Exchange below I had w/ a fabricator in North Carolina - I'd like to gauge interest in this effort....Thanks, Tom G. ME: request:What would it cost to make a Ferrari 400 GT/400i front bumper? Several thousand of varios models w/ same bumper were built. I and other F owners would be very interested as originals rust inside out (rubber over epoxy over steel) and used replacements are $1K+. Item 1 in this diagram: http://www.eurospares.co.uk/partTable.asp?M=1&Mo=491&A=2&B=27858 Picture here:Redirect Notice STEVE: Tom: If I am seeing the bumber drawing right it would not be too hard a piece to mold. If you have a bumper that we can use for a plug, the mold would run about 2500.00, and the pieces would be in the 400 to 500 range depending on how heavy they need to be and how complex the attaching supports behind them would be. ME: Thanks a lot Steve - I don't think weight would be a factor - appearance is more important - actual bumper is 30?lbs max - Supports are separate from the bumper. The bumper back is flat and is attached at 2 points to the car buy a sliding tube (bolted to posts from the car) affixed to the flat inside of bumper by 3x2"? plate screwed in. I know they make paint that matches the blk bumper & in some models it was painted to match the car - I assume folks would do that themselves. How smooth is the fiberglass out of the mold? Would it need sanding match the actual bumper surface? STEVE: the flat back of the bumper would be the attachment point as I understand it. It would most probabably be either an add on after molding or a separate mold piece. The finish on the bumper can be as shiney as you want it. Normally the finish on the plug (the piece you send us to mold from) would be the finish on the molded piece. Normally if the piece is to be painted after the fact we mold it with gray sandable gelcoat and do not try to keep a shiny surface on the mold as the piece will have to be scuffed before painting.
Both of mine are off the car right now, possibly useable (after some clean-up) for a mold. Produced with a black gel-coat, it could close to plug-and-play for most of the series.
Thanks Will! Desire to see if others are interested - As far as I'm aware, the only bumpers available are used - I sealed up the splits in back of my front but it's still rusting out I'm certain -
I'm currently making the molds for both the front and rear bumper for my 400i re-furbish and will post pictures soon. While we are not in the Fiberglass Reproduction business, we have on-site fabrication due to our simulator builds. We put together a CS side skirt and bumper insert kit that turned out great with 15 or so happy 360 owners. So ...no need to pay for a mold, just the actual part(s) should anyone be intersted in the future !
I bought a front bumper that was shipped from Italy and it was $1K+ as stated. I believe those bumpers have steel bar across the front beside the two square mounting plates. I did not e-ray it but I think I am right. The steel should not rust imbedded in fiberglass like they do in the rubber bumpers. This could add some cost to the project if you add this to the design. I will be looking for a rear soon. I am doing my second repair which showed me the rust problem not see with the first surface only repair. Ken p.s. Someone might casually ask eurospares about what they sell.
I had a conversation with a guy who formerly worked at Amerispec in the 80's who swore that the steel plate was chromoly and surprisingly strong.
I checked with Eurospares several weeks ago and their's was used as I recall. The rust very apparent in the splits in the back of my bumper makes me leery of used ones. And the price of fiberglass is attractive.
