Lightening bumpers

[olveston]

I spent some of this afternoon taking the rear bumper off my TR7/V8. It came as a real surprise to find how heavy it was. Does anyone have any experience of using a fibreglass replacement ? I noticed Honeybourne mouldings have some on their website but would like to hear from anyone who has managed to lose a few pounds this way. Any advice will be much appreciated. Thanks very much - Nick

[bmcecosse]

The front bumper is even heavier with the 'harmonic balancing' weights in the side legs. I threw them away a couple of years ago!

[Hasbeen]

There was a good thread some time back , complete with photos, regarding making up a simple bumper base from alloy, which could then be covered with the standard bumper cover. It is well worth finding it if you can.

It might be hard to find using the search function, but should be possible.

You should still tie the front together with something stiff & reasonable strong. I believe part of the difference in my cars in chassis stiffness is due to the rubber mount on the 8s bumper bar, against the solid mount on the 7s bar.

I also removed the harmonic weights some time back, & could detect no change in the car what ever.

Hasbeen

[Sautie]

For some years now locally made fibre glass bumpers have been available from Kim Kitchen in Johannesburg. My daughters TR7 coupe has them on front & rear with no hassles.

[yorkens]

It might actually be beneficial to have such a heavy bumper at the rear to help with traction. An ex TR7 driver commented to me that he used to load his boot with plastic fruit crates, i can´t remember if he actually used fruit though! Probably the recommended TR7 average spares lot would suffice! He said it prevented the rear axle skipping about during spirited driving through twisty & bumpy roads.
In an attempt to reduce front dive i´ve removed the bumper weights, added benefits are much improved handling when removing/refitting, and no more bumper ends sagging

[mb4tim]

I'm told the front bumper of the DHC was used as a torsion bad for the front "frame" horns, to help eliminate body flexing. Not sure of a strut tower might make up the difference if the bumper hardware was removed.

-Tim
http://www.morSpeedPerformance.com

[olveston]

Thanks for all the advice posted in response. Thank you also to Simon at Robsport for his ideas. Having separated the plastic from the metal, I am now considering a bit of lightening rather than full removal . Still have yet to tackle the harmonic balancing weights - what a great name. Best wishes - Nick