Restoring 308 Bumpers

I just refinished mine but they are euro bumpers. Lots of sanding by hand, filling, priming and multiple finish coats. About 5 hours per bumper and they were perfect! I used 220 grit sandpaper first to get rid of all the surface damage. Kleen Strip Prep-all to remove all wax and silicone. Bondo glazing & spot putty to fill imperfections. 320 grit sand. Prime with Duplicolor sandable primer. More glazing, sanding & priming until smooth as glass. 400 grit sand then 800 sand. Kleen strip again. Finished with 3 coats of Rustoleum exterior satin black enamel.

I had to also repair a large crack in the rear bumper with Bondo Glass short fiber filler and do the same procedure.

It took about 7 days to finish them with drying time overnight for each primer & finish coat.

 

I had to get a new one. Mine leaked water, probably around the turn signal, and the covering popped open. Rutlands wanted about 2 large for a good used one. I put a search on ebay and got a hit in about a week. I won and paid $500. It's on my car and looks good.

Anyone want my old one?

 

After sanding down, your local autozone etc. should carry black bumper paint and clear bumper primer.

 

Tommy,
Yours are USA, right? The Euro ones are little more than fiberglass and plastic, easy to sand, fill and paint (and useless as bumpers I might add!) The USA ones are metal with a rubbery covering, not very easy to repair. I had to replace my front one too because water got in and the inside was rusting and making the rubber part bubble out. Fortunately, there is a ready supply of USA bumpers available used from people that take them off to put on Euro "bumpers" (really just trim, not bumpers).

Verell is currently an expert on Euro bumper refinishing. He is in the middle of repairing his as well.

Birdman

 

It's USA. Same thing that happened to you. People suggested the euro as a replacement. Not for me. I don't want someone to tap me in a parking lot or stop light and cause $38,000 worth of damage.

 

Dude ...Congrats on bagging a nice looking car!

I do not think it is a straight swap on the mounting...

The North American ones, as stated are steel and heavily, on shocks...

The other thing to recall is the front has a different shape, so the grill is shaped for that...

I think those that keep them as delivered are going the best way..

But it is easy to adjust the big ones in some, to make them less obtrusive...

 

Gotta agree with Bubba on this one. There are conversion brackets to put Euro bumpers on the car. But Like Tommy said, they will not function as bumbers, just trim. If some idiot backs into you in a parking lot you will wreck the car. And the grille won't look right.

Birdman

 

You can push the USA bumpers in a little to get the Euro look with only a slight (?) reduction in the protection that the USA bumpers provide. There is a company that sells shorter bumper mounts for the USA front bumper that advertises on eBay and they seem pretty well made. You can also do the old trick of drilling out the OEM mounts and pushing them in, then welding or pinning them in place as shorter mounts. (Search archives for instructions). They lose their ability to compress in an accident and absorb energy, but you still at least have a chunk of real bumper on the car.

I know that the Euro look is the "pure" form of the 308 as it was designed, but I prefer the "pointier" look of the USA car. I know the bumpers are heavier but I like the look. That's what Magnum's car had! Looks are entirely subjective, so go with what you like. I have seen cars with the front bumper pushed in about halfway between the USA look and the Euro look and it was a very nice compromise that I thought looked decent.

Birdman

 

me too

 

Yeah, Tommy and I are the two weirdos on this site!! We are the founding members of the new "Pointy 308 Brotherhood ("P3B")!

Birdman

 

here's a story, one of those not wearing the seatbelt saved my life type of stories. now it isn't ferrari related but bumper related. i had a '80 M535, beautifull car finishedin fjord blau. the front bumper was more or less a fiberglass cover. the US version of the 5 series sported a giant 50lb steel and rubber bumper very much like the ferrari one and the 'shocks' however on my Euro none of that was there.

now as luck would have it, one day on the way back to the office a (i'm going to try an avoid P&R, but it's hard) illegal driving a 'borrowed' car and license decided to pull into my lane on the highway from her stoped lane. result? i nailed the back drivers corner at about 65mph, she went flying. the front of my car looked as though i nailed the corner of a building. i was still able to drive home and park the car.

once at the body shop, the body guy was going over the frame and was suprised to find the car still straight. apperantly the heavy US bumpers when hit from the front or back will pull the shock towers in and cause more damage. becouse i had the Euro front it simply crumpled where it needed and absorbed the impact. i even went back to work after i swaped cars that day, no injury at all to me. damage total was almost 15k.

these heavy 5mph bumpers although save you from some idiot backing up seem to cause more damage in accutual accidents. no suprise there, but since 'Big Brother' is watching i'll keep quiet.

 

I'm with you. Euro all the way!!
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If you hit someone at 65 MPH, your car is toast, no matter what bumpers you have! The 5 MPH bumpers in theory can absorb a 5 MPH impact, such as a tap in the parking lot, with no ill effects. The Euro bumpers will not!

Birdman

 

It's true, I backed my 308GTB out of JR's shop and ran into his parked 308GT4......

I had to go have a beer after that one.......

 

You can buy Euro replica bumpers for a few sources and they are a straight bolt on fit. Euro Ferrai sourced ones need bracket modification. It took me about 30 mins for the front and back and I got mine from Butch Hooper for about 1k in total. The weight difference is amazing and I couldn't stand the US style bumpers which ruin the lines IMHO.

As for protection I always make sure my car is parked well away from other idiots so am not worried.

 

What did you do about the grille?

 

Exactly!

 

Left it as it is.

I will have to take a photo and post but it looks to me the same as a stock Euro car? Am not sure if its correct or not for a 77 GTB.

I am also fitting a Euro deep front spoiler when I get the chance. Was wondering if a second benefit may be increased stability at higher speeds. (100+) ?

 

I put Euro bumpers on my '79 308 GTB. I got the bumbers and a Euro grill from Ferrari UK. It looked awful with the US grill and Euro bumper. I made the front bumper brackets out of 1/8" steel plate to mount to the stock shock absorber's mounting bolts. On the rear I used the stock mounts. The hole spacing is a little different but I was able to just elongate the stock holes to fit.

I am concerned about the heat on the rear bumper. The Euro rear valance is enclosed around the bumper where the US version is open to the lower half of the bumper. I have been working on a heat shield design but was wondering if anyone out there has done this before and could help?

 

IMHO, The heat shield is a very good idea.

I've got a Euro 308 GTS QV & the rear bumper has bowed outwards quite a bit from the muffler heat. The higher heat from a US car's cats will probably exacerbate the problem.

BTW, recently bought a Euro bumper from Ferrari.UK. Was expecting it to come in primed & ready to spot touch up & paint. It came in rough (40 grit) sanded, with pinholes & larger voids in the fibreglass, and it did NOT have the cutouts on the back to clear various things.

It was actually less work to repair my original bumper than to prep the new one for use!

BTW, that was NOT a NOS bumper, it had a sticker on it indicating it was mfg'd in 2005!

On the other hand, at the same time I also bought a rear bumper from them. It arrived pre-painted satin black & appeared to be ready to install until I noticed that in one spot the perforated steel reinforcing plate was visable. Still, a quick sand of a 10" or so long area & touch-up respray are all it needs to be ready for installation. My suspicion is that this was an NOS bumper.

 

Both my front and rear bumpers were "ready to install". The front was very nice, the rear had a little faint fiberglass matting showing through in one spot. Was this the quality of the originals? Did the factory have to rework these too?

The boxes were labled "TRW Italia". Was this the OEM?

 

Anybody got photos of the Euro conversion bumpers with USA grill?? Thanks.