The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk 41 bumper. what is best way to go?

I need to put a bumper on my 41. I just looked at Jim carter, 315 or 375, then I contacted my chrome guy, he says 475 to rechrome an original. What are the pros and cons of going either way. Dave

I got the chrome bumpers from Jim Carter. They are rather affordable with the 10% discount. The chrome looks good but time will tell how well it will hold up. The bumpers are approximately the same thickness as the originals. The one thing I don't like about them is that they did not smooth the stamped edges before chroming them.

I did not get the old ones rechromed because of the much higher cost and time investment, the potential difficulties in dealing with chromers, and the high variability of the quality of rechromed parts. In general I have not been happy with the work of local craftsmen, which has resulted in a number of redos.

I opted for stainless steel. If (when) I get a scratch, it should polish out if not too deep and should not be a source for corrosion to start.

Have a re chromed original and a stainless steel on my '37. I can't tell the difference in looking at them as far as appearance. If the PO hadn't already had the bumpers re chromed for the '46 project, I'd not think twice about going with stainless on it too.

Homer, have you checked with BumperBoyz? I do not know about quality now but I have two bumpers on my 37 that I purchased from them back around 99 or 2000 and they have held up well but then I keep my truck in the garage most of the time but I do drive it a lot. I wash it and keep check on them. So far, so good.

I will check with bumper boys. Harold, where did you get the stainless? Dave

Jim Carter 2 or 3 yrs ago.

Not quite a bumper question but what about grilles? I took mine in for a quote and he quoted $600-700 for a total rechrome. A replacement is a similar price up north here. I've heard stories about reproduction parts not fitting (my tail lights weren't exact). I'd like the truck's front centerpiece to fit well and look sharp. I know the stocker fit great. Any comments?

Fox, $600-$700 is probably the going price for a 46 grill. I tried a repro grill and it didn't fit worth a crap. So I bit the bullet and repaired and rechromed the orig. It's the only way to go IMHO.
George

6 to 700 must be a bargin for rechroming, it cost me 1400 in Washington, BUT it looks FANTASTIC. Dave

I think I'll go original too. That's crazy how much differences in price can be. I suspect that the chrome shop may have "extra" fees that may come into play. Thanks for the input.