The topic of bumper conversions comes up quite a bit. I thought I'd share what I did to my US '74.
I searched for many months for bumpers in good shape within my budget, but didnt have any luck. I ultimately found a pretty good front on eBay at a reasonable price, and then bought a rear unit from Carl Nelson, along with new rubber (also at a great price). All-in I think these parts ran about $1000.
I rechromed the parts at Faith Plaiting in Los Angeles. They used a four part plating process which gave the parts a slightly black tone which I think looks fantastic. Not show chrome, but much nicer than most chrome I see. This ran about $200 per piece for a total of about $1600. More than I intended to spend, but the quality is exactly what I was hoping for, and they turned it around in less than two weeks.
CoupeKing handled the assembly. They painted the inside of the bumpers to keep everything protected from moisture. I didn’t have the budget this time to do an actual "conversion". Instead, Peter mounted the bumpers as economically as possible.
As you can see from the photos, the rear was simply bolted to the body as usual. If you look closely you can still see the holes from US DOT bumper mounts. These aren't terribly noticeable unless you look closely. Still, they will need to be addressed at some point.
For the front, Peter used a custom part which allows Euro bumpers to attach into the existing US bumper mounts. I asked around for many months on the best way to handle the fronts, and this was the best I found.
I don't know that this qualifies as an actual "conversion". But for me this is absolutely better than the US bumpers and will get me by until I can get around to a new paint job and get the body work taken care of.
Hope this helps anyone else considering this job. Thanks to Peter for helping with a solution within my budget.
-David
I searched for many months for bumpers in good shape within my budget, but didnt have any luck. I ultimately found a pretty good front on eBay at a reasonable price, and then bought a rear unit from Carl Nelson, along with new rubber (also at a great price). All-in I think these parts ran about $1000.
I rechromed the parts at Faith Plaiting in Los Angeles. They used a four part plating process which gave the parts a slightly black tone which I think looks fantastic. Not show chrome, but much nicer than most chrome I see. This ran about $200 per piece for a total of about $1600. More than I intended to spend, but the quality is exactly what I was hoping for, and they turned it around in less than two weeks.
CoupeKing handled the assembly. They painted the inside of the bumpers to keep everything protected from moisture. I didn’t have the budget this time to do an actual "conversion". Instead, Peter mounted the bumpers as economically as possible.
As you can see from the photos, the rear was simply bolted to the body as usual. If you look closely you can still see the holes from US DOT bumper mounts. These aren't terribly noticeable unless you look closely. Still, they will need to be addressed at some point.
For the front, Peter used a custom part which allows Euro bumpers to attach into the existing US bumper mounts. I asked around for many months on the best way to handle the fronts, and this was the best I found.
I don't know that this qualifies as an actual "conversion". But for me this is absolutely better than the US bumpers and will get me by until I can get around to a new paint job and get the body work taken care of.
Hope this helps anyone else considering this job. Thanks to Peter for helping with a solution within my budget.
-David
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