New Rear End Problem

[John Wire]

Had to go to town today and would you believe, a nice lady rear ended my 75 vette at a stop light.

Been checking out bumpers this afternoon and there are several replacement options. Trying to keep everything original for judging points (someday in the future) and was wondering how a truflex or fiberglass bumper judges, compared to an original urethane.

Since there is NO CURRENT 1975 JUDGING GUIDE available (hint, hint Marvin), does anyone know the criteria?

[Bill Baird]

Re: New Rear End Problem

The first edition of the 1975-1977 Judging Manual states "1975-77 front bumper skins are all a soft Urethane cover over a collapsible honeycomb core. . . . It is not uncommon for the gloss to be slightly different than the fiberglass surfaces. It is also not uncommon for the soft urethane skin to appear slightly wavy." It also goes on to state that the originality points for the bumpers, brackets, etc. is 40, and the condition points figure is 40. I don't know exactly how the judges will treat a non-urethane bumper, but it sure sounds to me the judges will be looking out for exactly what you're thinking of doing.

Bill Baird

[John Wire]

Re: New Rear End Problem

Thanks for the info Bill. Still hoping for that new 1975 Judging Manual release. I wonder if Marvin will ever finish reviewing and print it?

After a quick check of local GM dealers, they say 1975 urethane bumpers are not available anymore. This sounds like a problem for "rubber bumper" people who want to stay original in the future.

Can you imagine an aftermarket OEM bumper sometime in the future? I can't, so I'll probably go with the Truflex and take the 80 point hit.

John Wire

[Bill Baird]

Re: New Rear End Problem

Bummer about the bumper. I've got a '75 coupe, and I had my front bumper replaced in the Fall of 1997 after I ran into a boxer (a dog, not a pugilist) which messed up my bumper as well as my left grille, turn signal, etc. My insurance company encouraged the body shop and I to go with an aftermarket rubber bumper. I was willing to go along with this, as my car, while not bad looking, is hardly all original. It turned out, though, that neither I nor the body shop could get that damned thing to fit onto the car. The insurance company then agreed to pay for a GM bumper, and the body shop was able to work with that one satisfactorily. But that was over two years ago. If the GM bumpers are no longer available from GM, you might want to consider trying to dig an NOS one up, or at least shop for an aftermarket one carefully, as some are considerably better than others.

Bill Baird

[Dino L.]

Re: New Rear End Problem

John, I believe a company called Sun International has the original GM tooling and is producing these parts for the aftermarket. The original RIM urethane is upgraded to modern technology and has much better characteristics. Call 800-322-8867 and ask for Mike Parisi...he should be able to answer any questions you have.

[John Wire]

Re: New Rear End Problem

Dino, thanks for the lead on my bumper. I called Mike Parisi and discussed a rear bumper for my 75.

He said, that the rear bumper molds for the 74 and 75 were missing and would probably never be made again due to the high cost. He mentioned the 76 bumper would fit but there are no recesses for the Corvette letters. Anybody know for sure about the 76-82 bumpers?

Looking now for a used or repaired bumper, but no luck so far. Any that are this old are probably as bad (brittle) as the one on my car.

Thanks again for the help.