Converting US Boxer bumpers back

On the Amerispec conversions, I know it's pretty simple. In fact, Dick at Amerispec might very well have some original bumpers he could sell you. I know he has been advertising original NOS Boxer exhaust systems.

I assume that stuff was all parts he took off in the conversion process.

One of the paperwork items which came with my car was a shipping receipt for the original bumpers, going to the first US owner, so I think I know what happened on mine!

Is that one the Mardikian conversion?

 

keith, here's my euro bumper in back and in front with the grill removed for a good look. Looks like you just need to remove the ugly bumpers and replace the grill in front? rear looks more complicated.
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Cosmetics aside, what was done to the frame to make the bumpers meet the 5mph regulation? On my non-converted car the frame work under the rear bumper is only to hold the fiberglass shell in place with no crash protection whatsoever. It consists of a 3/4" square tube at best along the top edge of the bumper for the bolts that retain it. There must be some added structure or wouldnt the north american bumpers be usless?

 

Hello Paul, I have converted a similar car back to stock. There are several issues, if its a bbi then you need the small white lamps. The wiring for the signal and park lamps need to be altered. Plenty of fiberlass repair, there's alot of bumper missing. Then the frame? That depends on the degree of the conversion. The car I returned to stock had minimal frame mods. Hope that helps. I may also have several sets of nos bumper lamps if you need them.

Rocco

 

Its easy. I had Bo Pirkle do mine for a few hundred bucks. You just remove the entire bumper assembly from the car...then remove the added bumper and you should see two rectangular holes where the white running lights go...patch the holes where the added bumper was mounted with fiberglass repair material...then sand and repaint. you may or may not have to cut some of the metal bracket off that was added to mount the DOT bumper that you have removed...You will need to search to find the white rectangular running lights as they are hard to find. I found a pair at Ferrari of South Africa believe it or not.

 

Hi Keith,
I did my conversion back to the original look and structure two years ago. If your bumpers, US Spec, have been converted similarly as on my car, you have a lot on your plate. I did the work my self with some skillful modelers from our design studio. To accommodate the rubber lip which was mounted on the front structural member of the chassis (modified by welding a flat steel plate with bolts) a long narrow piece of the bumper was cut out. It was a real pain to recreate this missing part as the top of the bumper had no stability. Then the openings for the BBi small white parking lights also required some gymnastics. I could go on and on.
I have documented this conversion by taking lots of photos. If you are interested send me a private mail and I will forward them to you.
I would not recommend buying an old or a new bumper, doesn't work! New bumpers if available do not fit properly, done that... $$$ had to sell back.
Old bumpers? not so sure. Old fiberglass is not very stable if not held in position.
Good luck.
Maximilian.

 

I converted the bumpers from USA to Euro, trickier than I would have imagined. Lots of steel structure to cut out and it was hard to get the compound curve in the fiberglass. Plan on about 30 hours to do the job (without painting it) properly.

 

good decision..no cats, no metal beams, no bumpers, no smog pumps...

 

I personally wouldn't give up on converted cars. I would consider looking for an Amerispec conversion-- I believe many of those have had the bumpers put back to original spec.

For a great start, take a look at this page from Mike Sheehan's website:

http://www.ferraris-online.com/pages/sold.php?pg=6

People around here love to bash on him, but there are 14 examples of Boxers on that site, all thoroughly photographed, and you can get a good idea of what the different cars and conversions look like. It's really a great resource.