68 rear bumper blues

[68rsssrag]

Has anyone recently fitted the repro rear bumper that Rick's and NPD sell. I tried mine and the center bracket that comes pre-riveted to the bumper seems to be keeping the bumper too far off the tail panel to allow the 2 side brackets to bolt up.

Any experiences?

Thanks


Arno

[dutch]

   Arno:

      I can't respond with any definative info regarding your question about the fit of the bumpers you have - but I have been for some time been considering new repop bumpers for my '68 Z and was wondering how you would rate the quality of the reproduction bumper finish compared to original?
      I have heard many horror stories from just about all of the distributors of these things who cared to be honest enough in remarking about how the chrome and fit couldn't compare with NOS or original stuff and honestly it has prevented me from buying any to this point. Most responses were along the lines of "if you want good stuff or your car is show quality have your originals rechromed as it's the only way to get any decent ones these days other than NOS ($$$) ones". If I could find a reputable rechromer within reasonable distance to me I would probably have done this some time ago, but...
      Aside from your problems fitting yours (maybe in some part due to the issues I had heard about and possibly not) how would you rate the overall chrome / finish quality?
                                                                                                                                    Thanks for your trouble --Randy--

[basecoupe#79]

Arno, My experience with the 69 Repops were the same as you describe.  I had to do a bit of shimming for the bumper to have an even amount of space between bumper and tail panel.  The front was another disappointment.  I ended up taking it back and getting another that fit a bit better.  Now after being on for two years the danged chrome is flaking on the front bumper   I saved my originals and will take them to Bumper Boyz and have them refurbished.  Dutch....Check out bumper boyz on the Net bumperboyz.com  They are in L.A. But do travel to car shows throughout the U.S. You also mail your bumpers to them if thats what you want.

John

[68rsssrag]

The chrome on the Rick's and NPD stuff (I think it comes from dii) is not bad, better than say the repro hood scoops. It still has some marks that should have been polished out but these are 1 or 2 on the whole, still would have flunked GM QC.

The fit sucks totally on the rear. I have yet to try front.

Arno

[68rsssrag]

John

Can you describe the shimming?

Mine seems to have way too much material in the center bracket so i can't even get the holes in the rear side of the quarter panel (the ones with the little oval reinforcers) to line up. We are at least 1/4 to 1/2 inch off and need less not more. I can't imagine pushing the bumper into place, it is a channel profile after all.

I'm wondering if I should swap the new bracket with my old one. Or just rechrome my old one as you suggest.

Input?

Arno

Arno, My experience with the 69 Repops were the same as you describe. I had to do a bit of shimming for the bumper to have an even amount of space between bumper and tail panel. The front was another disappointment. I ended up taking it back and getting another that fit a bit better. Now after being on for two years the danged chrome is flaking on the front bumper I saved my originals and will take them to Bumper Boyz and have them refurbished. Dutch....Check out bumper boyz on the Net bumperboyz.com They are in L.A. But do travel to car shows throughout the U.S. You also mail your bumpers to them if thats what you want.

John

[KevinK]

...not that this solves the problem, ...but I thought to post.
   There's a section on Team Camaro where they're starting to post "product reviews"...
 
    You might consider posting some of this about the (poor) bumper fit. Maybe there's a supplier out there that's better.
 
  http://www.camaros.net/reviews/
 
  ...just thought I'd pass this along.
 
  Kevin

[dutch]

   John & Arno:

    Thanks for your input on these pieces. It sounds like a lot of the feedback I've received is fairly true and I should be grateful to those in the business of selling bumpers that have been honest in their assessments of them, to me...
    I hope in the future that someone would come out with quality pieces (would imagine there is a fairly big market for whoever ends up producing some good stuff) but until then, I guess I for one will have to wait - as shipping alone from my area into the States for rechroming would be very costly and they would most likely end up back here worse than they originally left.
   Thanks again for your responses...   Randy