Bumper change turn signal relocation dead horse

[Gunsmith]

Well I thought it was time to beat a dead horse again on this forum. After checking out the look and cost of the bumperettes out there I think I finally made up my mind to order new old style stainless bumpers for my 82. It just seemed like the cost of the bumperettes were already halfway there and didn't really do much. I've obviously seen plenty of bumperette installs with the signals relocated but I don't remember seeing anyone do a conversion with the old style bumpers? So the next question is if I put the old style bumpers on it looks like they would cover the square holes in the body where I planned to move my turn signals to? Has anyone already done this and what did you do? Or will I have to put them in the grill or under the bumper? Also has anyone purchased the new old style bumpers in chrome or stainless and what did you think of them. Did your car raise up still as I assume they are still considerably lighter than the enormous tubes?

[Tobi]

Take a look at this, that should be motivation.

http://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fi%C8%99ie ... _v_sst.jpg

[Gunsmith]

That is beatiful but I was hoping not to have to do body mods like cutting a new slot for the turn signals but there may not be a choice.

[azruss]

I bought Harrington stainless steel bumpers. Fitting was a real challenge. have 8 hrs per corner in fit. The pix shows the mods i had to make. Harrington in their mount kit supplies a turn signal bracket. looks like it would fit the stock bumpermounted ones. they would mount under the bumper. I havent tried to fit mine as i was planning on a different style of bumper mount turn signal. (Harley bullet style, maybe)

[Gunsmith]

That looks pretty cool man. I too was thinking of Harley style bullet lights of some kind. I'm not happy to hear there was so much time required for fitting though. Was this just because of the custom look you were going for or did it look that bad before you changed them?

[rdrtech]

Gunsmith,
I installed the old bumpers on my 81 and used Harley Bullet lights for the front signal/parking lights. I really like them this way and have gotten many positive comments. Let me know what you think.

[Gunsmith]

That looks great where did you get the over riders?

[azruss]

there were 2 basic issues with the fit. First, the bracket and stud plate jig used by Harrington was no where close to accurate. They claim they were test fitted on a car, but is way off for a late model. The 2nd issue it the shock bumper mounts are located higher than the original flat bar brackets. I did everything i could to keep from modifying the hole and just ended up with a bumper that aligned with the bottom of the grill opening. I ended up with a bumper with turn down corners as the corners had to drop to mate to the fenders. It gave the car a frown. By cutting slots in the bottom of the factory holes, it allowed me to mount the bumper at the vertical location is was intended. This allowed the bumper to sit flat rather than curve down at the corners. The back bumper required redrilling the mounting holes for a fit. no big issue here. the main issue with the rear bumpers is they dont fit the early style license plate lights. I think i have found a solution is using an aftermarket "frog eye" style like you see on custom truck bumpers.

[divace73]

They claim they were test fitted on a car, but is way off for a late model. .

That's kind of funny cause when I questioned them, they claimed that a customer had just asked them to make it and they hadn't tested it on any car... I was really disappointed with the brackets, mine were not even symmetrical and I have to elongate the hole a lot to get the indicate to even sit in place
I know this pic is poor on light but you get the idea, I personally think they sit too high.


I will be doing a big conversion to get rid of the existing holes, cut out holes for the earlier indicators and then place the bumper in the correct position, this will be happening in the new year sometime....just don't know if it will be 2013????

[Gunsmith]

That's kind of disappointing. I was hoping for a better fit out of the box? I kept toying with making my own in the shop so I could build in the turn signal cups and use the existing bumper brackets but figured it would be easier to just buy them. I really appreciate all the pics and info on this I feel quite a bit better prepared to get everything together for this project no matter which way I go.

[davery]

That's kind of disappointing. I was hoping for a better fit out of the box? I kept toying with making my own in the shop so I could build in the turn signal cups and use the existing bumper brackets but figured it would be easier to just buy them. I really appreciate all the pics and info on this I feel quite a bit better prepared to get everything together for this project no matter which way I go.

I was originally going to convert to the early bumpers and started reading this about the brackets. I went for the Abarth bumperettes instead. I still had to make brackets though as I was unhappy with the placement of the bumperettes. Oh well. I do like the bumperettes a little better now that I have them on. I think it gives the car a more aggresive look. Now on to the side mirrors. I think I am going with the Vitaloi Sebrings mounted on the door. They may not be useful, but they look pretty cool!

[racydave]

I had cut down the original tube bumper and did not really like it, so I incorperated it into my chrome bumper project. I had to dolly some imperfections from the chrome bumper, thus all the metal dollies shown, that were given to me. I also had to repair the retaining bolt to retain the bumper, shown with the hole drilled and waiting to be welded back together. I have the Billet lights in the grill area. What I have is a very strong chrome bumper with the mounts from the tube set-up. Yes, it was alot of work. I had to do some relief cuts and reweld to attain the correct attitude for the chrome bumper. If I had got it right the first time....

[joelittel]

I haven't seen this solution before... but I like it.

http://www.fiatspider.com/f08/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=21490

[spidergirl]

Hi I did the same thing for my 1978 spider. I had the extra holes filled in with metal where the signal light wire came through and run it through the with the bumper mount. I made brackets that attached to the bumper bracket. If you need any more information please contact me I would be glad to help.

Cheers Spidergirl