Bumper Help
#1
Bumper Help
Help.... when I bought the car, a lot of parts had been stripped off the car and just tossed in the back. I have attached photos of the two bumper parts... but I have no idea if the are supposed to be joined as one piece, the front or the back.. Can anybody tell me what I have? Thanks....
#3
Further help
Hi NISMO... thanks .... yes, I am a novice when it comes to 240Zs but I am learning fast.... When I looked at the long part, it was painted, kind of, green... and some of the green had fallen off. Why green? Don't know.... but the green is gone now and the bumper is not pristine or anywhere close to it... I will work the bumps and bruises, and then paint the bumper with hammered aluminum to make it respectable, unless there are other ideas... I even considered some black rubber on the front all the way to hide the blemishes..... When I look at the photos I took, I think I see where the short piece incorporates to the long bumper.... The long part has two tabs... is this the only place it connects with the car or am I missing some mounting brackets too? The back bumper, apparently, is not there... Do people run their cars without bumpers? I think I saw a post on that earlier and the risk of damage..... I also noticed that I have two mounting areas on the back of the car that look like they are for some kind of bracket for the rear bumper... if memory serves me right, there are three threaded holes on each side of the back..... Obviously, I am looking for ideas, solutions, and general information about what is out there in the way of bumpers.. and any suggestions/ideas from readers would be welcome as long as they don't involve the one roadblock that we all face... a ton of money... Final question... has anyone "made" a rear bumper or used a bumper off something else? All ideas are appreciated... and thanks for telling me what is there... When I got back out, after the holidays, I will look at this closer... and at least "have a clue." Thanks again.... Dennis
#4
Ps
OK... so now I have a front bumper.... were all the rear bumpers the same? As I researched "bumpers" I found a myriad of different bumpers, I supposed depending on model and year... but I need to see something that is correct for an early 1971 Z..... and, were the 1970 bumpers the same as the early 1971 bumpers? Asking a lot I know... but I need to know where to start and where to look next.... swap meets???? I saw two brand new bumpers advertised, that were more than I paid for this car and that is just wrong. Help appreciated....
#6
Follow up
Hey.... since I posted, I found a CL ad for a car identical to what mine should look like. I never saw my car with the bumpers on, and assumed (incorrectly) that both bumpers were in the car when I bought it... they weren't. I had no idea what they should look like until I saw the CL ad.... and then I looked at the rear bumper too, to get a good look at that as well. $400 is not in the budget for this so I have several plan B's to think about. I saw one Z where the guy had painted the grill black, and painted the bumpers the same as his car. Not bad. I saw a few that were bumperless; also not bad.... I have seen textured black bumper paint and may use that. I have seen and researched "chrome paint" over the yeas and there is some excellent and crappy stuff out there depending on $$$$... And as I write this, I have no doubt I will fabricate my own brackets for the front and the back (I have pictures of them both; not very complicated) and I will also fabricate a decent looking back bumper as well for use now. I do plan on keeping my eyes open at swap meets, CL and Ebay but suspect there are many old Z's rusting out in some back pasture that I will never have access to. In the meantime, thanks for the thoughts, and I will just keep on working... started floors yesterday and it will be at least a three day project.... Have a good one.
#7
Do you have a set budget for this project / restoration? Just an FYI... restoring a 240Z isn't cheap, AT ALL. Be prepared to spend thousands, even when doing the work yourself. Just making sure you know that before you start...
#8
Hi... you are right.... about restoration costs, and no there is not a budget as such, but I have been in the restoration business since 1973, and am one of those guys that does it all in house. This is my last restoration project because I am older than dirt and this will be my daily driver when it is done. That was supposed to be a 1973 Super Beetle until someone made me an offer I could not refuse. I have already seen some of the disparity as I tried to find a coil for the car. There is quite a wide range of prices from $12 at OReillys, to $52 from my local parts store. I depend on Ebay, and Amazon, and swap meets. I have no time table so this works, but in the case of this build, my target date to have it on the road is April first; no fooling. As I write this, I have already repaired the brakes, and have done much of the body work prep for paint. I had to research the paint as after the series two model year finished, the red paint color did change. I am also running into previous attempts at a restoration try on this car which has become my biggest problem. This will not become a show car or a money pit. My goal in this is to make it a five footer but I refuse to throw in my check book on this or any other project like I see at all the car shows. One thing I would ask though, is if there is a generally accepted aftermarket seller to buy parts from; IE Chevs of the 40s... or Little Dearborn... companies that I have dealt with before.... Thanks for the advice though...
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