Rear bumper covers
- Thread starter Ed G
- Start date
How is this rubber attached to the metal chrome bumper??
OK--the grooves are in a center metal strip that is riveted onto the chrome bumper-correct?
Yes - you fold the rubber back to expose the groove and work from the middle out to each side then tuck in the ends
I’ll take a set, Ed. I’ll PM to confirm all the same info.
PM sent.
I just removed the rubber from the bumper after the above advice and help from HB Chris and Markos. The rubber is held in place by a galvanized metal strip that's riveted on the center of the chrome bumper. The inside of the rubber has top & bottom slots that fit over this metal strip. Since water can get into those slots when the road is wet, the metal strip will rust away after years. You won't know it until you take the rubber off the chrome bumper. The metal strip is available in the W&N website. You will have to drill out the old rivets and replace them when the new strip is installed. My rubber strip was tight against the chrome even though the metal strip was 80% gone to rust. I wanted to re-chrome the center spacer since the bumper was off the car during a color change from custom blue to Factory Turkis. I have not put everything back together yet,and the rule usually is back together takes 5 times the effort to take it apart. Here are pics of the rusted metal strip removed from the chrome bumper.
Attachments
That’s a definite problem point. I thought I’d taken a picture of one set I dismantled but alas, no—the actual metal left was a small rusted morsel that wouldn’t pass for a prison shank. In that set, the crud and rust held it together more than any actual metal. If I had a car with original bumpers, I’d check that piece—it is a definite point of cancer that metastasizes back into the bumper.
The other weak point I’ve noticed is actually at the pointed ends of bumpers that rust from the inside & leave nothing but copper, nickel & chrome. It deforms by touching the outside. From the great repository of YouTube knowledge, this is pretty common across all makes for chrome bumpers b/c the common position of where the electrodes were placed in chroming and the lack of attention to coverage or protection of the backside of chrome pieces. Upside is they make a great canvas to play with making shorty bumpers w no rubber.
The inside of my chrome bumper was painted and shows no rust marks at all. The previous owner had the car for 14 years and drove it 3700 miles-never in the wet and it was never even washed with a hose before going into the garage. I'm sure this metal strip rusted away before he owned it since 2005.
You can powdercoat the new ones
I’ve tried to learn more about chroming, and it seems like a lost art & science where a million things can go wrong to spoil the sauce. Fascinating craft. I’m not sure where my set had been, but they were OK from the outside and it wasn’t until I started to inspect & polish that I noticed the soft spots on the ends. Upon sanding the backside & doing some research, I knew they’d never be regulation again w/o welding & finishing beyond my skillset or economical to hire out.
Dan, Did you ever hear back from Ed? I sent him a PM & an email but didn’t hear anything. If you bought them, that’s great, He’s such a nice guy (& trustworthy seller), I start to worry these days when folks go quiet.
I did not.
The chrome bumper is rust free. But the 2 horns--AKA under-riders are another story. The right one is fine,but the left one has a different weep hole in the bottom and almost completely rusted out. The rubber part has 2 threaded studs with nuts so bad I had to grind them off. I might need to find another one if the plater can't salvage it once the chrome is removed. Anyone out there have a spare?
You can attach the rubber with sheet metal screws if need be, they all snap off when removed. Weep holes are on the inside corners.
The rubber is available at W&N,but not the chrome horns. The size of the weep holes in the 2 horns that I have are different sizes.
I bought a used horn years ago from a member here and got a quick lesson in whom to trust and whom not to trust. Fortunately though, only a couple of other members have joined this list.
Yeah also need to be careful when you buy the horns. The LHS one can get 'burnt' via the exhaust.
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