1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 Original Bumpers

[Richard M.]

I've been on the hunt for original Front Bumpers for a '67 to get rechromed. A friend just took these off his '66 Driver and bought reproductions. I've seen many C2 bumpers but after years of time who knows what happens to these cars.

Please take a look at the photos and give me your opinions regarding if they are Original or Not ??? Archives not conclusive. Someone said the tips near the wheels are pointed on originals. Some say repros don't have square nuts, others say some do.

Thanks,
Rich

Left DS: (it's missing one square nut. I'd have to repair before plating)
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Right PS:
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[Bill W.]

Re: 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 Original Bumpers

Richard I cant tell you if they are GM or not but I can tell you before you have them plated bolt them on your car to test fit .

[Richard M.]

Re: 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 Original Bumpers

Richard I cant tell you if they are GM or not but I can tell you before you have them plated bolt them on your car to test fit .

Bill, Yes I agree, but......

They fit very well on my friend's '66, he just wanted new repros instead of the old ones rechromed. I can't test fit on the '67 at this time as it's all apart. I'm trying to coordinate timing and it's a chore. Engine being rebuilt, chassis rebuild in progress and body on a dolly.

If I can confirm these are originals then I'm going to buy and rechrome. Chancy, but timing is critical. My chrome shop said he could get them redone fairly quickly. I have 2 original rears ready too.

Rich

[Joe R.]

Re: 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 Original Bumpers

Rich,

The repos sold by Paragon are made by the original supplier to GM on the original stamping tools. Yes, they have been repaired several times but they are made to original specs.
So the ones in the pics look original GM but there is really no way to tell but from the age I would go for it.
The ones made over the water are usually not the same gauge base metal so the ones in the picture sure don't look like Chinese imports. I'm rolling the dice and saying the ones in the pic are original GM from the 60's.

JR

[Larry M.]

Re: 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 Original Bumpers

Rich:

What is the metal thickness on the four bumpers?? I think that will prove/disprove originality. I can mike my original 1967 bumpers for you if you need……………I know I have done this before for others.

Larry

EDIT: I believe (not certain though) that even the Paragon reproductions are thinner than originals. JohnZ would know for sure.

[Loren L.]

Re: 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 Original Bumpers

Rich: What's that reddish stuff on the inside of the bumpers? Seriously, the St Louis NCRS Chapter's newsletter (1st Quarter 2014) has an article on bumpers thickness, plating, etc.

[Richard M.]

Re: 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 Original Bumpers

Joe, I think so too. Thanks for the info.

Larry, I have the rears out in the shop and will measure. My friend sent me those front bumper pics this morning so I'll ask him to measure those with a micrometer too. They're not here so I cannot.

Loren, I think it's "rust".
I read that article....Here It's enlightening, but just trying to get more opinions from the clan before I push the button.

Thanks,
Rich

[Richard M.]

Re: 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 Original Bumpers

My buddy just emailed me back....... 0.110" to 0.112".

The article says.......

"There a number of ways to tell the difference between original and reproduction bumpers. First there is thethickness; original bumpers were about .110-.118 in thickness. Most early reproduction bumpers were toothin .090-.100. The later reproductions were too thick .120-.130. The newer ones being reproduced byParagon (they have the original tooling) are the correct thickness now."

......so these may be the real thing. They're likely not the latest Paragons as they've been on his car for a long time.

edit......He just emailed again and his new Paragons measure 0.108" to 0.110".

Rich

[Tracy C.]

Re: 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 Original Bumpers

Rich,

Bill's advice to mount them before you send them out for chrome is good. They fit your friends cars, but may need to be tweaked to look right on yours. Tis better to tweak now than after a $1200 chrome job.

tc

[Richard M.]

Re: 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 Original Bumpers

Rich,

Bill's advice to mount them before you send them out for chrome is good. They fit your friends cars, but may need to be tweaked to look right on yours. Tis better to tweak now than after a $1200 chrome job.

tc

Hmmm. you guys got me thinking......

I suppose I could test fit them on the frame with the brackets, without the body. At least that would tell me if I'm close.

I'll do that.

[Harry S.]

Re: 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 Original Bumpers

Rich, if you are comfortable with the fit and are comfortable with the original waviness in the bumper ask or demand that the shop does not do any straightening or do any work to make them perfect. When they straighten them they use a tool that leaves hundreds of indentations on the inside that looks awful. Additionally, some of the shops will stamp an alpha-numeric number on the inside so they can identify the bumpers as yours. They run the bumpers in batches so the workers have no idea that the bumpers are yours. They sort them out by number later. Try to get them to not stamp them else you get to fill that number in when you receive them and paint the inside of the bumper silver.

[Richard M.]

Re: 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 Original Bumpers

Good advice Harry, Thanks.

My chrome shop did a complete set of '59 bumpers a few months ago and because they're a small shop they don't stamp numbers in them. One front bumper had a few dents and they fixed it perfectly.

I opted to paint the backside with Rustoleum Silver for protection. The owner isn't planning on judging but even if he decides later he agreed that the extra protection is worth a few deducts.

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Rich
p.s. Ignore the 2nd rear shot photo with the misaligned rear bumperettes. See how the left is lower than the right. This car was in a rear end slider collision with a tree years ago and a few brackets were twisted.

About 2 hours later it was perfect. Assembly on and off several times to re-bend things. '58-60's require the entire assembly to be removed to install the lower frame bracket and bumperette. It's a real PITA. I corrected it but forgot to re-shoot a few more pics.

[Richard M.]

Re: 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 Original Bumpers

Okay, Back to the '67. I drove to pick up the front cores this morning. Did a test fit on the frame. I think I'm good. Even the Center License Bracket fit well, a rare occurrence. Repros have to be ground out at the lower mount holes typically. This must be a original too.

Some pics of the test fitting....
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Since no body I set the frame horns even to the floor, and measured several reference points on both sides. Matched near perfectly and looked even on both sides.

Some of the telltales that I feel confirm them as originals. The lower insides have marginal chrome and a few deep scratches. They're a little wavy up top like originals too, but too hard to photograph. I will keep the "waves".
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I just got off the phone with Ken at my chrome shop. He can have them done in 3 to 4 weeks. I have to weld one square nut on that front left and drill out a broken bolt in a rear core and will get them to him this week.

Rich

[Richard M.]

Re: 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 Original Bumpers

Today I repaired and prepared the bumpers for plating. I decided to help the chrome shop by media blasting all 4 bumpers on their inside surfaces. This removed any loose rust and was a test of any holes hidden behind the rust. None resulted.

BTW, the rears had their original rod braces still attached and the 2 bolts were rusted badly into the square nuts. I feared breaking the square nuts as I didn't need to casue more pain for myself. One was enough for the front.

CRC Freeze-Off to the rescue.

A 20 second shot of Freeze-Off on each 7/16" bolt and they came right out with my Makita Impact gun. Great stuff.

For that front bumper that was missing it's outer square nut, I had a 7/16" square nut for the needed repair.
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This is the weld nut on the other bumper still intact, noticeably at a angle when welded. The other bumper missing the nut had it's sides parallel to the bracket. I guess it didn't matter when they were made originally.
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I ground the corners of the nut to emulate original appearance, ground the corners where it'll get tacked in, then ground the backside on my flat table belt sander to remove the zinc plating.....Notice the nice broach marks.
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My Mig tip couldn't fit on the lower inner area to spot weld so I drilled 2 holes in the bracket and filed them open to shape to allow blind welds from the front in those 2 corners. I just tack welded the accessible side, which is underneath view and can't easily be seen. The top view will look original to the eyes.

I set the nut in position over it's original spot welds, used a bolt to hold in place, and welded it to the bracket. I fill welded the nut to the oval holes on the topside of the bracket to get that side held in. Ground the welds flat then back in the media blaster to finish it off.

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Top view facing the sky.
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Done, Now off to the chrome plater.........
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[Richard M.]

Re: 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 Original Bumpers

Please note that the 2 rear bumpers shown above are not '63-'67 bumpers. I was mistaken. They are '68-'72 rear bumpers.

The fronts are at the chrome shop today.

Back on the hunt for original rear bumpers. Anyone have some nice original cores?

edit.....Never mind, just called another buddy he has 4 sets of originals so I'm all set.

Rich