I installed a 73 NOS GM bumper cover this morning that was flexable with no cracks when I bought it a few months ago. I got it roughly installed this morning and had three small cracks one inch long. Went back to my shop two hours later and it had broken in seven places and is junk. I will not buy any NOS inland bumper covers and am warning others who might be thinking of buying one. I think I will go with tru- flex or fiberglass and take the hit in judging. The big bucks bumper cover is now scrap. Lyle
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Lyle
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Re: 73 bumper cover
I purchased and installed one about 1 year ago and have had no problems. -
Re: 73 bumper cover
Could it be the installer? Oh,my!Comment
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Re: 73 bumper cover
Lyle-----
I'm not surprised, at all, by your experience. I would expect that it would happen in most instances with an old urethane cover, NOS or not. Urethane is a PLASTIC material and it DEFINITELY deteriorates as it ages. This deterioration is greatly accelerated if it is stored in hot conditions (like an attic in the summer or the loft in the parts department of a GM dealer). Since one usually has no way of knowing the storage locales of such parts over their long years in storage, ALL such pieces should be considered suspect. If I were purchasing such a piece, it would be for "historical and reference value" only---NEVER with the intention of using it on a car.
In general, ANY soft plastic piece should be considered highly suspect after long storage. I've seen NOS door panels crack like eggshells when taken out of the box after long storage in hot conditions.In Appreciation of John HinckleyComment
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Re: 73 bumper cover
Ha-Ha Lyle!!! Remember that "damage" to my Orange '74 I showed you up at the Michigan Chapter Meet??? Well, I took the rear bumper off myself(remember it was "THE ORIGINAL" one), and within 2hrs IT HAD CAVED IN UPON ITSELF on the garage floor!!! Good thing the local garbage truck was rolling by because he ended up with it. Well, I quickly had to forget the "eBay plan"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was hoping for an extra $2,300 too!!! Good thing I was able to get my 5th Star at Hershey BEFORE all this happened. I purchased a front and rear "flexi-glass" bumpers from Eckler's at Corvettes@Carlisle(10% off and FREE shipping)and have trial fitted the rear bumper several times and it fits nice-it's now being painted. The front will "wait" til the original one too goes kaput. I've been saying this for years-these NOS ones too are also AGED!!! Unless the were stored in a vacuum sealed package, THEY ARE JUNK TOO!!!!!Comment
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Re: 73 bumper cover
Joe I checked the box and it was bought in 1989 and stored in a garage attic in the south all those years. Is their a GM part sold over the counter today that would be new? LyleLyle
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Re: 73 bumper cover
Lyle-----
The front bumper cover for 73-74 Corvettes is still available from GM under GM #6263597. It GM lists for $661.03. I don't know what the condition of one purchased today would be like, but it least it would come with a GM parts warranty so, if it was bad out-of-the-box, you'd have some recourse.
I believe that Eckler's is the GM licensee for reproduction of all of these C3 urethane bumper covers and I think that they make them from the original tooling in most cases. I would not be the least bit surprised if the current part available from GM is now sourced from Ecklers.In Appreciation of John HinckleyComment
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Re: 73 bumper cover
Paul I thought Keen parts sold the Tru flex and that at one time it was made in Toledo. What did you pay for the73-74 bumper at Carlisle? I put the bumper out in the sun and it all fit in an oil box by sundown. LyleLyle
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Re: 73 bumper cover
Joe If you think my part still has( historical or reference value) I will put it in a box and ship it to you on my dime. LyleLyle
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Re:73 bumper cover
Joe, Lyle,
I just took off my bumper cover from my 73...it now has been on the car for 30 years...and it is the original, never in an accident and never repainted or repaired. Other than the odd paint crack, it is very flexable and doesn't look like it's even close to cracking.
On the other hand, all the screws holding it on, snapped --- every one of them.
Any ideas on replacing these- the metal piece they are rivited to is in good shape?
It has been in a combination of outdoor storage, and garage over all that time.
Steve L
73 coupe since newComment
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Re: 73 bumper cover
Joe, you are right about these bumpers when they get some age one them. When we operated a restoration/ repair shop, there was a '74 that had come in for some maintenance item. One morning when we opened, the rear bumper had cracked in several places literally overnight. We had to convince the owner that we had not done the damage.Comment
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Re: 73 bumper cover
Lyle-----
I GREATLY appreciate your offer. However, I suspect that the one you have is pretty much beyond having significance as an "historical artifact". So, it's likely not worth what it would cost you to ship it to me. At some point, all parts "die". I think this one has, unfortunately, reached that point. RIP.In Appreciation of John HinckleyComment
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Lyle,.....
I think the front '73/'74 I got from Eclker's @ Carlisle was $329-10% plus FREE shipping. The "GM Restoration" bumper for $616 I've seen installed on a couple of '73s I know of and the "upper lips" above each grille are ALREADY curling upwards like my 30yr old front one on my '74, so I was originally thinking about getting one of these for the front until I saw what THEY do when they are just a few years old!!!!!!!!!!!!! So far, the Eckler's Flexi-Fit seems best!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Paul Borowski, Massillon,OhioComment
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Re:73 bumper cover
Steve You can drill them out to the 3/16 tap size and tap the hole and put in threaded rod or machine screws if they are threaded all the way to the head. A drop of locktite will hold them in place. LyleLyle
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Re: 73 bumper cover
Joe It is nice and flexable and has too many places where it fell apart. LyleLyle
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