European Bumpers

J

jvrenaudon

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I have just received back from my chromium platers two complete sets of front and back bumpers including horns and rubbers and rear overiders (no rubbers) and finishing pieces. No irons. Are there still folk in the United States looking to swap over from those hideous "luxobarge" creations to the european parts? I am prompted to ask because of the recently sold Granatrot car on display in the "Cars" section where this was done. Sorry to show my mercenary streak but the supply/demand position will dictate whether I should hang on to these sets or try now to re-coup my outlay of over £2k for the plating. Best wishes, John.
 
Of course there's a market for these.


Shipping bumpers from the uk to USA could be cost prohibitive though
 
I say if you don’t have to chrome them soon wait a while longer. I am in a same boat . As it appears the SS after market is of high quality ! As I am holding the verdict on my E9’s , On my other cars I prefer Stainless Steel! as buffing them will bring back the shine every time . Not like the chrome pieces that get ruined with a any scratches!
Furthermore Chroming them properly has to be a complete steps to be worth anything . As more and more chrome shops are skipping the copper plating portion .....
On the other hand a true purist may want the original chrome bumpers !
 
The SS aftermarket are very good quality but not a perfect fit. Not a problem for anyone used to fettling stuff.
Also the metal is soft but it is shiny and rust resistant. They are also a fraction of th3 cost of re-chroming.

I speak of the rear. I have not fitted the fronts.
 
Rek said:
The SS aftermarket are very good quality but not a perfect fit. Not a problem for anyone used to fettling stuff.
Also the metal is soft but it is shiny and rust resistant. They are also a fraction of th3 cost of re-chroming.

I speak of the rear. I have not fitted the fronts.
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Can you let me know who supplies the aftermarket SS rear e9 bumper? Does it come with the rubber strip?
 
It comes with the rails fitted and s rubber strip. It includes a centre piece which is all but useless as the metal is too soft.

I am away just now but will look up the supplier next week. US as I recall with the product coming from China.
 
Tony.dreamer said:
If you look up E9 BMW parts , or E9 BMW bumpers on Ebay you will run into them multiple times
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Thanks. Yes I see them now on eBay, SS supplied by the guy from Vietnam. When I contacted him last year he was only doing 2002 bumpers. Great to see he has evolved to now do E9’s too. Hopefully the quality is good.
 
deQuincey said:
up for the original idea of this thread, john is offering pristine new freshly chromed bumpers
the real thing
GLWS
Click to expand...
Agree 100%
Tony.dreamer said:
Not like the chrome pieces that get ruined with a any scratches!
Click to expand...
Can't agree with that theory Tony. Well made, proper thickness chrome surface is one of the hardest metal surfaces to scratch, you can't scratch it just like that if compare to SS. That's why wrenches are chromed.
The only problem with genuine chromed bumpers - is lifetime of steel under chrome.
My old e9 bumpers have just small surface pitting, almost no scratches. Of course they will be re-chromed anyway (because it's full renovation), but it doesn't mean that i couldn't use them just like they are.
 
I would buy a OEM bumper , in reasonable condition or one that can be refurbished back to its original condition over a brand new non-original bumper made of reasonable Quality
 
deQuincey said:
up for the original idea of this thread, john is offering pristine new freshly chromed bumpers
the real thing
GLWS
Click to expand...

suggest you get clarification on these parts before buying. I had VsR try to fit a set to my E9 4 year ago. The rear fit fine it’s a bit of fettling. The front didn’t fit, and we think (old forum post) it’s because the front is a 1973 copy and the rear is a 1972 and earlier copy. These differ The location of the side mounting holes/bolts. If your genders are still for a 72 and earlier the. The stainless bumpers might not fit. Best to ask the eBay seller to confirm which year bumper shape his reference.
 
Wladek said:
Agree 100%

Can't agree with that theory Tony. Well made, proper thickness chrome surface is one of the hardest metal surfaces to scratch, you can't scratch it just like that if compare to SS. That's why wrenches are chromed.
The only problem with genuine chromed bumpers - is lifetime of steel under chrome.
My old e9 bumpers have just small surface pitting, almost no scratches. Of course they will be re-chromed anyway (because it's full renovation), but it doesn't mean that i couldn't use them just like they are.
Click to expand...
Agreed 100% with hardness of Chrome, my point about scratch of any Chrome piece is NOT that is soft (or Hard). It is that if in fact it gets scratched it can’t be grounded, sanded , buffed back to shine like Stainless steel! Moreover if any edges of the after market SS bumpers happen to be too close to the body once again it can be grinded . With ChromeBumpers pieces (or any other chromed pieces ) if the top layer of chrome is gone (or pitted) then you have to chrome the whole piece! ( foot note: that is why having a three piece front bumpers is an overlooked benefit).

Over the last three years I have spent a lot of money with three separate Chrome shops and spent at least 20 hours combined on site with the three Chromed shops and another two shops which I haven’t used yet , total of 5 . To one Chrome shop location I drove 1200 miles round trip ...
I am now very familiar with Chrome VS Stainless Steel for shiny bezels or trim pieces for different cars I have been restoring! Although I prefer the beautiful shine of Properly Chrome piece vs. the shine of properly made and buffed SS piece there are so many Advantages of SS vs Chrome that gets overlooked ! Frankly this is a new revelation for me the more I work on the cars. We did buff the bumpers of late sixties Alfa Romeo last year and I couldn’t believe how nice it turned out! I buffed trim pieces on a 51 Cadillac and a 68 Camaro windshiled trims and they turned out real nice! Furthermore with SS there was no pitting. You can also weld to SS if you have to grind it and sand and buff it! Try that with a Chrome piece!
Additionally It is a shame that there are less and less chrome shops around and it is getting more and more expensive (due mostly to environmental issues and laws ) to properly Re-Chrome things.
These are some of my experience pulling me in different directions leaving me undecided with Chrome VS Stainless Steel for E9 Bumpers!

Best wishes !
 
I believe we have brand new 2000cs front and rear bumpers.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
My sincere apologies to you John!

I think I caused your “classified ad “ into a “General discussion “ about Chrome Vs SS bumpers!
You mentioned newly sold Granatrot in your comments and on that car a Stainless Steel set was used. That , along with my ADHD caused me to get off on the wrong track for some reason...
Nothing beats the origionality of the Chrome Bumpers! And I stress that in my earlier comment.
Again , good luck with the sale !

Best wishes
 
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