How to determine if front bumper cover is factory urethane on 73 ?

[Clarence B.]

These cars are getting so old and I am getting so old that I can't remember what a factory urethane front bumper cover actually looks like.

I am looking at a 73 and I felt the bottom edge of the bumper cover and it wasn't flexible. It seemed to have a metal edge underneath the painted part of the bumper cover. I couldn't determine if the bumper cover was flexible-I didn't want to risk cracking the paint. The 73 I was looking at seemed to have original paint.

This bumper cover I was looking at didn't seem to have all of the natural waviness of the original factory front bumper covers that I believe I remember seeing on these vehicles when they were new.

Many of the rubber bumper cars in car shows now have aftermarket fiberglass bumper covers and it is unusual to see the original urethane covers still on C3s.

What is an easy way to factory urethane covers from aftermarket covers? Will the factory urethane not just crack-but will it harden and become inflexible with age?

[Wayne W.]

Re: How to determine if front bumper cover is factory urethane on 73 ?

If it crumbles in your hand, or maybe just staring at it, its original.

[Mike M.]

Re: How to determine if front bumper cover is factory urethane on 73 ?

wayne is right on.i bought a NOS 74 rear urethane bumper for a 74 roadster. i believe the NOS piece was bought in the early 80's. i put it on the vet and had it painted (lacquer) in the late 80's. the other day i went to the garage and the NOS rear bumper was laying on the concrete slab, in about 100 pieces. c-3 owners will have to live with replacement fiberglass bumper covers as the originals become junk at about 10-20 years old.i can make somebody the proud owner of this 74 brown/saddle 350 turbo 400 roadster with new paint and new al knock interior and top with original unrebuilt drivetrain for next to nothing. mike

[Russ S.]

Re: How to determine if front bumper cover is factory urethane on 73 ?

My two 73s still have their original bumpers. The one was stripped and repainted about 15 years ago. It is still pliable. The other one has cracks. From the 73-4 bumpers I have seen over the years, they didn't have the waviness that larger rear bumpers have. This urethane bumper is still available from GM and corvette central.

[Clarence B.]

Re: How to determine if front bumper cover is factory urethane on 73 ?

My two 73s still have their original bumpers. The one was stripped and repainted about 15 years ago. It is still pliable. The other one has cracks. From the 73-4 bumpers I have seen over the years, they didn't have the waviness that larger rear bumpers have. This urethane bumper is still available from GM and corvette central.

Russ:

How can I determine if the bumper covers are urethane without potentially damaging the cover or the paint on it? It would just be terrible to damage a cover trying to determine if it is pliable--and it cracks in pieces on the ground!

[Russ S.]

Re: How to determine if front bumper cover is factory urethane on 73 ?

Clarence, Lay on the ground under the front bumper looking upward thru the hole in the valance panel that is below the head light door. Replacement fiberglass and Tru Flex bumpers don't use the long metal strip that has the bumper cover retaining studs attached to it. They use individual retaining studs mounted in a short piece of bar.(about 1-1/2 inch long). Also original urethane bumpers have tabs that extend down from the top that each retaining bolt goes thru where as the others don't. Their lip runs the length of the bumper. Also both fiberglass and tru flex are made from fiberglass and have the rough hand laid fiberglass look on the back side.

Russ:

How can I determine if the bumper covers are urethane without potentially damaging the cover or the paint on it? It would just be terrible to damage a cover trying to determine if it is pliable--and it cracks in pieces on the ground!

[Clarence B.]

Re: How to determine if front bumper cover is factory urethane on 73 ?

Clarence, Lay on the ground under the front bumper looking upward thru the hole in the valance panel that is below the head light door. Replacement fiberglass and Tru Flex bumpers don't use the long metal strip that has the bumper cover retaining studs attached to it. They use individual retaining studs mounted in a short piece of bar.(about 1-1/2 inch long). Also original urethane bumpers have tabs that extend down from the top that each retaining bolt goes thru where as the others don't. Their lip runs the length of the bumper. Also both fiberglass and tru flex are made from fiberglass and have the rough hand laid fiberglass look on the back side.

Russ:

That is the information that I need. I am having the owner put the car on a lift and I should be able to look for the long metal strip that has the bumper cover retaining studs on it. And should be able to see the back side.

[Edward M.]

Re: How to determine if front bumper cover is factory urethane on 73 ?

wayne is right on.i bought a NOS 74 rear urethane bumper for a 74 roadster. i believe the NOS piece was bought in the early 80's. i put it on the vet and had it painted (lacquer) in the late 80's. the other day i went to the garage and the NOS rear bumper was laying on the concrete slab, in about 100 pieces. c-3 owners will have to live with replacement fiberglass bumper covers as the originals become junk at about 10-20 years old.i can make somebody the proud owner of this 74 brown/saddle 350 turbo 400 roadster with new paint and new al knock interior and top with original unrebuilt drivetrain for next to nothing. mike

Mike, If you actually get to

"i can make somebody the proud owner of this 74 brown/saddle 350 turbo 400 roadster with new paint and new al knock interior and top with original unrebuilt drivetrain for nothing."

let me know. I will be REAL interested at that point.

[Russ S.]

Re: How to determine if front bumper cover is factory urethane on 73 ?

Mike, I'm in. You got a taker!!!!

Mike, If you actually get to

"i can make somebody the proud owner of this 74 brown/saddle 350 turbo 400 roadster with new paint and new al knock interior and top with original unrebuilt drivetrain for nothing."

let me know. I will be REAL interested at that point.

[Mike E.]

Re: How to determine if front bumper cover is factory urethane on 73 ?

I was at the NCM in 2003 the bumpers on Duntov's '74 were falling apart. I looked up some more recent photos and it looks like they have been replaced. If i remember correctly the front was pretty wavy on a 73 even when new.



Mike

[Patrick H.]

Re: How to determine if front bumper cover is factory urethane on 73 ?

I was at the NCM in 2003 the bumpers on Duntov's '74 were falling apart. I looked up some more recent photos and it looks like they have been replaced. If i remember correctly the front was pretty wavy on a 73 even when new.



Mike

The bumpers were replaced a few years back. The NCM did mention it somewhere along the way.

[Robert R.]

Re: How to determine if front bumper cover is factory urethane on 73 ?

Clarence
A sure sign of an original bumper will be the color difference from the body, as the early urethane covers needed a flex agent added to the paint.

[Don G.]

Re: How to determine if front bumper cover is factory urethane on 73 ?

The 1973-74 urethane front bumper made from GM tooling is still available from Ecklers. Their part number is 25-100733. The price is $899.99 in the 2015 catalog. To my knowledge, there are no urethane 1974 rear bumpers available. The 1975 urethane rear bumper is still available from Ecklers but there are no letter indentations because GM removed them for the 1976 model ( after making what they thought was an all time service requirement that has been gone for years.) Eckler's part number is 25-100333 at a price of $599.99

[Harmon C.]

Re: How to determine if front bumper cover is factory urethane on 73 ?

Russ:

That is the information that I need. I am having the owner put the car on a lift and I should be able to look for the long metal strip that has the bumper cover retaining studs on it. And should be able to see the back side.

Original 73 front bumpers were black on the back side. Most GM replacements were gray but some new ones are black now.

[Russ S.]

Re: How to determine if front bumper cover is factory urethane on 73 ?

Any body know if there is a difference between the $899.99 one from Ecklers and the $449.00 one from Corvette Central? I am under the impression that the $449. one from CC is the same one as from GM.

The 1973-74 urethane front bumper made from GM tooling is still available from Ecklers. Their part number is 25-100733. The price is $899.99 in the 2015 catalog. To my knowledge, there are no urethane 1974 rear bumpers available. The 1975 urethane rear bumper is still available from Ecklers but there are no letter indentations because GM removed them for the 1976 model ( after making what they thought was an all time service requirement that has been gone for years.) Eckler's part number is 25-100333 at a price of $599.99