Torn Between Screaming and Blowing Up My A Bodies!

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dibbons

dibbons

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La Paz, B.C.S., Mexico
I am getting fed up with having reproduction parts shipped to Mexico only to find they are a joke and unusable. Case in point, rubber bumper kit. I have a '65 Barracuda Formula S which is in the shop being painted. I wanted to take in the rubber bumpers for the trunk and hood so we can put them on and paint the factory style stripe.

I open the hood of my '65 Valiant Signet convertible (which sits unrestored in the back yard) to make sure I take with me the proper bumpers and I have some questions.

1) The trunk on the '65 Barracuda is different than the Valiant. Does the Barracuda trunk use any rubber bumpers?

2) The bumper kit has the two adjustable front hood rubber bumpers (with screws) that don't appear to be a problem. The kit has what appears to be four other rubber bumpers. I only see two of that style located on the rear of the front fenders (right and left). Are the remaining identical bumpers used somewhere else?

3) The bumpers mentioned in question #2 above, are not similar in design to the factory installed bumpers. In fact, when installed it looks to me that they will be too short to do much good. When the slot is installed with the reproductions, they will be even more out of whack than shown in the fotos. What is up with that?

Re fotos: bumpers pictured in the rear of the fotos are the factory installed products still on the '65 Valiant and the bumpers in the foreground are the so-called "reproduction" bumpers.

Before I go crazy, Thank you.

hood bumper bag.JPG


rubber bumper all.JPG


hood bumper 1.JPG


hood bumper 2.JPG
 
I feel for you. I went thru the same with my 67 dart. I kept looking at the various reproductions, untill I found one where the photos looked the closest to my OEM ones.

Is the rubber under your OEM attached or just pressed in under? Might have been a previous owners attempt to fix an alignment issue?
 
Welcome to the world of reproduction. Sometimes kits include all pieces from several years and not all are used on your particular year/model. Some times things are just not available at all. Try getting window trim mounting clips for a 57 4dr wagon. They send some god awful thing that they want me to drill new holes in the body to mount with screws. Needless to say that ain't happening and that project has stalled. I'll make my own first. Good luck
 
For anyone that restores old cars- there will be moments like these.Hopefully there are no matches nearby.
 
Dana67Dart said:
Is the rubber under your OEM attached or just pressed in under? Might have been a previous owners attempt to fix an alignm
Click to expand...

Here is a comparison with one taken off the Barracuda, it was one piece until I pulled it off and broke off the "stem". In the second foto, you can see how far off the contact area would be from factory style. There must be a hundred '65 Barracudas on this forum, what has everyone else found?

DSC07385.JPG


DSC07381.JPG
 
One thing I've learned about removing old rubber parts from it's aged receptacle, lube, lube, lube. As you see, "Authentic Reproduction" is never a guarantee, but more a disappointment.
 
Keep in mind that the cars sold in Mexico were made in Mexico, too—and so were most all of their parts. Just like there are a bunch of little detail differences between a Canadian-made 1965 Valiant and an American-made 1965 Valiant and an Australian-made 1965 Valiant—lots of parts that interchange but aren't quite exactly the same—there are also probably going to be these differences between American-made and Mexican-made 1965 Valiants. The American bumpers might look a little different, be slightly different shapes, etc.
 
Yes it does get frustrating. I like to go to a big mopar show and look over the choices to get the correct pieces. It's tough for the op to go to a cancelled Mopar show to find the correct pieces. If you order from a vendor, contact them and ask if you can return parts if they are not correct. I know, a pain in the azz, but there is no reason to own parts that are supposed to fit according to the supplier if they don't. Along those lines, they might change products to make things correct if they are aware of the problem.
 
dibbons said:
Here is a comparison with one taken off the Barracuda, it was one piece until I pulled it off and broke off the "stem". In the second foto, you can see how far off the contact area would be from factory style. There must be a hundred '65 Barracudas on this forum, what has everyone else found?
View attachment 1715517566

I ran into EXACTLY the same thing when I did the engine compartment of my 64 Valiant right down to the old ones breaking apart.
It looks like the Steele parts qualify for the "Authentic Restoration Product" label.

Maybe FABO could start a separate section where members could share their experiences about which reproduction parts are good, and which are bad.
I'm restoring my 1964 heater box and the kit I'm using from DMT is excellent.

View attachment 1715517567
Click to expand...
 
Barracuda trunk bumpers are also totally wrong, factory piece is smaller and the tab is 90 degrees switched from the so-called reproductions:

trunk bumper 1.JPG


trunk bumper 2.JPG


trunk bumper.JPG
 
Two more hood bumpers for '65 Barracuda that cannot be purchased anywhere (that I know of). Part #2578828 found in official Chrysler 1965 Passenger Car Parts Catalog and listed on page 15-5, section 15-09-0, subsection 15-09-4 "Hood Bumper".

Mopar bumper 2578828.jpg


Mopar bumper again 2578828.jpg
 
I bought those same bag of rubber parts for my 65 Dart, from a member on here. Pretty much a bag of nothing fits
 
I found a Mopar part number for the trunk/deck lid bumpers pictured above in post #16. They measure approx. 1 inch by 3/4 inch. Per 1965 Passenger Car Parts Catalog page 23-321, section 23-19-63, "Bumper, Deck Lid" #2484307.
 
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Looks like he has 1 more set of those hood bumper back up, click the link and buy it up!
 
Only had one (not a set) but I purchased it. Thanks for the heads up. In the meantime, I contacted Steele Rubber Products and I am waiting to hear back from them.
 
they come as a set, "2 NOS HOOD RUBBER BUMPERS" so you should be good. I had ordered awhile ago from the same person and received 1 pair
 
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