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MG MGA - Front bumper thoughts?

I had my original front bumper re-chromed and after 5 years the rust is coming through and is far worse than when it was sent for chroming.

So rather than have it re-chromed again, I'm considering purchasing a repro bumper probably from Brown & Gammons as they are local to me.

What are the current thoughts on the quality of repro front bumpers?

John
J Bray

I bought repro bumpers 12 years ago when rebuilding my 62 MGA. They were purchased from Moss in the USA. They still look as good as when new and we have put 24,000 miles on the car since they were installed. We keep the car in a heated garage which probably helps preserve them. They do not salt the roads here and we do drive in the winter if the weather isn't too bad. My feeling about repro or rechroming was that repro bumpers were less expensive and as we were going to use the car as a driver it did not make sense to spend more money for the sake of originality. Most people can't tell the difference by looking. If you are building a show car then originality would dictate that rechroming the original bumpers would be the thing to do. This photo was taken 2 years ago, 10 years after the bumper was installed.

Ed Bell

John

I bought repro bumpers in 1997 and chrome-wise they are holding up extremely well - no sign of rust. However, I am not impressed with the finish at both ends of the rear bumper. It seems that the chrome plating was not properly cleaned up after dipping. Either that or the raw metal was not prepared properly prior to dipping. The attached photo taken with a magnifying enlargement says it all. Although, at a casual glance from a few feet it is barely noticeable. I guess you get what you pay for. I wish I had exchanged them at the time. Easy to be wise after the event.

Steve

Steve Gyles

The trouble with chromed items is that you do not know how good they are until around 10 years have gone by. I fitted Moss repro bumpers about 20 years ago and they have held up very well. OK, the profile might not be prefect but the finish is still good. In the meantime some of the bolts have lost their plating and now need replacing - another of those little jobs to get round to.

I have though no idea if the current production will survive as well.

Malcolm
Malcolm Asquith

Steve your bumpers look as if they used too much current to rush thru the job
gary starr

Gary

You may be right. I know zero about chrome plating. The front bumpers were in the same package and are fine.

Steve
Steve Gyles

I have two objects to the reproduction bumpers that I have seen on the market. First the profile is way off and does not look have as good as the way they were designed at the factory. Second I have not found the quality of the chrome to be anything close to the original. Maybe for many driver cars these things don't matter too much but....
Keith Lowman

This thread was discussed between 14/04/2013 and 19/04/2013

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