refurbed soon, but I'm a bit concerned if you reckon the repair will only last a couple of years or so.[]

Mine didn't even last that long before the corrosion came back!

The big problem for me would be price. Simon sells RUF fibreglass bumpers which look great. But like everything else for our cars, they aren't cheap.
I was watching a program on SKy where they buy a cheap classic, do it up and sell it on for a profit. One week they did an old Merc and had to buy a new wing for it. It cost £30!!!!!!!! Ours are something like £500!

I'm depressing myself now.[&o]

 

[Mike58]

I think most of the weight saving will be due to removal of the telescopes and other heavy items not needed with the LWT bumpers, so the reduction should be a useful ammount.
Mike

 

[Guest]

Gents,

I will be considering something similar myself soon - you may want to check out www.gt-racing.com , they are in the states but have lots of goodies.

I am lightweighting my 3.2, but am a little concerned about the saftey side as I use mine almost exclusivley on the road. Anyone any idea if it is a real saftey issue or is just a bigger damage issue to be repaired if you get hit ? Presume this could also effect insurance ?

Have used fiberglass bumpers on my old 2.2 ,only issue to look out for is that they can flex and crack the paint .

I could be interested depending on cost !?

Simon

 

[Jamie Summers]

Add me on to the 'interested' list. I'd like to keep the 3.2 look but lose the weight. I looked at the RUF option (they're very pretty !) but to do front and rear you're looking at well over £2K !

Jamie

 

[Melv]

Have a look in the last PP, yellow pages, page 75 -964 bumpers and side skirts for sale....

Melv

 

[Guest]

I like this look (narrow body IROC Replica):

 

[Guest]

BTW, you don't save much weight by replacing just the bumper. It is aluminium! How much lighter can fibreglass be?

Similarly, there are no heavy bumper shocks in euro cars. These are US only. Euro cars have a lighter strut.

There is however a decent amount of weight in the front valence beneath the bumper.

BTW 2, the Ruf bumpers are so expensive because they are not fibreglass. There are ABS plastic, just like an OEM 964, 993 etc front clip. This is more flexible and impact resistant than glass - also more expensive. You can get Ruf pattern bumpers from other sources like M A Shaw in the US - in glass or probably carbon. Cost will be more like USD500 per bumper (but don't quote me on that).

HTH
Richard

 

[Mike58]

I like and want the IROC look, any thoughts as to where to obtain the bits Richard?
Mike

 

[Mike58]

OK I checked out the GT Racing site and found part nos. 043 and 045 give the narrow bodied IROC look the same as Richards photo.
Prices aren't horrendous for f'glass BUT when you add shipping,import duty , Vat and labour to fit!!
The other question is how good are these panels, would they be an easy fit or a total pig to make a good,ie Porsche good fit, mmmmmmmmmnn????
Mike

 

[Guest]

There is someone who makes the panels in the UK. I once had the guys name and number written down but I fear that is lost. There is a blue 1974ish car that comes to a lot of track days that has these bumpers and I got the name from the owners - a nice older couple.

Not much help but it is a start. I would also try Autofarm and others and see if they have a clue.

With fibreglass panels you always need to do a bit of "adjustment" to get a good fit. They will never be like OEM steel.

Richard