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MG MGB Technical - Stainless Steel Bumpers report.

Like many of us, I've been disappointed with rechroming results - and costs - in recent years, certainly here in Australia. I have had two attempts on my original '73 BGT bumpers, both rusted again after 1 to 2 years in a warm, dry environment.
SO - I've just unpacked my stainless bumpers from Bumperautomobile in (yes) Vietnam, and I thought some might be interested in a preliminary report.
(1) The time taken was fine - about 4 weeks from confirming my order to being shipped out of Vietnam. One week from Vietnam to my doorstep.
(2) Packaging - carefully wrapped (see pic) and boxed. They fooled me by using dark wrapping and I thought I had black bumpers.
(3)Quality - holes appear to line up fine; profile of the hole seems to be stamped accurately; the profile of the bumper is certainly close enough to satisfy me - yes, the horizontal seam along the centre line is slightly more defined than the original. The angle at the ends is again slightly less rounded - but very much acceptable to me. Mine is a daily driver, very straight but with upgrades, so absolute "correctness" is not critical.
The finish of these bumpers is amazing - it is hard to believe they are not chromed. They are slightly thinner (about 1.5mm) compared to my 2mm originals, so could be slightly easier to damage.
(4) Price - about $650 Australian all up, including overriders and fixings. BUT - to date they don't offer overriders for the rubber inserts - I have new repro chrome overriders, and they are virtually indistinguishable from the s/steel.
I will fit and post photos after Christmas away, but I have to say the first impression is very favourable.
I hope this is of interest.
John.





J P Hall

Hi John,

I would be interested in more information on these

Cheers,

Maurie Prior

Glen Innes NSW Australia
R M Prior

Hi Maurie - happy to provide any further info/pictures any time; I unexpectedly became bogged down with refurbishing the front end hubs, kingpins, Armstrongs, springpans, a-arms, pivot pins etc - all because I took the steering column out to fix the semi-collapse epoxy pins and thought I'd better just check that everything was ok under the wheelarches ... sound familiar?
About 3 days at a retired buffer's pace and I should have the second side all back together, whereupon I'll put the new bumpers on.
Please let me know if you would like any more bumper info before then though.
Yours,
John.
J P Hall

Shipwright's disease ...
paulh4

John,

Thank you for the message. My interest stems from needing to make a decision in whether to buy the aftermarket bumpers from Moss US (out of stock) or Moss Europe (out of stock) Since you mentioned that the aftermarket ones were tarnishing early, it is obviously a waste of time and money.

As you also mentioned, the cost of re-chroming is becoming stratospheric for whatever reason and I am torn between the idea of the stainless (thinner metal) and re-chroming my existing ones.

What to do?

Maurie
R M Prior

Maurie, just to clarify: I have not tried aftermarket bumpers, but I have TWICE within 6 years paid good money to have the B bumpers rechromed, only to be disappointed. I tried to send them back after the first effort, only to find the business had closed - I wonder why! The second effort was no better.
I had heard that the aftermarket chrome bumpers don't hold their chrome for anything like as long as the originals, for whatever reason. So I took a leap of faith before Christmas and bought the stainless steel items from Bumperautomobile direct (I think they also supply a large third party in the UK).
As to the thinner metal, I have placed the 2 together, and to be honest I'm not overly concerned.
Hope this helps. As soon as I am able, I will fit the new bumpers and post a couple of pics.
John.
J P Hall

Bumpers were one of the things I'm not disappointed with when I restored the roadster over 30 years ago, and even then the parts place said I should look through their stock to find a 'good' pair. Seat covers and vinyl items less so, the seats needed recovering again as they fell apart, I spent some time examining them at different places, but I can live with the vinyl. I'm glad I didn't replace the door seal rubbers as complaints about those being too hard and/or thick have been legion for years. The only trim I replaced on the V8 at its repaint a couple of years was the heater intake grille, and that doesn't fit the curvature properly!
paulh4

This thread was discussed between 21/12/2020 and 17/01/2021

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