TheSamba.com :: View topic - Bumpers

Wed Apr 11, 2007 3:12 pm

I have a 79 and the bumpers are original, with 28 years on the car the chrome is starting to show its age. I'm wondering if anyone has looked into rechroming their bumper and if so what kind of costs do you see. I know that there are reproductions out there, but I'm guessing that they aren't as heavy qauge as the originals. there is a little rust on the inside, but nothing that some sand paper and elbow grease won't clean up. I like the fact that the car is that old and the original parts are still on it.

Does anyone know of a business that rechromes bumpers somewhere close to or in Wisconsin. Not much up here for restoration services, mostly beer and cheese.

Wed Apr 11, 2007 3:41 pm

Do you think rechrome will last as long as what you have now? I read a topic that explains that the new chrome is not as good as orig, I would clean them as best possible, I have two aftermarkets on my 68 and the rear has ripples all acrost the top from engine install, I myself am trying to find orig stuff, nothing so far but I am patient, good luck

Wed Apr 11, 2007 4:01 pm

Strem wrote: I have a 79 and the bumpers are original, with 28 years on the car the chrome is starting to show its age. I'm wondering if anyone has looked into rechroming their bumper and if so what kind of costs do you see.

I rechromed the original rear bumper on my 69 bug and it was not cheap. Including straightening and rechroming the bumper and the overriders, the bill came to $300. Those are California prices, which I believe are higher than everywhere else in the country because of our strict environmental regulations. I'm gonna do the front bumper too, just need to save up a little bit more for it, so I have T bars for the time being.

Here's a rear shot of my car showing the bumper rechromed. I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out. It looks great and it is strong enough to support my fat ass if I want to stand on it.

If I was going to buy a reproduction bumper, I would probably buy one of these bumpers. As I said, I haven't bought these, but CIP1 does sell good quality stuff (especially when you see 4 stars Original German quality or equivalent) and these bumpers are made in Europe. But he does say that he "has to be honest and say that they are thinner than originals."

http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=C23%2D950%2D496%2DOE

Wed Apr 11, 2007 10:09 pm

I think I would rather have those asses in your avetar sit on my bumper.

John

Wed Apr 11, 2007 11:17 pm

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=chrome+plating+in+wisconsin

I would recomend re-chroming your original german bumpers.
You will be so much happier, new chrome bumpers are lighter gauge metal,
and the chrome is no good.
But that is what you get for $89, a rusty light POC.

Wed Apr 11, 2007 11:18 pm

Rechroming will be better than the current repop offerings. You'll probably pay between $200 - $300 per bumper [depending on your local chrome shop], but they'll look better and last much longer.

-jeffrey

Thu Apr 12, 2007 3:30 am

Rechrome... the aftermarket ones are junk.

Thu Apr 12, 2007 4:32 pm

I must agree that rechroming the original bumpers is far better than buying the repro's available out there. Bought a repro bumper before and after a few months of use the chrome was peeling off like an old sticker! That was a lesson for me from then on...Now, I'm very happy with the result of rechromed original bumpers!

Thu Apr 21, 2011 4:31 pm

Has anyone tried the Vietnamese stainless repops? I was wondering about price, quality, etc. The Idea of not having to worry about rust kind of appeals to me. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1024255

Thu Apr 21, 2011 4:41 pm

Has anyone ever tried Copper dipping? I seen it on a car show episode. It is supposed to be cheaper than Chroming. I thought it looked really cool also.

Thu Apr 21, 2011 10:08 pm

I have looked for chrome bumpers through the catalogues, but it appears that many of them stop at 74 and up SB's. Was there a drastic bumper design change on the 74's and later cars?

Also, I have seen many photos of ya'lls bugs with no bumpers at all. I would like to know some of your ideas as to why someone elects to not have front and rear bumpers? Thanks

Fri Apr 22, 2011 4:09 am

Starting in 74 they used energy absorbing bumper mount and bumpers got a lot stronger.

Actually the 74 are different from the 75-79.

Fri Apr 22, 2011 2:56 pm

Thanks. Would you say that any other bumper other than a 1974 bumper for my car would not fit regardless of minor and/or major alterations on it?