DouglasOliver

Hey Olds Family,

I am in need of a rear bumper for a '69 442 with the dual cut-outs. I have seen several with varying degrees of quality and the prices were all over the place.

A few folks recommended bumperboyz, but a few other people cautioned me away from them. Just curious - what was your experience with bumperboyz?

I don't mind spending time or money. I just can't waste either.

Thanks, all.

Doug

507OLDS

JUNK

Sure,they look great when they unwrap them for you,but the chrome starts to fall apart soon after.I tried one on my 72.The first time I washed it,I was drying it off,and started to get orange rust water on my towell.Within a year,it started to gray next to the tail lights on each side,then within 2years,I got a large crack or split in the chrome,in that same area.My car is NEVER left outside,gets washed once or twice a season,and is stored very well. You can expect the same from a repop chrome bumper as well.Every repop bumper that I have seen,has done the same thing.I've seen one repop that has yet to even be out of the garage,and the chrome is falling apart.

Oldsmaniac

There are plenty of chromers out there if you have a core. I have seen some bad stuff from Bumper Boys.... went to a swap and asked about a 64 Cutlass rear bumper....they had 2 of em.... When they unwrapped them the chrome was peeling off of one and they other looked wavy and poor quality. Their bumpers are for the most part not show quality.

DouglasOliver

Excuse my ignorance...whats a "repop?" And if these problems occur with almost any repop, where's the best place to look for a show-quality bumper that doesn't present these types of peeling issues?

Beob

A repop is a brand new reproduction. Sometimes of sligtly inferior quality. As far as I know there is only one manufacturer of 69 442 bumpers, so there all the same. If your looking for show quality Id say bring a core to a rechromer. I have seen rechroming cost from $400-1000. A show quality rechrome would be closer to $1000. I had mine rechromed about a year ago for about $450 each, no rust or peeling yet, but I would not say show quality.

DouglasOliver

Thanks...so it sounds like a repop won't present a problem with the quality or fit of the core, though it may present problems withthe chroming. Ultimately it sounds like it's the rechroming is where the show-quality investment is made.

Eddie Hansen

I have 2 cores for a 69 442 with the cutouts, however i just bought a repop, and as said i went for the best price, the bumper I got "looks" good, and for the price of it, ( 350 ) was cheap enough to "give it a try" I figure at the very least I could have it rechromed with no starightening involved, I haven't put it on the car, and I haven't pulled one of my cores up to compare yet, but will do that, I have also seen billions and trillions of autoparts http://www.billionsandtrillionsinc.com/ offer 442 bumpers, I have seen pics and they "Look" great but that isn't the same as having a real expert look at them etc .. I don't know anything about the billions and trillions guy, but he is from texas how bad can he be???

aliensatemybuick

Actually, he's from Tulsa, OK. As for how bad he can be, you decide:



Yes, that is actually Frank DeLarzelare, proprietor of Billions and Trillions. I actually bought a remote sideview mirror for my '67 from him and was happy with the transaction. I may never eat sushi again, though.

DouglasOliver

LMAO! Sometimes I learn more than I need to on CO.com!!!

Eddie Hansen

Dude that is just so wrong...............................:eek :

EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

I had no idea he was soooooo ummmmm "colorful" LMAO

Whisket Tango Foxtrot over LOL.....

droldsmorland

Northstar Chrome out of Minniapolis, $240 (2003 price) for triple show chrome. Great place to work with. Very picky about their cores. Recieved the bumper back and it wasnt right...top had a sag on the trunk line, application, 68 442.
Steve (counter person) said take a picture and send it. He called me and said its definately not right and they came and picked it up for free (I lived in Wis at the time & they had a truck that did a regular Wis route monthly). They called me and said that they could not rechrome this bumper because this would be its third time. Apparently each time they rechrome have to grind and that makes the metal thinner. And 68-69s are thin to start with.
So he said I have a reg Cutlass non cut out bumper core in which they could graft in the cut outs from mine. I gave the go a head. Killer job! you can tell from the back side if you look closly but cant see anything on the business side. Chromes held up great so far 8 years and counting. Deep chrome, no waves or grind marks.

DouglasOliver

I took Edie Hansen's advice and checked out billionsandtrillionsinc.com (despite the picture that I'm trying to erase from my memory). The work looks good on the bumpers and everyting else.

But they are VERY expensive. I also felt rushed - like the proprietor was in a bit of a hurry. I think I'll use them only as a LAST resort.

Allan R

Smart move on your part. If you absolutely cannot find a bumper from anyone here (which is highly unlikely) there is a fellow in Canada called Cutlassguy who has a KIJIJI store with what you need. His prices are also high, but at least he won't blow you off.

455man

Anyone try the Fusicks bumpers?

junior supercar

I've heard hit or miss with bumper boyz, with some people saying ONLY doing business with them in person at the big shows.

Billions and Trillions - GOOD LUCK. I've heard nothing but bad and horrible things about them.

North Star (believe they used to be called Keystone) as mentioned above and Tri City Plating in TN are very good places to get a rechrome. If price is no option and you want show quality, The Finishing Touch in Chicago.

joe_padavano

Be wary of the repro bumpers. I closely inspected a 69 rear bumper on sale at Fall Carlisle. Now you would think that a business would put the best possible product on display, but his bumper had visible grinding marks under the chrome that had not been filled in the chroming process. Needless to say, this tells me that the chrome (and copper and nickel below it) is quite thin and the workmanship is not acceptable to me.

Eddie Hansen

I thought about them, and brothers, parts place etc, they all list them, but there is NO way that there is more than one manufacturer making 69 bumpers, fusicks gave the bumper a very high rating as well as others, I didn't see any of the marks Joe mentioned and I will post pics, as I said I have 2 original cores, but both need to be straightened a bit, one has an approximatly 1/8th inch rust hole and the other has a very thin crack, so this was the least expensive option to me, and it does look very very decent IMHO. But I am not building a 100 point car, I think all the bumpers come from the same place ( as I have learned about the goodmark quarters) and they came from the same place.

Allan R

I agree that repop bumpers are acceptable to the right market. For high end builds, it is probably going to disappoint. - Maybe - Quality control is good on some and sucks on others.

You're right. They probably come from the same factory. I did buy a repop cutout bumper for my 72. TAMRAZ - they had the best price at the time. Shipped properly, safely and well packed. Inspected CAREFULLY on delivery. It is what I hoped it would be - a quality chrome job. No tooling marks or indications of thin chrome. I did a test fit and it was just fine. I have to drill some holes in it for bumper guards so right now my OEM bumper is still on the car, but side by side? The OEM and repop are hard to tell apart. I'd almost swear they had used a GM stamp and plating process to make it.

davebw31

Go with the guys from Min. I bought the frt. and rear and was not dissapointed. How did I win the "2011 Memmimgs Muscle Machine of the year award? Their rechrome bumpers are the best!

dave b.

Paladin31

Kudo's on the win Dave, and that's an Awesome 31.