Stainless Steel Bumpers for 240Z

[geezer]

I paid Lowe's a premium for some "stainless steel" bolts a couple of years back, and when the bolts got wet they rusted. Real stainless will not rust, unfortunately, the junk coming from China is not real stainless. I sincerely hope these bumpers are truly made of higher quality material than what shows up at Lowe's/Home Depot.

Here is a brief tutorial on the different types of stainless steel and their uses. These bumpers are made from 304/1.4301. I am certainly no expert on all the different stainless alloys, but I know "shiny" and will let you know how they hold up.

http://berlinmetals.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=54&Itemid=61

http://www.aalco.co.uk/technical/datasheets/Aalco_Datasheet_St_St_304.pdf

Edited April 9, 2010 by geezer
added link

[Inf]

I bought an "18/10 stainless" pot at the local Chinese supermarket the other weekend, got a really great deal on it... Cooked my first batch of tortellini and several spots on the inside began to rust immediately.

On the other hand, my roommate has several 18/10 stainless All-Clad pans, made in the USA, with a price to match. They still look perfect after extensive use.

Just saying, just because it says it's 304 doesn't make it so, and even if it is, there's no guarantee that it would pass muster for corrosion resistance. I would be especially wary of metals originating in the 2nd or 3rd world. Hoping this isn't the case with these bumpers

[psdenno]

It will take only one unhappy customer with a rusty "stainless" bumper to put them out of business. Since it's such a narrowly focused product I'd be surprised if they went to the expense of tooling up with the intent of producing an inferior bumper.

However, having spent more than a little time in SEA, it's not out of the question.

They look great - hope they're around long after the rest of your Z returns to the Earth.

Dennis

[zhead240]

could bumperguards be installed on these?

[geezer]

could bumperguards be installed on these?

They don't make the upright guards out of stainless, so if you used your stock ones, you would suffer the dissimilar metals syndrome. I've seen the corrosive effects of that before. Its worse then the dreaded

scourge of tortellini! Just kiddin ya!

As far as mounting the stock ones, I would have to take precise measurements to give you a definite opinion.

[cbudvet]

Ron,

How are the bumpers holding up. Its only been a couple of months but was curious how things were going.

carl

[geezer]

They are holding up just fine as long as I don't take them out of the box. Today, I ordered new brackets to mount the rear bumper. There is an ever increasing pile of boxed parts on top of them now also. It is incredible, the amount of space needed to properly organize and store the parts for a complete restoration. I am constantly refurbishing, replacing, repainting, re-organizing, etc. There seems to be no end to what I need, forgot, put off, changed. This has turned out to be a long term project that is slowly coming along. I try to set goals every week, as to what I want to accomplish. Not exactly a fast pace with the rest of my daily obligations but moving forward. I have a local persistant hard core Z guy that comes by at least once a week to kick me in the a$$ for motvation, tease me with his Z cars and help out. Thanks for asking.

[alternativez]

I also purchased a set, no holes for rubber, no holes for overriders, the rear as a one piece, and they were shipped direct from VN to Indiana, US. I ordered during a "sale, so the entire cost with shipping was under $1000 US. I have some time before I get to see them actually mounted on the car, but I did notice the rear side pieces seemed to be angled out ever so slightly, but I intend to widen the rear fenders slightly, so I'm not concerned. They are very light, very well polished. They are not "5 mph" bumpers, but more for appearance. I think they will look really nice on a solid black body with the other chrome accents on the Z. These are for the early Z, but they are looking to make pieces for all markets. I had searched for clean, "no holes" bumpers for about 20 years, so I jumped on the "sale," and when I off-handedly suggested the one-piece rear, they did it. They were easy to deal with, and I tracked the shipping online, and the entire deal took less than three weeks from order to receipt. In fact, I never spoke with anyone from UK, only Thy Bao in Ho Chi Minh City. We exchanged several emails.

Edited June 28, 2010 by alternativez

[geezer]

Yep, Thy Bao is the same guy I dealt with. Flawless transaction. Thats cool, you could get them in a one piece rear, no holes. Good price too. I wanted the rubber strips and the conventional 3 piece rear. $1085. to the door in less than 3 weeks. I have no problem recommending this option.

[Mike B]

Ron, I saw these aluminum bumper brackets on ebay recently and thought you might be interested in them for your new stainless steel bumpers.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Datsun-240z-Aluminum-Rear-Bumper-Brackets-/300438661032?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item45f38a27a8

-Mike

[geezer]

Thanks Mike, I've seen those on Ebay but opted for a set of steel NOS Nissan. They are on the way and I should be able to toss them on the pile in a few days.:classic: If It wasn't so easy to hit the enter key I'm sure I could have made a set myself. Every day I repeat my mantra..."I'm gonna need those".

Maybe the aluminum ones would have been better, I don't know. I started removing the ones from my old rear bumper and seen just how weak the old steel brackets were when they started twisting out of shape, while trying to remove rusted fasteners.

[zKars]

I am in the process of purchasing a set from them. Just can't resist.

In their response to my email inquiry (from Vivian) they mention volume discounts. I have put out an e-mail to our local club members to see if there is interest before I pull the trigger on mine, but I would be interested in anyone from Calgary and area who is interested to contact me if they want in on the deal.

They are quoting prices as low as $857 at set if we purchase 6 sets (front and rear). Quite a saving.

Let me know if anyone is interested. z240@shaw.ca