I've put new reproduction chrome bumpers on two AD trucks so far, front and rear. The bumpers I got fit just fine. The reproduction brackets are another story and took a LOT of tweaking to get them to fit on both trucks.
The repro’s had stickers that said "triple chrome", which from what I understand is chrome over nickel over copper. I've got no complaints about the chrome plating or the thickness of the material or the shape, or the hole locations all that was just exactly as the original bumpers were. What I have complained about is they failed to do any deburring or rounding over of the edges as was done on the original bumper. Seems like they pulled the blanks out of the (dull) shear, into the forming dies and right into the plating bath with no concern for any sharp/ragged edges. Had they taken a few minutes more to deburr the edges before plating they would have had an exact reproduction of the factory bumpers. I would have gladly paid $10 more to have the edges finished properly.
As far as re-chroming the original bumpers, it wouldn’t surprise me if 80% or 90% of the original bumpers are bent up in some way. Unlike now days, back in the day we weren’t afraid to give someone a push when their car wouldn’t start or they were stuck. Locked bumpers were as common as flat tires and dead batteries. To have a bumper straightened and re-chromed at the two places that I found that still do it, would have run me more than twice what the repops cost.
Here’s an example of what I’m whining about on the bumpers:
http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/129919627 Original bumper brackets have a well rounded edge to them. The repop brackets, besides not being formed correctly had square unfinished edges and the ripples from the burning machine had to be ground off before they looked halfway decent.
http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/129919770 Alvin, were the edges on those bumpers from Bill’s finished???
Can't say with any authority but I've heard from many people that the reproduction grills are much thinner material and I’ve also heard complaints that some don't fit quite right. If the original grill is salvageable and your planning on painting it, I'd keep it. Of course if you insist on having a chrome grill then price wise your probably better off with the repro and dealing with the fit problems.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL
