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MG MGB Technical - Best price chrome bumpers?

An old chestnut, I know, but I wonder which supplier currently offers the best price for reproduction chrome bumpers? - my originals (‘73) are in need of rechroming for the second time in 10 years, and the rechroming cost over here is much the same as buying new bumpers. I appreciate the better quality of the original metal, and will certainly keep them, but am considering putting on new repros for the daily driving.
A UK supplier offers front bumper for GBP 155, which is Aus $290, against a best price of about $350 here, plus freight. So my local supplier wants to make $100 per item, which seems a bit steep.
Of course the freight cost from the UK on such a bulky item would probably be the killer.
Any Australian friends have any better knowledge?
Thanks as ever.
John.
J P Hall

John, I was asked to fill in for the MGB Registrar for the Sydney MG Car Club Annual Display Day last weekend, and oversee the MGB judging.

I was quite staggered by the MGBs with reproduction bumper bars. You could pick the repro bars instantly. They fit poorly, especially at the rear where they often had large gaps between the body and the bumper, and between the corner infills and the bumpers. Many gaps between the corner infills and the bumper bars were large enough to put your finger into!
The leading edges of the rear bumpers (at the front of the parts that come around the corners and run forwards) were always the wrong shape too, always rounded rather than the more wedge like profile of the originals.

The repro front bars seemed to fit a little better, but again, the trailing edges of the ends on the side were visibly different to the originals, and didn't match the recess in the car nearly as well as the original bars.

The reproduction over-riders on the earlier, non-rubber faced types were obviously wrong too. The edges facing the car on the originals are bevelled away from the car in their top inch and a half or so. The reproduction over-riders are dead straight.

Based on what I saw, I would never dream of buying repro bars. Better to search out a well-recommended chrome plater who does quality triple plating work. Your bars' chrome should have lasted a lot longer than 10 years, especially for a car that presumably is no longer on the road every day.
My own 1965 MGB was my every day driver for many years, from 1970. It was hit in the back, and the rear bar bent in around 1972. The bar was repaired and rechromed at the time. It still has the same chrome plating, admittedly now starting to look a little old in places, but about 200,000 miles and 47 years later!! The front bar is still the original, and has never been replated.
T Aczel

I don't know if there are different quality versions of repro bumpers available, but from what I've seen and heard, I would be looking at rechroming some good originals.

In the UK, properly rechromed bumpers are more expensive than the repros, but you get what you pay for.
Dave O'Neill 2

And- the freight on anything over a metre long is a pain
Royal mail won't do it
I bought a bumper strip for our elan , actually i bought 2 for $25 Au from UK and had them sent in a piece of plastic conduit by the time i got em here they cost over $100 so a pair of bumpers would be expensive plus don't forget gst, that $290 goes to $320 straight away plus postage from there--
I'd be asking your local hotrod guys where they get theirs done, they seem to be able to find the good places to go to

willy
William Revit

Different shapes so almost certainly different qualities of chroming, as described here https://www.britishcarforum.com/bobmuenchausen/22801.html

I was lucky, got over-riders from one source and bumpers from another. Over the counter for the latter and chap suggested I might like to look through their stock to 'pick a good pair'. That was 30 years ago, not a mark on any of them so far ...

If you can't select them then re-chroming has to be the way to go, for the shape as much as anything else.
paulh4

"A UK supplier offers front bumper for GBP 155, which is Aus $290, against a best price of about $350 here, plus freight. So my local supplier wants to make $100 per item, which seems a bit steep.
Of course the freight cost from the UK on such a bulky item would probably be the killer."

I see nothing wrong whatsoever with a retailer in Australia laying out his own money to buy these bars from their overseas supplier, storing them for an unknown length of time with his money tied up in them, covering his various other overheads before, hopefully, ultimately reselling them and making $100 per item.

But in my experience, overseas postage costs of even small items has become very expensive. $60 extra on the purchase price, plus local freight cost to buy locally vs save $60 + add GST + overseas freight charges is likely to make the purchase for you of the repro (yuk) bars in Australia an absolute bargain if that's what you decide on after all.

However, I said, based on what I saw recently, I wouldn't dream of trying to fit repro bars onto a nice car.
Repro bars seem perfect for the "quickly and superficially tart it up, throw on some new shiny, and always red paint (no matter what the original colour), and some new chrome and move it on" cars one sees offered all too often in our country.
T Aczel

I bought this tatty Austin Sprite a few years back. It was fitted with shiny new bumpers.

I fitted another set of bumpers, which were more suited to it's well-used state, and put the new bumpers in the shed. Within weeks, there was rust oozing out of the surface of the new bumpers.

That explained why I found a half-used tube of Autosol chrome polish in the boot.

Dave O'Neill 2

Repro bumper arguably better only than none at all. Spend the money and get a proper job that lasts and doesn't rust.
Interestingly, I scored a pair of split rear bumpers about 40 years back, at a time when full rear bumper weren't available. For g rally stages with the ever present risk of hooking the bumper in a bank with the tail hung out, I removed and motbbslledcthe original and fitted the split bumper. Still on the car today, no rust. This is despite (only one!) shunt that required the RH one to be straightened. In a hurry before the next event, do with a big hammer and a promise for proper fix. Still there, and no chrome gone. That's quality.
Paul Walbran

Well, I asked for it! Absolutely no support for putting on repro bumpers. In my defence: the car is a stripped and repainted (white, TA) daily driver,very tidy but neither concourse nor original - wheels are Superlites, gearbox is Supra 5-speed, shock absorbers are tubular - with a new Webasto, just a beautiful car to use. I massively prefer the quality of the original bumpers, and I did not skimp on cost when I had them rechromed - it's just so hard to get a good rechroming job done in this part of the country.
SO - I have to weigh up the cost and benefit, and your comments have helped me to gauge the pros and cons.
Thanks as ever.
PS a (poor) pic of the B on yesterday's "Towball weight" conversation).
J P Hall

Alternatively, remove bumpers altogether and use infill valance on rear. This has been my spec for last 30 or so years, other than in a futile period about 25 years ago when I thought I'd try and make car look as near to original as poss. Futile, because there's always going to be some pedant who's going to say car is all wrong as it's made up of optimum bits from various years. I then promptly trashed front bumper on commute when bloke in front in a Rover 25 stopped unexpectedly on a roundabout (they've a steel bar underneath their plastic rear 'bumper').
Peter Allen

Peter, any chance of a pic of your (car's) rear end infill valance just to clarify?
John.
J P Hall

Not a brilliant pic, John, but hope this works. If not I'll send it to you by PM.

They're available from a variety of suppliers. I bought mine from Motobuild in the UK - not sure if they're still going.

Peter Allen

An alternative to chrome bumpers are the stainless steel bumpers made by groupharrington.com
These have been highly recommended on quality and are price competitive.

https://groupharrington.com/product/mg-mgb-bumpers/

Mike
Mike Ellsmore

This thread was discussed between 01/11/2019 and 03/11/2019

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