Collapsing Shocks To Push Bumpers Closer To Body

[rossiz]

i agree that it looks really nice compressed - especially with the revised rubber bits. i think if you made a custom set and pulled a mold you'd have quite a following of folks who would want to do the same...

fwiw the bigger bumpers are a huge improvement in strength over the 240 ones - if you pick up an aftermarket 240 bumper (futofab or black dragon) they are essentially trim strips, super thin and wouldn't do a thing in the most minor of bumps. when i took off my 78 bumpers i was surprised how heavy they were, with the reinforcing in the back. so you just might get the looks and the protection with your mod.

[Captain Obvious]

Something else I see on those pics is that he removed the rubber bumperettes from the front. I wonder what he did about the holes... I wonder if he welded them shut and had the bumper re-chromed, or if he just used something like a chromed headed carriage bolt to fill the hole.

And I would like to know what he did about the rubber ends. If he made those from a mold, or cut and bonded the originals. I've done a little silicone molding, but I don't think I'm up to the task of something that large.

rossiz, I was thinking the exact same thing. I think the 280 bumpers would add a lot more protection. Still nothing compared to todays energy absorbing designs, but certainly a lot more protection than the "only for show" 240 style.

[Captain Obvious]

I've decided that I would like to move forward with this project and I would like a spare set of bumper shocks to modify.

Any of you 280 guys who have changed over to the 240 bumpers got their old bumper shocks laying around unwanted after the swap?

And if anyone has a pair of the rubber 77/78 bumper ends that have already split I'm interested in them as well. I'm going to section and shorten them, so it would be better if I started with a pair that are already damaged rather than sacrifice a good pair. Anyone got a pair that are already cracked?

[gwri8]

I've still got mine CO. I know I've got both rear shocks and maybe one front from a parts car. Rear rubber yes, Front rubber no. I've been crazy busy lately and I'm sure they are somewhere in my shop so I'll try to dig them out this week. PM me and we can work out the details.

Edited June 28, 2016 by gwri8

[Captain Obvious]

gwri8, Sending you PM right now.

[black gold man]

I have front driver side rubber 25 bucks shipped or trade on splash pan for 78z.

I also have rear rubber ends.

Edited June 28, 2016 by black gold man

[Captain Obvious]

Thanks to gwri8, I've sourced a set of spare bumper mounts for this project, but I'm still on the hunt for the front rubber bumper ends.

Anyone have both sides available? They don't have to be pristine and can even be split in two at the accordion.

BGM, I'm sending you PM about the one side you have.

[siteunseen]

Captain I've got a '77 front bumper, shocks and all.  Let me dig it out, hopefully today or tomorrow and I'll see what all I can find.  It's stored under a house that I have rented out and will need to talk with the family before I go under there, don't want to be shot.

The car was picked up by the front bumper at some point in it's life by a wrecker and I know one rubber side was split.  I'm fairly sure I had to unbolt the rubber ends to remove the bumper and I hope I can find them.  I'll let you know.  

Found a picture and the driver's side looks like the split one, I put some black Gorilla Tape over it.

[wheee!]

After carrying the front and rear bumper off and away from my car, I realized just how much they weigh! I quickly discarded both as I much prefer the 240 style bumper anyways...

However, once the car is off the rotisserie, I will have a front and rear set of bumper shocks if anyone else is looking for a set to do this same mod. Free to a good home for cost of shipping!

[Captain Obvious]

Mud, I think I've got one driver's side rubber end on the way, but I'm not sure how easy it's going to be to get them to look right. I cut my original passenger side up today (it was already cracked), and I'm not thrilled about how it turned out. I should have waited until I had a spare...

So after you've given fair warning to the occupants, I'd love to have another set to refine the process. Gorilla tape or not. PM me if you get the chance.

[Captain Obvious]

Seeing this thread come up elsewhere reminded me... I've made some progress and have pics.

I got a pair of donor bumper shocks from gwri8 which I drilled and drained. Thanks again Greg!! After remounting the front bumper on the drilled shocks, I collapsed the shocks and pushed the bumper in as far as it would go. Then I fashioned myself some homemade bumper ends. The bumper ends are temporary solutions that I still need to improve on, but from a distance, they look fine. They passed Canadian visual inspection.

Here's a couple shots of the results. It doesn't lose it's "280-ness", but I think the lines are better than original.

I'm not sure if I'm going to change the rear. The front was certainly the biggest bank for the buck.

[MattSaint]

I really like the updated look of the front end.  Nice work!

~MattS