tucking bumpers...

[mikejungle]

am i the only the one that thinking tucked bumpers look just mediocre? Especially when the front spoiler isn't brought back as well.

i do think that plastic bumpers look better, but i think it looks silly when db's are tucked. can anyone sway me with an awesome picture?

thanks

[SpecM]

-I have no pics, but I like tucked bumpers... sort of...

[E30 Cabrio]

Maybe get some bumper shocks from a Cabrio, as they are shorter and don't stick out as far.

I believe they are a 1/4" or 1/2" shorter.

I don't like the tucked bumper look, and you lose some of the ability to absorb a low-speed impact.

I had a boom truck, the kind they use to change light bulbs in parking lots back into the back corner of the bumper of my cabby at about 5 + MPH and no damage.

I don't know if I would have fared as well with tucked or plastic bumpers.

I kind of like the DB's - they're old school and I grew up when cars had "real" bumpers on them, made of tons and tons of chrome.

(OT: Reminds me of this movie: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050847/)

It was a sad day for me in 1973 when Chevrolet put a plastic bumper on the front of the Corvette, and then plastic bumpers on both ends in 1974

I know what you guys are thinking - "Damn, that dude is old!"

It's cool. I can still pull chicks in their mid-late 20's.

[reelizmpro]

Tucked bumpers look much better than diving boards sticking way out. The 88' and 88-90 iC short shocks are a good compromise. On my 85, I got 88 shocks and along with my body kit it was perfect. On my 88 w/updated valances, I got pre 88 shocks (because it's hard to get those short shocks any shorter) and tucked the bumpers as well as painted them to match the body. It looked like the car had plastic bumpers.

[SpecM]

It was a sad day for me in 1973 when Chevrolet put a plastic bumper on the front of the Corvette, and then plastic bumpers on both ends in 1974

-qft
-my dad has a '72, last year of the "real" C3s. Little chrome bumpers looks sooo good on old Vettes

[E30 Cabrio]

-qft
-my dad has a '72, last year of the "real" C3s. Little chrome bumpers looks sooo good on old Vettes

Sweet. Post pics some time.

Also, 72 was the last year for the first generation LT-1 motor, and the only year that the LT-1 came with A/C as the earlier attempts in 70 and 71 resulted in too high RPM's and the A/C belts wouldn't stay on, so LT-1 Corvettes in 1970 and 1971 didn't come with A/C, only the 1972 did.

70-72 are my favorite body style on the Corvette, as they went with the fender flares in 1970 so the 70-72's have the flared fenders and chrome bumpers.

I like the egg crate grill on the 1970 as well.

Fiber Optic 'check panel' for the exterior lights is cool too.

Someday, I'll have a Sliver/Black 1970 LT-1 Convertible in my garage.

The plastic bumper C3's just don't look right.

[SpecM]

Sweet. Post pics some time.

-Will do. It's #7 off the assembly line as a '72. Bridgehampton Blue on Black 'vert, 270 hp ('71 spec) RPO 350 (non-LT1), m21 4-spd, 3.73 Posi. "Mosty' stock, PO put a cam/int manifold, we put a Carter 625 4bbl on top and a Mallory HEI dizzy. Nice car, good driver, not too fast, and best of all numbers-matching (mostly, haha).

[Hellabad]

I hate the Olympic size DB, so I compressed them. But I drilled and tapped them for 1/8-npt and installed "tank valves" so I can blow them up with air if I change my mind, sell the car, or move to SF.


jay

[E30 Cabrio]

-Will do. It's #7 off the assembly line as a '72. Bridgehampton Blue on Black 'vert, 270 hp ('71 spec) RPO 350 (non-LT1), m21 4-spd, 3.73 Posi. "Mosty' stock, PO put a cam/int manifold, we put a Carter 625 4bbl on top and a Mallory HEI dizzy. Nice car, good driver, not too fast, and best of all numbers-matching (mostly, haha).

Nice color combo.

C3 metal bumper verts are one of the best looking cars ever.

http://www.freewebs.com/texasrodz/138-3873_IMG.JPG

http://www.motorera.com/corvette/1970/1970/70blue2.jpg

http://www.clevelandcorvetteclub.com/images/FletcherPark06/11vette-05.jpg

http://www.clevelandcorvetteclub.com/images/members/DSC_4569.jpg

Sorry for jacking the thread...

[scabzzzz]

What a waste of time. Scrap em.

[jw 325ic]

if youre gonna have diving boards tuck em. painted looks good on some cars, but the "chrome" look can look good.



who says tucked cant look good?


anyways arent there 1093098503 threads about this already. search more, type less.

[E30 Cabrio]

Another thing I don't like about tucking the DB's is that gap it creates between the bumper and the bumper surround.

The DB's don't look as bad on the Cabby's as on other E30's.

Compared to my old 325es, the Cabby DB's aren't bad at all.

I would still recommend either Cabby bumper shocks, or doing a partial tuck if possible as the full tuck leaves the above mentioned gap that looks unnatural.

My 86es:

[E30 Cabrio]

OK, according to this link, the 88 i/is/ic is 40 mm shorter then the 86 e/es:

http://e30world.com/specifications/BMW-E30-specs-table

40mm is 1.57 inches, so we can assume that both the front and rear DB's are a little over 3/4ths of an inch longer on the early DB cars then the later DB cars.

This is assuming that the length difference is strictly limited to the DB's and also assuming that each bumper is equal in length or in this case, width but we're using the term length as we're measuring the total length of the car.

Maybe someone who has a set of bumper shocks from both cars can measure, or maybe they used a combination of shorter bumper shocks and shorter DB bumpers?

Either way, the later model DB's are a nice compromise. It sounds like someone can just use the shorter bumper shocks and shave off 3/4ths of an inch on the front and the back, and still have the functionality and the protection offered by the bumper shocks intact and not have that gap between the bumper and the bumper surround.

I think this is a better way to go then tucking the bumpers because as mentioned, the tucked bumpers leave a gap between the bumper and the outer bumper surround, and you lose the functionality/protection of the shock itself which can lead to damage in a low speed impact collision.

See the pics in the above post to see the difference between later the later model DB's and the earlier model DB's

I might post a profile pic of my cabrio to show the contrast between the stock bumpers/bumper length difference between the 88 and later DB cars vs. the earlier DB cars.

I think the euro chrome bumpers look the best and might go that route someday, but I'm happy with what I have and will be even more so if I ever get around to painting and installing my 87 "is" front air dam and rear lip spoiler.

Edit: Click the pic below and compare the bumpers to the pic of my 1986 325es in the post above this one:

[E30 Cabrio]

Tucked bumpers look much better than diving boards sticking way out. The 88' and 88-90 iC short shocks are a good compromise. On my 85, I got 88 shocks and along with my body kit it was perfect. On my 88 w/updated valances, I got pre 88 shocks (because it's hard to get those short shocks any shorter) and tucked the bumpers as well as painted them to match the body. It looked like the car had plastic bumpers.

Pics of the 85 with the 88 bumper shocks would be awesome if you have 'em.

Especially a "profile" shot to show the difference the later model DB bumper shocks make.

[jw 325ic]

ugh diving boards are diving boards are diving boards. take it from me ive had both early model db's and 88 vert dbs. yes from factory the verts are shorter but theyre still a diving board. the only thing thats going to make them look any different/better is a full tuck if not 75-80% tuck. if youre worried about the gap, get euro bumpers. plain and simple man. this has been covered hundreds of time, do a search for tucking bumpers and youll see it over and over.