The Stovebolt Forums Forums The Parking Lot Panels 'N Burbs 1951 Suburban Bumpers

Awesome. Thank you so much for taking the time.

Guys,

Thanks for all of your replies--much appreciated. Here's an update and what I have discovered. A week or so ago, I decided to mount my new, aftermarket front bumper; in the process, I discovered (yet again) that often aftermarket parts are NOT identical to the originals. It was obvious that to mount it on my front brackets would take a considerable amount of "persuasion." I had my old, original front bumper, which was nicked up and painted, but not really bent up (unlike my original rear bumper, which was entirely trashed). When holding the original against the new aftermarket, it was clear that the new bumper was not as sharply curved on the ends as was the original. I then pulled out my rear bumper brackets (which I assumed were bent up because the new bumper would not conform to them) and discovered that they would, in fact, accommodate the original bumper. I then decided to try to clean up the old front bumper. I wire-brushed off the paint then buffed it with 3 degrees of buffing compound and it came back to life--not quite as bright as the new aftermarket bumper, but quite shiny and bright (albeit with a few scratches). I then mounted the old polished bumper to the rear brackets and then to the truck--it looks great and the mounting was pretty simple.

I then tackled the front--the new aftermarket bumper, as indicated, was shorter and less curved at the ends than the original, and as a result, it took some persuasion to get all the holes to line up, etc. After much time and frustration, I was able to get it mounted to the front brackets. So, I now have a Suburban with two bumpers, one aftermarket on the front, one original (brought back to life) on the rear. This is the third or fourth time that I have encountered rather serious discrepancies between a new aftermarket part and an original. I know this comes as no surprise, either to me or to other Stovebolters, but I thought that something as simple and straightforward as an AD bumper would not be this far off the original specs. This inaccuracy led me to assume mistakenly that my rear brackets were the things at fault and not the new bumper--I've now learned the lesson to doubt the aftermarket part FIRST, rather than the original.

Thanks again,

Jim

Jim, Where did you buy your after market bumper?

I purchased the aftermarket bumper at the big Iola, WI Swap Meet from a vendor who resides in WI. He was selling a large quantity of aftermarket Chevrolet sheet metal parts, including entire floors for some classics. He was also selling several generations of bumpers. I'm sure he was simply a distributor for one of the large aftermarket dealers, but unfortunately, I destroyed the cardboard box that the bumper came in, so I don't know the manufacturer. Sorry.

I did a bit of digging and found the aftermarket outfit--it was from Key Parts, located in Virginia. They apparently reproduce body parts for most models and years.

Funny how guys will try to fit new parts onto an old truck that has 70 years of bumps, dings, wear and tear, then blame the new parts when they don't fit.

It's a pretty simple and straightforward process to hold a new part up against an original (especially when the original doesn't have a lot of bumps, dings, and wear and tear--and is something as sturdy as a bumper) and conclude accurately that the reproduction part is a very good, very close match to the original or not. In this case, it was off considerably. I have used lots of reproduction parts in my restorations, and I am extremely grateful for the companies and individuals who make and supply them (especially some of the more intricate sheet metal parts)--otherwise some restorations would be impossible, or nearly so. But like all products, some are well done and others are not. Many (maybe even most) fit very well; but I have encountered others (beyond this particular case) that were considerably inaccurate and subsequently cause lots of unanticipated problems. It was my mistaken assumption that a reproduction bumper for an AD truck (which, unlike many others years/models, is pretty simple) would bolt on without much trouble; it didn't, because the reproduction part did not have the same curvature and hole-spacing as the original. So, to avoid a lot of headaches in the future, as I said, I will check for accuracy and fitment first, before trying to fit the part--something I should have figured out a long time ago.

Jim, I think we all share your sentiments. The sad part is we pay as much for poor quality as we do the good ones.
(Hope retirement is going well.)