Fiberglass Bumpers

[CDMBill]

I still have steel bumpers on my barge although I removed the factory reinforcement bracket and replaced the mount with short legths of tube saving almost 30 lbs. The remaining steel bumpers weigh around 14# each. Is the change to fiberglass worth it? Light weight as the factory units are the total savings might be 10 lbs. and I like having something to push on or grab from under the car nevermind staving of errant trailers.

Who runs them? Any issues?

[BlueCuda340]

I have thought about it and figured for the little bit of protection the factory stuff has it could make a difference in a collision. I am not so much concerned about my safety as I am the fact that its hard to get parts for my car haha. If I bumped into someone or something at low speed I can buy bumpers, I can't buy grilles or header panels. You have a mustang though so your concerns would likely be different. Just dial up 1-800-mustang parts and its on the way

[TheSilverBuick]

For 10 pounds savings I wouldn't. As you said, the benefit of grabbing them when getting up, or if need be to push the car, etc it's nice to have steel. If it were like 40-50lbs, you'd have my attention, but 10-20lbs wouldn't do it for me.

[Bamfster]

I have them on the Chevelle Bill, and if I had it to do over again, I'd of just gone with repop chrome steel. It's been bumped into (wish I woulda caught the bastage) and there's a few cracks etc.

I'm with Randal ..... for 20#s or so, nope!

[38P]

For 10 pounds savings I wouldn't. As you said, the benefit of grabbing them when getting up, or if need be to push the car, etc it's nice to have steel. If it were like 40-50lbs, you'd have my attention, but 10-20lbs wouldn't do it for me.

It probably is like 40-50 lbs on a '77 Skylark . . . . Just sayin'

Seriously, it depends on what you're building. The Mazda Miata engineers say that reducing weight 1Kg on the ends is better than a 10 Kg reduction between the wheels. That's probably less so in drag racing, where a rearward weight distribution is more important.

That being said, I'd build the engine out of GRP/Carbon fiber if I could, so going with light bumpers on a race-bred car is an easy choice. Not so good though on an NYC taxi cab or any daily driven car that gets exposed to texting "park-by-feel" motorists.

[TheSilverBuick]

It probably is like 40-50 lbs on a '77 Skylark . . . . Just sayin'

More! I weighed them before installing them back on the car. With the backing, the chrome facing and the rubber installed the front and back bumpers were identically weighed at 64.5lbs. That is not including the shock absorber support brace. My car would probably lose an easy 100lbs going to fiberglass (assuming I could get them). I didn't weigh the 5mph bumper shocks absorbers. I opt to keep them because how much the car is on the street and have had a few cars cars bump mine from behind (that I know of...) and have bumped a concrete pole a time or two over the last several years with no adverse effect, so I'm assuming they are working.

[JeffMcKC]

I run them with aluminum mounts on the back. I would be in huge trouble if I got hit from behind. My front is also it has a small moly tube that holds it I tucked it back in 1 inch so I could leave the 2 lbs flat metal peice out between it and the grill.

1lbs here,, 2 lbs there adds up.

We used to ( old days or bad springs and shocks) pour lead in the rear bumpers on bad weight bias cars. Min. weight classes we striped the front and weighted the back came out the same no one ever knew why ours launched theirs did not.

[JeffMcKC]

More! I weighed them before installing them back on the car. With the backing, the chrome facing and the rubber installed the front and back bumpers were identically weighed at 64.5lbs. That is not including the shock absorber support brace. My car would probably lose an easy 100lbs going to fiberglass (assuming I could get them). I didn't weigh the 5mph bumper shocks absorbers. I opt to keep them because how much the car is on the street and have had a few cars cars bump mine from behind (that I know of...) and have bumped a concrete pole a time or two over the last several years with no adverse effect, so I'm assuming they are working.

14 lbs on a G-Body for bumper shocks, each, I have drained them on cheap guys helped, or aluminum or moly tube replaced them before replacing my front ones I even cut the aluminum short for the reason above.

[Lilracr]

If it's truely a street driven car then I would leave them steel, but if your looking to remove as much weight as possible and it's more about competition rather than cruiser that 20lbs means a bunch when all added up.

[squirrel]

I'm lucky, I have a car I can take off the front bumper and it looks better!

[mike343sharpstick]

On my Javelin, the bumpers isn't actually that heavy. The weight of the brackets between the frame and the acutal bumpers is substantial. I bet each bracket weighs 2x more than the bumper itself.
My plan is to get some weight removed from the front by simply lightening or re-frabricating the bumper brackets. I suspect other old cars have similar setups.
If I were to get in a fender bender the front bumper would provide minimal impact resistence anyway.

[tsanchez]

I am not going to be running a fiberglass bumper either, I will fab new brackets and braces. Like said above tha bumpers on our cars are not real heavy, most of it is in the unibody on amcs.

[JeffMcKC]

I'm lucky, I have a car I can take off the front bumper and it looks better!

The 57 a freind had in High School was like that, and your right, or a drive shaft cut down between the horns

[poison gas]

I have nerf bars with a 1 1/2" pipe spreader bar on the front and a 4" pipe bumper on the back. Its standard gasser stuff and light weight too. I can put ballast in the back bumper if need be. The original bumpers were heavy and ugly.

[TomV8]

Hey Bill, the bumpers on the Mustang are factory rubberish covers. Currently I still have all the factory impact stuff in place. On the Fairmont build,I would consider using fiberglass bumpers. Partially to save weight and for appearance as there are no decent bumpers left for those cars. As Jeff says, 10-20 lbs add up to 100 lbs and that a .1 of a second. I missed a jacket by a .010 second, So... On the Fairmont build I plan on leaving no stone unturned.