So i wanna open up the front bumper

i posted a simular/ identical threat over on the old forum about this but since the vibe overhere is a little more... lose..... i thought id post it here too...

so i wann get a 74 bumper and glass it onto my car ( yes, just like enkien vette did..) only i want to eliminate the supports and have it 'open mouth' style..

i want to do it myself. only thing is ive never really worked with fiberglass.

i love to work with my hands and all that good stuff but i just have no experience in fiberglass ( and very little in body work all together)

what do you guys recommend for the project? i have all the basic tools, but what do you guys recommend i do before i start?

ive been thinking of making a belly pan for my Ducati Monster, maybe i can start there then go to the car??

thanks, and i fuckin love this forum!!

Jonny

Should be easy as pie, just buy a glass 74 bumper (I bought mine from JD Corvette), take a dremel tool, and get to work! The pics in my other thread are pretty self explanatory when it comes to adding the step to fit the body. You might want to add a around the area where the fangs are supposed to be to keep it looking smooth. That should be easy, spread some resin, strech a piece of matte across on the backside and repeat.

I thought about opening up the mouth on this one, decided against it. Fiberglass bumpers tend to get spider veins (small cracks) and it looks to me that those fangs give some structure. But if you're careful with the front end and don't slam it on the driveway you might be fine. Also I think it looks too open without the fangs, IMHO. But have fun!

Here's an idea of what it will look like: BTW, I have no supports behind my fangs. Just the upper support, I cut the rest of it off and ditched the vacuum tank. I'd modify it and keep it if I were you. Without anything behind your bumper a 5mph bump could wreck your vette.

i was going to modify my battering ram so that it would be hidden in the bumper, for a 'just in case' senario...

but we'll see what happens..

what should i get besides the bumper and the rivits?? that should be enough right?? since its being glassed on?

Shirley1978 said:

i was going to modify my battering ram so that it would be hidden in the bumper, for a 'just in case' senario...

but we'll see what happens..

what should i get besides the bumper and the rivits?? that should be enough right?? since its being glassed on?

Click to expand...

Rivets? For what? I used glue, washers, bolts and nuts to hold mine on. Then I grinded a groove in the seam with my dremel tool and spread Fibertech (Evercoat) way past the seam. I'll let you know in about a year whether or not it holds up.

By battering ram I assume you mean the vacuum canister/ frame extension. It doesn't get in the way of the bumper, the actual bumper itself gets in the way.

Stock:

Mine:

Damn Shirley, you've got me second guessing myself...

If you like the open design better then buy that bumper from Vanacor, they have one that looks just like that, it's in their online catalog.

The only vanacor one that I can see that's open is the 80-82 style. Are you sure they have the 73/74 style open?

Shirley, you're most likely going to find that picking up the bumper directly from the manufacturer is the best bet. Even if you have to drive an hour, or more. Vanacorvette wanted $325 to ship a $275 bumper. :O JD wanted a little more for the bumper, but they were only a 30 min drive away. With the rising cost of gas, freight shipping charges suck!

yeah no joke...

enke... why are you second guessing yourself?? the way you did it is what i meant, i cant tell from the pic if it is supported to the frame or not but id like it if mine were suported even a little..

They really can't do much about the shipping, the bumper is too big.... check FedEx/UPS and play a little with the dimensions and weight.... at that size the weight isn't all that important....
Vanacor shipped my rear quarters for $40 or so.... and it was packaged really well, I was impressed....
oh yes, they have a lot more than they show on their website.... I wonder why they don't update it...