I'd like to put 56 Ford bumpers on my 57 to get rid of the massive ones that 57s have. I'm not asking how to, just if anyone out there has done this and have some pictures.
Look at a 58 Fairlane bumper. Bolts on. Larger then the 300s, not nearly as massive as the 500s from 57.
Assuming you have a Fairlane you could use a Custom rear bumber, just a thought.
I was actually thinking of doing the exact opposite. I like the 57's huge Fairlane 500 monster bumper. I currently have the standard Custom bumper.
I thought the '58 was same as the '57 custom line. I'll have to start googling for pictures to compare.
I looked at the '58 Fairlane, the (rear) bumper is similar in size to a '57 but a little cleaner. I would bet the custom series bumpers are the same from '57 to '58.
So to bring this back up what was the definitive answer on the best looking bumpers? I need a set for my RW.
mine....lol
Jerry...I'm not sure you'll have as many options as the passenger cars...your tailgate I believe will restrict the options usable.The wagon guys will have to chime in here, but I do believe it's a Custom size bumper with wagon/ranchero only guards.
Rich your bumper isn't shiny enough :002: Looks good but a little too modern for me. Get that car on the road I want you to drive it to Phoenix so I can see it in person.
The pic was base coat before the clear...it's shiney now!! lol
On the topic of bumpers. Has anyone powder coated instead of chromed, any first hand experience? I'm thinking bumpers and grill.
I love my chrome, don't get me wrong.. Around here chrome is expensive beyond belief. The plan for my car right now is to switch from my chosen 90's restoration red/white back to a sealed/tinted black/white primer. I have spare bumpers and was thinking of blasting the most rusted set. Then going with powder coat for a few years until I save enough money to go back to a nice 50's traditional paint job and re-chrome often spare set...
Chrome powder coating is big over here because chrome plating is being banned very shortly. The powder coated type looks like a satin-chrome or stainless steel/nickel finish. It looks quite nice, especially if all the other parts are done the same and is way cheaper than plating.
I talked with a guy at a local swap meet who is from Fullerton Ca about new bumpers and he is cheaper than getting mine re chromed. He will even delete the bolt holes and weld in the bolts for a smooth bumper about $700.00 for front and rear and he will deliver to the next swap meet for free. It is $900 to $1000 here for the local chrome shop to fix and the smooth out my stock bumpers plus the wait is 4-8 weeks. The guy from Cali needs my bumpers for a core and he will give me some credit for my extra rear bumper.
Jerry...you need a HUGE caution here. There are a number of socal chrome guys who quite frankly I'm surprised are still alive after reading about how many guys from the Hamb were looking for these swap meet guys...and not to share a cup of coffee.
I don't want to mention any names publicly, for obvious reasons, and a bad memory, but in no way would I give even a deposit until the work was done and inspected.
There is a company called the Bumper Shop...NOT to be confused with the Bumper Boys (or vise-versa..there's my bad memory, I'll check for a receipt)...that does the swap meets in tx, ok, and nm..maybe Arizona, I don't know. I got my replated grille from them and my front bumper. The pieces were already done, at the swap meet, and they gladly unwrapped them for inspection. Both were excellent. Grille was 380. for the 3 pieces, bumper I think was about 300., and it had the guard holes welded....(LOL...I got a deal on it because he had modified the bumper welding in the guard holes as a special order for a customer who never picked it up. I had been quoted 80. additionally previously to weld up those holes) Even with them though, I had seen other bumpers they had in previous years and they weren't done as well as the ones I bought.
Also, I am assuming by "new bumpers" you were actually talking to him about replated ones.
Yes Rich new to me re plated original bumpers that is why they need my old ones. I will check again and make sure it was not one of the ones you mentioned but the Bumper Shop seems quite familiar. I will check tonight and give them a call tomorrow and I will see what they have to say. They were busy yesterday selling bumpers and they did unwrap them for inspection. BTW thanks for the heads up.
I was out at the Pomona swapmeet yesterday and noticed an uptick in the number of chrome shops there. Last time I was out there was about 2 years ago when I saw only a few BIG shops that had 50+ bumpers on display. This time around there were many more smaller shops that had only a few bumpers on display and were actively advertising. I could tell some of these smaller shops were not chrome mills. At least one of the guys I spoke to wanted to tell me every step of the process and was answering all my questions. The big shops didn't bother much, they wanted core exchanges and pretty much blew me off when I started to ask anything more than pricing or timing questions.. I did get some quotes on a front bumper. The going rates were actually lower than the last time I checked at $280-400.
This sort of makes sense, the chrome shops in Santa Barbara and Ventura county seem to be gone. The small shops must be popping up in the industrial LA areas to make up for the demand form outlying counties where chroming is no longer happening due to local ordinances making it more difficult, expensive or outright prohibited.
This is new pricing I encounters is more reasonable. I'll have to start doing some background checks, but it seems to me like I will be going with chrome again soon rather than later.
Also picked up a few Holley y block dizzies and one I can't identify that I initially thought was a '57 tach drive.. I'll see about posting some pictures under a new topic, maybe someone can help me identify it.