duster fiberglass bumpers

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j par

j par

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Well I think by next year it's going to be time to put bumpers on my 73 duster and fiberglass would be the only thing I would consider. I have a rear bumper that I got at the swap meet a couple years ago and I believe it's for a dart sport. Or at least it was originally ordered for one. "Assuming" they are all the same is probably my problem. This one seems to be at least an inch or more fatter on each side and I suppose it's all do to it supposed to be supposing to be about three inches away from the car with that weird little rubber flap to take up the space for the five mile an hour crash bumper. When I look at dusters online the rear bumper seems to be tucked and fit nicely side to side front to back. I could see a bracket make it fit tighter to the Contour of the back but I just don't think any amount of bracketry can make it shrink an inch or more on each side. Maybe this is just a piece of crap fiberglass bumper? Or maybe it's just the wrong bumper?. I definitely have no idea what I'm going to do about the front bumper but I've heard people having problems with different manufacturers. I think aar or someone is down in Florida and I will be that way later this month and I was thinking I could maybe just pick some up directly?
 
Ready to learn how to fiberglass now huh? :D
Cut it in half and reglass it the width you want, as glass is pretty easy to deal with.
 
Well I was hoping not to have to go to school again but it looks like I will. That was my thought of cutting and channeling or however it's called. I don't know about taking it out of the middle though because that wouldn't make a very little license plate pocket if I did that way. I'm afraid I'll have to cut it in thirds and take a little bit out of the middle of each half?

TrailBeast said:
Ready to learn how to fiberglass now huh? :D
Cut it in half and reglass it the width you want, as glass is pretty easy to deal with.
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j par said:
Well I was hoping not to have to go to school again but it looks like I will. That was my thought of cutting and channeling or however it's called. I don't know about taking it out of the middle though because that wouldn't make a very little license plate pocket if I did that way. I'm afraid I'll have to cut it in thirds and take a little bit out of the middle of each half?
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Yep, you could do that.
 
Well it seems like everybody wants to try and get the 70 through 72 bumper on their 73 but the Contour on the sides doesn't seem to fit and I'm just talking about the back bumper for now the one that I do have. So take everything I say next with a grain of salt because I'm just going to think out loud here, I have two ideas. One definitely is doing it myself and I can't cut it down the middle and make the license plate hole look like a square box. So I would have to go at the quarter Mark, halfway between the end and the middle. I'm thinking hold it up to each side and see how much each side needs to shrink. Then get some blue tape that with and put the tape hopefully pretty symmetrically in the quarter marks. Then take a cutting wheel and cut down both sides of the blue tape basically removing that section that has been taped. Now here's where I think I can get a little creative in tricky. I'm thinking when I fiberglass it back together on the back side of using some kind of aluminum back or two bring rigidity but also have a built-in attachment point for the brackets that I will build. And now my other idea is to get with one of the factories that makes these bumpers and this is the long-shot idea obviously and get some bumpers redesigned a little narrower. Everybody takes the gas out of there shocks or the oil or Springs and pushes these in closer but that doesn't help the ends that stick out on the side. It's still can't look correct if it's closer in the front and still sticks out 2 inches on the side? I know they wouldn't do anything to change anything because they would have to make expensive changes to their molds and their products. That's why I know it's a stupid long shot but I would think about making us post or a consensus post and pointing them towards how many people would like their bumpers to fit the first time the way you would want an after-market fiberglass bumper to fit. You not going to want an aftermarket bumper to fit like a stock bumper I wouldn't think. At least not 73 through 76. possibly a chrome bumper if someone's going for a stock look but most fiberglass bumpers are going for a race look. I think.
 
If you can rebuild a 727 and make it work(very well i might add) then i bet you could build some bucks(templet/molds) from your original bumpers and make your own fiberglass bumpers/fenders.
No? just a thought.
 
I think if jpar put his mind to it, he could make a fiberglass Duster body.
come on man, you know you can do it. it's just a bumper!
 
In an act of great wisdom (LOL) I sold the near perfect original bumpers, rubber skirts, shocks and all for next to nothing.
I always knew the car would eventually have fiberglass bumpers.

Cudafever said:
If you can rebuild a 727 and make it work(very well i might add) then i bet you could build some bucks(templet/molds) from your original bumpers and make your own fiberglass bumpers/fenders.
No? just a thought.
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called AAR direct in Florida -
I talked to the very nice and helpful (new) phone answering lady. She said it was a small place and not a lot off room to store inventory so I'd have to order 10 days in advance. She politely gave the phone to a tech to answer my questions. He said what I talked about doing is what everyone is doing. Only proving my point. He said their place is too small to be doing any kind of custom work at all. And I thinked him for his time.
He even liked my idea of me using the backer bracing for attaching the three pieces together as an attachment point for the brackets instead of bolts going through.
Okay this may make too much sense but couldn't they charge a little more for one slightly customize but not customize just tucked in on the sides like we want it with brackets coming off the back molded in that makes only sense to me but maybe the others it doesn't? they could probably charge more too?
 
Having worked in small shops, you need to concentrate on the money makers. You can say what you want & reason out anything you want. If it were that easy, it would have been done.
 
I'm sure everybody likes nice oe reproduction parts but when you're going to buy a fiberglass part it seems at that point you pretty much made a commitment to something that is custom? I don't like to get all crazy Chip Foose and changing the design or anything just get it to fit as if they didn't have that 5 mile an hour bumper rule and it would be just a little more form-fitting that's all. Just basically sucking the ends in a little tighter just like you can push the front of it in a Little Closer.
 
Also I brought this up on this part of the Forum because Most fiberglass bumpers I've seen have been at the track.
 
Pretty good sized shop in Hesperia CA. My front bumper is from there as well as my race weight hood.
 
I got a couple of hoods...that have the scoop pointing the correct way.....and several bumpers..
 
Yes, us direct in Hasperia. Three week lead time- $129 for bumper +$60 or so for shipping. 10 day lead time- aar in Florida $164 and I can pick it up ( it would be a two-hour drive on the Florida coast while I'm there). The problem is I would like a hood also and AAR is way out of my price range where US Direct has reasonably priced race hoods.
I'll have to make a decision pretty soon to give enough lead time for these places. If I drive I 10 back home and I-5 I can go by US Direct and visit my dad LOL.
A body said:
Pretty good sized shop in Hesperia CA. My front bumper is from there as well as my race weight hood.
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The special class I run is called "hole in the hood". People (just one or two) just pull the hood off, but I like the "sticky outy". Please know in your heart that if I ever did have a scoop it would be pointed the CORRECT WAY ! !

70aarcuda said:
I got a couple of hoods...that have the scoop pointing the correct way.....and several bumpers..
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