Tony72Cutlass'S'

Does anyone know? I find they look really sharp.

-Tony

stevengerard

I'm guessing not a big enough market. I too think they look good and better on our A-body Oldsmobiles than many cars but I do not believe there are enough "fans" of bumper guards out there. As much as I like them I wouldn't put them on my 442.

oldcutlass

Bumper guards were not what I would call an extremely popular item.

jensenracing77

X2 on not enough demand. There are many used sets out there that could be rechromed but the rubber strips are the harder part to find.

Tony72Cutlass'S'

Cool guys, good info.

Chroming parts up here in canada costs ALOT, thats why when it comes to chromed pieces i try to buy nos/new.

jensenracing77

I just seen on eBay that they repop the rubbers. I think I have a set of used ones that need rechromed if you are looking for a set.

Allan R

Tony, the bumper guards (option code V36) just weren't big sellers. It's not terribly hard to find them on the web; I have 2 sets myself, one in excellent driver and one that needs work. The rubber inserts (OEM) are an arm and leg if / when you find them. I bought new inserts for my front guards from North Yale Auto Parts (Bobby Ward) for 75.00 each a few years back !

One of the other things you really need to think over is the bumper guard attachment means you need to pierce the bumper in 4 locations. If not done properly that can also lead to chrome peeling back and rust formation.

For practical purposes? The bumper guards were next to useless. The first mounting pattern from Olds had them too far to the sides and would allow the center bumper tooth to hit an obstacle before the guard did. They were then re-positioned closer to the center of the front bumper which looks nicer, but as you know there's really very little to stop an impact from pushing the center back and breaking the stone shield. I sure as heck wouldn't hang my hat on pushing another car just because I had bumper guards on my 72. Now the bumpettes and rub strips on the 74+ would be better suited since the bumpers were actually composite structures and would absorb more force over a wider distance without collapsing the front bumper shocks.

Front bumper guards from 71/72 are a matter of preference IMO. FYI Front bumper guards were not offered on the 70 A body models.

Olds_71_442

I took my bumper guards off my bumper because I'm not a big fan. One is in perfect condition and the other has a few small bumps that are probably rust forming underneath. Even if both were perfect, I wouldn't have left them on the car. You can see the holes in the bumper from down low, but it doesn't bother me.

pizza442

I have the guards on my 72 Supreme and want to add the 442 cutout bumper but keep the guards. I can't find a rechromed or a repop with both cutouts and guard holes. And I don't want to drill a fresh chrome job only to have rust and peeling start from the holes down the line. Stumped..

Allan R

pizza - welcome aboard.

The bumper guards weren't a widely popular item so the only time the bumpers would have that piercing would be from the factory. I'm sure that any add on bumper guards at the dealer or by owner would follow the traditional drilling technique you don't want to do. You can minimize the possibility of tear out on the chrome by using tape on the drill out area.

You will not find any reproduced bumpers for you 72 CS with piercings. If you want to have a chrome shop do the piercings, they likely have the heavy hydraulic presses that would make a clean square hole.

pizza442

Thanks for the welcome, Allan. My first post in all this time.
If I drill a 442 bumper, it'll be before chroming or hold out for an orig combo and have that rechromed. Oh for the record, the factory holes are slots, not squares like the bumper bolt-head holes; in case no one has seem this I attached pics.
Oh, I had a line on an orig years ago from 'bumper Dan'. Ring a bell with anyone? Lost contact with him
Jay

Ps. After looking closely at pics, I see the plating wearing off around the edge of the hole. After 40 years no surprise but that was with the inside of the hole plated. A drilled hole will start to rust from within the hole a lot faster..

Allan R

Great info on the piercings. I'd love to have the exact measurements if you have them as far as location as I do have bumper guards I want to mount on my cutout bumper.

kitfoxdave

Yes we would like the dimensions! I have a set on the front bumper and was thinking about adding rear ones to mine as well!

pizza442

from left upper slot to the right: 31 1/2 inches. You just need to find the center point in the license plate opening/area. And as seen it the attached pic, from the center of the slot to the center of the crease/curve in the bumper it is 1in. Bottom slots are harder to find a point of reference but this should do it..

Allan R

Thx for that picture. If you use that measure, hold a point on the center of the top piercing, and can you give the distance between it and the bottom one? Center to center?

pizza442

Ok. I'll try it tomorrow hopefully. Long work day. I'll be using the same taylor's tape measure so I can actually 'hug' the bumper surface down to the lower slot..

1969w3155

There is a guy in Big Rapids, Mi. that repos the rubber. He used to advertise in JWO, but I lost his contact info. He was selling the inserts for $75.00 per set.

Allan R

I found this link to Bobby's on line store for the rear bumper guard inserts. Really a good price IMO

Rear:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1971-72-Olds...item2c6f7e82a2

Front:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1971-2-Olds-...item2c72c273f7

pizza442

Ok. From top slot to bottom, 9 1/2 inches from center of hole to center...thats with the soft tape measure hugging the bumper all the way.

jstrits

kent brooks is the guy selling them in mn. I have a set on my car.

1969w3155

That's a sweet pic, well done.

507OLDS

I had a cutout bumper with the guards,and I couldn't give it away.
I would rechrome any original part before relying on a repop.The chrome on a repop is cheap,and won't last long.I see some companies advertising that they are triple-chrome plated or show-chrome plated,but they are not.They are production plated.Just look at the price.You are not going to get a new bumper,with the same triple-step chrome process(copper,nickel,chrome),for $350.00,or whatever they are charging,regardless of where they are made. And the BumperBoyz chrome jobs aren't that great either.I bought an original rechromed cutout bumper from them,for the 72,and it looked great when they unwrapped it,but that was about it.The first time I washed the car,I was drying it,and the bumper was turning orange,trying to rust.Within a year,the chrome started to gray,and began to peel.At that point I went a little off the deep end.I bought an NOS cutout bumper,still in the GM packaging,for $880.00,and was able to drive 2hrs to go get it.It's a little extreme to have a bumper like that on my 72 Supreme,but I like my stuff nice.Even the factory chrome on the NOS bumper is not what we call show-quality,but they were not making show cars back then.The chrome IS very durable,and hasn't dulled,peeled,or pitted.