bsowa

Hey guys....any way to temp fix this until I can afford a new rear bumper?

Brett K

If that is an original urethane, it might be so brittle that it may come off in more pieces than that. Mine were in perfect condition and the slight pressure from a bungee cord holding a tarp over the top connect to the rear cause it to shatter so bad there is more on the ground than on the body. It happened by the next morning too!

NHvette

Brett's right - don't even think of taking that off, unless you replace it.

You might find some two-part urethane adhesive that would bind that all
together, but it won't look pretty in that corner. Maybe better if it can
be glued from the inside surface. Those original retainers
are going to be a BITCH to get off, too. If you're lucky, you'll get the nuts
to come off or the studs will snap - and it will come off clean.

I would go with fiberglass bumper and stainless retainers.

I have an old urethane cover. My recollection is that it has a small tear
under the license plate holder. I'll check it out - and snap a picture.
If you want it - it's yours. I also have a fiberglass bumper - from the 75,
which I'm not sure if I want to part with yet. I might sell the 'glass one for
1/2 retail. Both the bumpers are metallic red.

:seeya


[Modified by Daves_rusty_75, 8:39 PM 8/25/2002]

bsowa

Dave that would be great if you could snap a picture of the urethane and let me know about the glass one.....

Thanks alot....

NHvette

OK - bad news on the urethane cover. I set it up on a shelf and under it's
own weight, it put a big crack - from the top center down through
the "Corvette". Two weeks ago, it was OK. :(

The fiberglass one is fine, being only 3-4 years old. There is a difference
from 75 to 76. The 74-75 bumper has recesses for the CORVETTE letters.
Yours is flat, with the emblem glued in place. If you went with my '75
rear bumper, you would need the letters, too. They are up to $51 a set !!

Oh - and one more complication. When the previous owner put the new
fiberglass bumper on the '75, he had to remove the Aluminum bumper
supports that are under the urethane - and bolted to the main bumper
piece.

Anyone else had issues with fiberglass bumper intalls ?

I did take a peak into Ebay - and there is someone who sells the 'glass
bumpers there. The rear one that is up right now sounds like the Ecklers
description for the 76-79 rear bumper, but I see that this guy makes them
himself. Hmmm - risky but pretty cheap at $170 - if you can wait.

:seeya


[Modified by Daves_rusty_75, 12:10 PM 8/26/2002]

a454corvette

Don't do it! Tried one of his fronts, not worth the hassle of bidding, winning, returning it. Poor quality (wavy across top, wrong angle at nose, many many pits, cracks, etc., no gelcoat, and his response was it needed minor finishing. I expected some finish work, but not to have to spend a week reworking it. Also claims to sell them to the local corvette club "all the time". I'm not what you'd call super picky, but there is no way I see anybody wanting it on their car.

NHvette

Thanks 454 - the Ebay feedback had some negatives - but only one or
two that sounded serious.

Jim Shea

If I remember correctly, the individual CORVETTE letters for the 1975 rear bumper have only one post on each letter. If they sit in a recess they will be OK. But having to drill a single hole for each post on each letter may get you into alignment problems. I also wonder if some of them may rotate with age and vibration. The only urethane rear bumper that I can find in my Corvette catalogues are a generic 1975 through 1979 that is completely smooth.

As far as I know, the True-Flex bumper is the only one that can be purchased with the 1975 individual letter recesses. The True-Flex is listed in the Zip catalogue as being available for the following:
SRB-077 1974 One Piece with split
SRB-084 1975 W/Letter Dimples
SRB-085 1976(early) w/plaque indentation
SRB-086 1976(late) to 1979 smooth

burners

A temporary fix could be to push it back out to original shape and use some of that foam-in-a-can. You can get it at The Home Depot or Lowe's. That would at least give it some strength so it wouldn't disintegrate.

Frank75

You could carefully scuff-up the area around the fractures and use some epoxy to hold. Try reaching up from underneath and sticking some duct tape there as a backing plate. I always use West System because I have it (used for boat building) but any good 2-part system should at least hold things together for awhile. I would try to smooth it as well as possible, so you don't have to sand or anything. Won't be pretty but should help hold together.

NHvette

Good idea Frank - readily available and widely used.
The urethane adhesives are two part, but you need the applicator gun.

Too bad they don't make green metallic silicone RTV.