1978 280Z - Here are some pics of my Z without the front ugly bumper! opinions?

[PrOxLaMuS©]

I've always wondered what my Z would look like WITHOUT the big crash bumpers, and since I will be taking my car out to the track in a week or so, I can toss out some extra weight for a while...

SOO.. what ya guys think?! Put the old one back on?! Or keep it the way it is?!

This is just temporary by the way, but it's growing on me.

BEFORE

[zhead240]

put me down for 1 vote -no bumper

looks great without.what about the aero kit front bump, i like them better than the cow catcher.

[zguitar71]

I like the car with out the bumpers. It looks more agressive.

[DatsunZsRule]

I personally like them. I say put it back on. All it takes is for some dumb shmuck not paying attention to bump you in a parking lot OR out in the street and then you'll be kicking yourself saying "DAMN, wish I would have left that front ugly bumper (as you call them) on" Keep in mind It doesn't take much impact to crunch a Z's nose in and with all the bone heads out running around today on our roadways, the chances of it happening are bigger than you think. Especially if you use your Z as a daily driver. My two cents.

[agemeansnothing]

I like it without the bumbers even if it isn't classic but, be careful no bumbers no protection for your whole front. It could be crushed like nothing.

[theianmonster]

The bumper doesn't protect much anyways. I like it without the bumper. At least on a 240Z, its held on by just a few bolts and is there for looks, they're thin as hell and do nothing.

Keep it off of there man, looks killer.

[hls30.com]

The only way the bumper on a 280Z doesn't protect much is by being anywhere other than correctly installed in the front of the car. I have personal exerience! A 240Z bumper-almost no protection, but a 280Z bumper is good protection-Kinda why the US government required it to be put there by Nissan before allowing the cars to be sold! DOT requirement to pass crash testing!!! No bumper, no pass-lots of damage-with bumper not so much damage!

With it off, the car looks like something is missing-unless you remove all of the signs something else was there...Sort of like taking the grills out of the vents in your hood...

Will

[Pennyman]

Here's my experience:

Because the front valence on the 280z hangs lower than that of a 240z, the car will look odd with the larger bumper simply removed.

The bumper does help immensely, especially in city traffic and in parking garages where one bump on the front could be disasterous.

In order to get it looking better, a front valence with a smaller opening would be ideal, like the "cow catcher" style air dams. Or you could find a junked 240z front valence and weld metal over the turn signal openings. Then just throw on a 240z bumper while you're at it, and boy that'd look HOT!

Bottom line, if you don't want to worry about the unknown, leave it on.

[zhead240]

how did the vette go from a bumper in 73 to no bumper a all and pass these same tests and laws.? is there some superior engineering design or something?

[CoastGuardZ]

It's not that the vette had no bumper, It just didn't have a chunk of chrome attached to the front end anymore... and then they eventually did the rear the same way. The protection was "built" into the car, behind the fancy plastic and fiberglass. They did the same thing to the Z's on the 300zx, and virtually every car built since like the late 80's.

edit... I just found info saying 72 was the last year for the vette to have a chrome front bumper and that in 73 it was changed to body-colored flexible plastic.

Oh yeah. Looks like something is missing without it, I say either get a frontend kit, a 240 setup or put the bumper back on.

[lonetreesteve]

Zhead240,

The '73 Vette had an "Enduro" front bumper and the metal rear bumper of the previous years. The 1973 was the only Vette to have this combination. The following model year in 1974, the Vette also had the rear "Enduro" bumper. GM first came out with the Enduro bumper (front) on the 1968 Pontiac GTO.

I liked the older metal bumpers on the Vettes better, like the 240Zs, they had a much more classic look to them.

[TomoHawk]

I think the front bumper on a 280z helps the aerodynamics. Without the bumper, the front is like a big box ( like a pickup). Good for getting air through ther radiator, but not very aerodynamic.

Doesn't MSA have fiberglass things that replace for the bumpers?

I would also suggest to keep the bumper on for protection, because the insurance companies would be just too happy to take your car away after a minor bump on the front, and trash the whole thing. At least you can still get replacement bumpers, but the sheet metal is harder to replace- at least until Z cars really become CLASSICS enough to get ALL aftermarket body parts.

thx