A lot boattails have a split front bumper. What do you think about putting a coolant reservoir in between them? I'm thinking a Moon tank would look good. -Gabe
The idea of the split front bumper is to show off the beautiful massive egg-crate grille. Why would you want to just cover more of it up?
I would agree, they look sweet with that massive grille hanging out in the open, although I may be biased since mine is like that.
I like when the cut bumper is capped with a donor bumper instead of just a cut bumper, more work and a re chrome. Most people won't go through the effort, also this looks best on 71 and 72. IMO
I used to like the split bumpers.... but over time my preference has changed the full bumper because it just makes the car look sooooo <--------------------wide--------------------> Low 'n Wide is the way to cruize but it's all personal taste, it's your car and you have to do what makes it sexy to you, doesn't matter what anyone else thinks!
Ross, Buick should have offered it as an option. It does look good. Yours looks great. Got any more pics to share??
Thanks for the input! Right now, my bumper in bent up in the middle. It ends up level because the car is lowered 3" in the front, but it looks rough. Like you don't want to meet who gets out of the car. A spun Moon tank is cool, but I could probably come up with something more creative for a reservoir that won't cover up the grill. As for the grill, I have a box of cool old cabinet knobs. Maybe I could mount them on some perforated sheet metal to make a cool new grill?! -Gabe
Anybody have any writups on this, or an approx cost? I've wanted to do this so bad!!! But have no clue where to take it to get it done
Like stated above. I like the split bumper only if it was done properly. Use donors and weld correct looking curved ends onto the cut offs. Then get it chromed. They do look good that way!
I agree if you don't follow through with the rounded off caps and rechrome, it looks like a pretty cheap butcher job..... Tommy
Is there any way I can get a close up pic of were the bumpers end when they are split. I'm going to have mine sent off, with another bumper to get this done, and I want to be sure where I mark it at. Thanks in advance! Shawn
Shawn- I don't know if you ever got an answer, so I'm bringing this up to the top again. Anyone have pics of where they cut the bumpers (split to go on the car, plus donor caps)? I want to do this mod somewhere in the not too distant future. Thanks!
IU have been mulling this over . The only problem would be if the bumper is plated already. If so then maybe you can find a core to do the cuting on and weld a plate in then replate . To recoup just sell the original bumper.
I have a core bumper that's cut in half, so it needs to be precision cut to remove the two remaining pieces of the center. The question is how to close the cut ends. I could weld flat plate on it, fill it with weld and grind and polish it before chroming. But it seems the advice here is to use the ends of a second donor bumper and weld those on, but I'm not sure where to cut both bumpers and what it would look like finished. o No:
Ken I would cut it long and trhen use parts of the remaining section to make the patch ( same thickness? You might want someone thats got some experience with forming metal to make the caps but You can at least get an idea of what you want. The center points can be tricky but I have seen guys trhat can make anything, This is such a small part I bet you could get it done easily. Maybe consider a custom bike or fab shop thats got a hammer forming tool and a english wheel. Another idea would be to cut the section out and hit the junk yards and find a bumper thats got ends you like on it and start cutting. I think this would be a fun project
Good advice, John, thanks. I work with a guy that has a side business called "Dr. Weld" and he's a perfectionist. I think I need to consult the Dr. for opinions. If we can't come up with something that will look good, the custom bike sop idea is a good one. I agree this would be a fun project! Also, I just scored an NOS lower bumper off Ebay for not too much money. Splitting and rechroming the upper bumper coupled with adding new chrome to the bottom will really make it stand out!
Thanks for the kind words Yardley, I'll post a few more pics. Sadly my bumper isn't capped, it was just cut and that flexy chrome door guard crap was put on the ends by one of the previous owners. It falls into the "looks good from afar but far from looks good" category.
I used two bumper to create the pair of split front bumpers (nerf bars). The donor bumpers were both damaged at center section. One was split at center point, the other had holes at center where someone had mounted fog/driving lights. I took the outside corners of one bumper and had them welded to the inside ends of the other where the center section was removed. Did all my cutting on the picnic table with a sawzall, using a fresh blade! As long as you align and clamp it correctly when welding, a bit of an uneven cut can be overcome. They're presently unfinished, waiting to be detailed and rechromed when I get around to having the car painted. Thats aluminum foil duct tape you see currently trying to hide the seam.
Thanks Steve, that explains a lot. I see where you used the ends of a second bumper and then cut the end back to roughly match the offset of the rest of the bumper from the grill. Like they say- a picture is worth 1,000 words!
