Where to source bumpers for 79 TA

[muncie21]

I'm having my '79 WS6 TA repainted.  The shop told me my existing (original) bumpers (front/rear) and wheel spoilers were too dried out to sand/paint. Seems that getting these parts used is rolling the dice, as I can't guarantee (without bringing the paint guy with me, or via ebay can't see period) the used ones would be any better than the current ones.

This leaves me with having to source new/repro bumpers/spoilers.  Suggestions?

[FormTA]

I haven't heard one good thing about the repop urethane bumpers for the 79. Either they don't fit worth a darn and or once they are made to fit, they shrink within a year. Now this isn't first hand experience but I have heard and seen a few horror stories and most say they wish they would have just saved/repaired the originals.

I have worked with a few urethane parts and a lot of them can be saved but if it were me, I'd buy fiberglass flares and repair my original bumpers or buy someone else's and repair those.

[b_hill_86]

Where are you located? I have a pretty nice 79 nose, the bumper structure underneath and a set of 79-81 wheel flares. Flares need painted but are not torn or have holes/cracks. The bumper has one tear at the bottom that should be able to be repaired and a spot inside where the bumper meets the left fender.

[roadking77]

I second Form TA. Have no experience with repro's but have heard bad things about them. Try to use original parts when and where possible. Unless your car came from the dessert I would have to wonder why they are dried out. I have seen some in bad condition but with the proper materials unless they are all but gone they should be able to be repaired. If you can find a decent (and it sounds likeBhill has what you need) original part, its worth the chance to make it right over a new piece.

[tinpusher]

I bought a repop a while back…. Junk… took my torn original front and rear to a local bumper repair shop and they did an amazing job for a couple hundred. Still on the car today no issues, and it had a fairly large tear.
I would check with your local body shop to see it they would recommend a shop.

[stros]

Tried multiple repops, all have been junk.  I found a place that repairs our original urethane bumpers near me.  I've had both my front and rear bumpers repaired by them and they seem to be holding up well.  I believe their repair fixed the cracks I had and added some material to the bumpers to make them less prone to cracking in the future. 

[Wallington]

How do they fix the originals with tears? Can it be plastic welded back together, or perhaps those little S-shaped staples that melt into them and them fill over? Can they reduce the sag by heating and pulling back into shape? Unconfirmed reports but the undersized fibreglass types may have been directly copied from moulds of shrunken originals, plus they tend to then shrink again in the process. Luckily my front end was pretty good, that I recall!

[FormTA]

Yes, you can plastic weld them. The little "S" staples melted in works good. I have melted in aluminum window screen before but I like to buy a stainless steel sink strainer and cut that out and melt that in. You can buy urethane bumper filler to fill in and straighten low areas. I had one area that was low I heated up with a heat gun and clamped paint sticks to it straighten out. I then used some of the urethane filler on the back side to help keep the shape. O then spray it with epoxy primer and wet sand that to smooth out any scratches. My cover still looks amazing 5 year later now.

[muncie21]

Thanks for all the replies folks.

Structurally the bumpers are fine (no rips/tears) however the car was in TX/NM for over 20 years, so yes the poly material likely very dry.  Paint guy said 'primer just soaks in' whatever that means and suggested I purchase replacements.

The car is in Akron, OH if case there's anyone nearby that has these parts.

[roadking77]

On my 77 I had a couple of low spots where the front meets at the top of the fenders. I used a very thin body filler made for urethane to bring that area up a bit. It was somewhat of a challenge as the material is almost like water and very hard to build up. IF that were my bumper I would maybe try to do a skim coat of some type of product such as this over the entire area. That should seal it up. May be a bit more work but if what you have is structurally sound and fits good it may be worth the effort.

[b_hill_86]

Thanks for all the replies folks.

Structurally the bumpers are fine (no rips/tears) however the car was in TX/NM for over 20 years, so yes the poly material likely very dry.  Paint guy said 'primer just soaks in' whatever that means and suggested I purchase replacements.

The car is in Akron, OH if case there's anyone nearby that has these parts.

Hey, I was just out that way (Cuyahoga Falls) last week for work. I’m in the Toledo area. Sending you a PM

[sreta]

I tried to fix mine with hot staples and it didn't work.

[tinpusher]

If they are absorbing a ton of primer,, I would definitely look into SPI epoxy primer and it can also be used as a sealer.
I used SPI Epoxy on a Endura front bumper and I came out awesome. It stays flexible but sand’s easily. SPI even has a recommended procedure to use for the Pontiac bumpers. The Endura acts like a sponge until you build it up with epoxy… I’m sure the urethane acts the same.
I would call them and ask about it….great stuff for restorations.

https://www.southernpolyurethanes.com/epoxy-primer

Use the 3M 05895 bumper repair kit.

[FormTA]

I was going to suggest that exact same thing!