Bumper Question: Re-chrome or purchase new

[Charger Too]

On a 318 car ....AMD is my choice .....if you are Jerry hall aka Hugh Hefner of the south....then rechrome for beautiful! Superbird is the way to go!!!....... Hahaha;)

Do the bumpers from AMD and Classic Industries all come from the same place overseas?

 

[440 4 speed]

I think Alberta Plating is still doing a pair of 67 bumpers for about Can 1800.00. Very nice work.
When we bought the Charger in 2004 the bumpers looked nice, still do, hopefully the car will be finished before next summer.

 

[GetX'd]

Like when your car was in an accident in its previous life and you don't know about it - otherwise, they just bolt on. For any given car ALL the repops come out of the same die. If the first one fits so will the millionth one !!

Seems like you’re on some really good stuff - as animated as you are on top of coming off as the know all - See all - Do all - dude.……. Calm down everyone is entitled to their opinions of experience ……Lol I’m hearing @hunt2elk above. He’s been thru the drill on both sides of this request. @dadsbee as well. For me I was just giving an opinion not based on experience. I had mine rechromed in LA and while they weren’t bad, but they were still 50 yrs old and no longer befit the X during a full resto. Besides I think I paid about $600 and they’re show quality.

Besides that my wife is from Saigon and knows nothing about rechrome/repop bumpers …… Lol

 

[Big bill]

I have reproductions on one of my cars and I’m happy they look good and all very authentic as opposed to a triple plated show crome which is great but when the cars were new was the bumpers triple plated show crome?

 

[Gus chiggins]

Opinions are fine BUT this site is rife with pure BULLSHIT ... thinner metal, having to make them fit, etc, etc.. If you were building a car and only listened to the hearsay on this site ... you'd NEVER get it done !!

I don't know if this site is rife with pure bullshit, it comes down to what your instinct, and expierience level is. I went through trial, and error on everything.

 

[gtx6970]

My original 1968 Dodge Charger bumpers were stolen. I have a person that has a set that I can purchase that needs to be re-chromed. I can purchase new from CI (restorer's choice) which would be $800 less than purchasing used ones and having them re-chromed. What is my best option? What is the quality of CI bumpers? Thanks!

Rechrome originals

 

[440 4 speed]

Do you think this might get canned? Why not take it to each other and discuss it?
maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned this.
Aside, I had a Great Grand Father Captain that was discharged near Aurora Missouri in about 1864 because of I think yellow fever.
Two of my Grandfather’s brother’s were in the first world war. One didn’t come back and one came back with shell shock and mustard poisoning. He was never the same.
Had lots of relatives volunteer in WW11. Some never mentioned it and some were nervous.
Growing up, and hearing stories, then working with veterans and having veteran patients I came to my own conclusion.
Those who talked about it or their exploits were not really that involved. I worked on staff with veterans, who didn’t say much until they knew you for about 3 years and you would get tidbits. He was prosthetist and had been a tank commander Canadian, I think they figured it would take 3 Sherman’s to take out a Panther.
He told me that if they got hit, the escape hatch wasn’t that reliable, so many tanks went across France, Luxembourg, Holland and France with a bunch of wine stored in the hatch.
He lost his leg in France. There was kind of an agreement that tank’s didn’t shell each other after dark. It was suggested all personnel stay inside their tanks. Some did and his did not that particular night, the Germans fired on them . Wiped out a crew in a tank, he lost a leg because of flying parts. Rest of the crew were okay, but they needed another tank.

 

[71RRHI]

All I can say is I have AMD front and rear bumpers on my 71. They bolted right on, and look good. I would not hesitate to order bumpers from AMD for any of my cars.

 

[Photon440]

So every repop you ever bought just bolted right in ? That die will get worn after a "million" stampings, i bet the one million plus stamping won't be as good as the first stamping. You might figure out if your car had an accident in its prior life. Body shops don't do concours resto's on collision jobs.

Let's face it, a "million" is hyperbole, obviously nobody will stamp a million bumpers when that many cars weren't made in the first place. If they stamped a couple thousand they're probably doing well.

My new 1970 road runner bumpers that I bought last year look as good as the factory originals probably did. I'm quite satisfied.

 

[polyjohn]

To re-chrome or not to re-chrome?
We have the same issue with my 69 Charger 500.
How good do they have to be?

Firstly will the repops fit well?
I bet they won't fit as good as the factory originals.
They can be 'massaged' on the car to fit real nice!
Then they can go for triple plating, much better than factory.
And you know that they will fit real good as long as they don't bend 'em...

Folks always ask you ''are they originals'' err ''YES can't you tell''...

 

[dspur]

My original 1968 Dodge Charger bumpers were stolen. I have a person that has a set that I can purchase that needs to be re-chromed. I can purchase new from CI (restorer's choice) which would be $800 less than purchasing used ones and having them re-chromed. What is my best option? What is the quality of CI bumpers? Thanks!

I looked into both for my 69 Super Bee. I went the most expensive route and had Tri City replate mine. They are absolutely show quality, and I may have overdone it, but would probably do the same thing again. At the time I researched like you are and the repops got very mixed reviews. As others state, it depends on your end goal.

I also, for not a lot of money, had my bumper brackets blasted and powder coated.

 

[19bee70]

I think it's an option some of us don't have. I might have bought aftermarket IF my bumpers were offered. Nobody makes repops that I could find for a 70 Bee, so TriCity did mine. Beautiful work!!! 1400 for both fronts and rears. Bare in mind, some of that charge is projected labor for straightening too,! Fortunately my fronts had only a couple of dings and the rear was 3 or 4. My car is weekend cruiser and not a numbers matching show car!

 

[IT'S DYNAMITE]

Nah ... best place in Ontario is Cambridge Custom Chrome !!

I use Cambridge Custom Chrome in Ontario. I ship to the Buffalo address and the work is done in Ontario. I have had all the Chrome on all of my 9 cars done their, not just bumpers and it is expensive but there work is perfection Call Valerie and talk to her about you needs Phone #1 519 658 6681- address 1051 Clinton St. Buffalo NY 14206. Tell her that Dom Rinaldi suggested their service.

 

[Canned Heat]

Why not wrap it? You could try it in chrome wrap or what ever color you want. Todays wraps are miles ahead of the original multi colored stuff from the past. They have specific colors that were made to look like paint. You could try it yourself. It is not as easy as the YouTube vids show, but cool to see how it all works. If it dosen't work for you just peel it off and try again. If you are not interested in trying it yourself there are experts who will do it for you.Most shops charge $100-300 a panel on most cars. Some shops will do a whole car for $2200-3000. Now the bumper will have to be reasonably smooth but the wrap will stick to chrome NP. My Dodge has a lot of chrome trim inside. Some of it is badly pitted. I just sanded down the pitted areas and applied the chrome wrap. It looks great and it is hard to tell it's not real chrome. Chrome spray paint is getting better every day. It's just another trick to try that is cheap to do. You can order a small roll for under $20. There are endless vids on YouTube showing different ways to use it.

 

[Mopar Hunter]

This might be a little late, I would buy the AMD bumpers through Summit Racing, and get a 10% off coupon. The coupons expires 12/31/23.

 

[flyingfeathers]

AMD all the way saves you money unless you doing a 100 point resto

 

[FASTEDDIE1960]

I have had originals rechromed as well as bought new ones from AMD. I won't ever pay to have any rechromed again. All the AMD bumpers I have bought have been great, and far less money than using originals.

for sure. the EPA has caused toe Chrome platers to use totally inferior products, if you can even find a decent plater anymore.

 

[davek]

My original 1968 Dodge Charger bumpers were stolen. I have a person that has a set that I can purchase that needs to be re-chromed. I can purchase new from CI (restorer's choice) which would be $800 less than purchasing used ones and having them re-chromed. What is my best option? What is the quality of CI bumpers? Thanks!

so what did you decide?

 

[Charger Too]

so what did you decide?

I decided to purchase new bumpers. Hope they fit and look ok. A big THANK YOU to everyone who responded. It is a yellow/black vinyl top 318 car with A/C, PS, PB, automatic on column. I am restoring it to the original condition. Everyone tells me that it would be worth more if I installed a bigger engine. I will probably have more invested than it is worth. Maybe the color will help the value!

 

[davek]

I decided to purchase new bumpers. Hope they fit and look ok. A big THANK YOU to everyone who responded. It is a yellow/black vinyl top 318 car with A/C, PS, PB, automatic on column. I am restoring it to the original condition. Everyone tells me that it would be worth more if I installed a bigger engine. I will probably have more invested than it is worth. Maybe the color will help the value!

Im doing my 70 charger and keeping original. 318 ac,ps and pb. Younger me would drop a BB in it. This car is going to be a cruiser. Good luck on you build.