Rubber Bumper Sebring Conversion

[Paul Slice]

DJThom,


On the 78 the origional plan was to paint the rubber bumpers body color, like Paul is talking about, untill I removed them and realized just how heavy that they feel. Once off they were never reinstalled and 4 years later I would without hesitation do the mod again.

The top of the grill and the bottom of the hoods(bonnet) fitment is very hard to get correct but does not show much when the car is finished and painted, the turn signal placement is also critical to the looks of the finished product.

The Sebring panels you are using will look great but I was lazy and used the Fibreglass spoiler bumper which required no bodywork except mounting the indicator lights.

The best part is that after it is completed you can sit nearby at car shows and watch the faces of the people as they walk by your car, some will love it others will look like they have a sudden need to use the portajohn /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif



Good luck,
Paul S



my rubber bumperless 78

 

[jlaird]

Put me in the I love it column. Looks like the factory wanted it to be.

 

[PAUL161]

my rubber bumperless 78

I've said it before and I'll say it again, that is one sharp looking "B". To those who have not seen this car in the flesh, I have and it's as sharp inside as it is outside! PJ

 

[vagt6]

Nice fit and finish job, however, not my cup of tea.

Just my opinion, which are like bellybuttons: everyone has one. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/lol.gif

 

[Phantomracer]

when reading the catalog, where it says there is a lot of work to install them, they are not kidding! I have my bumpers off my GT, gettign ready for the Sebring valances. If installed as is, the fron one will not be smooth with the body, the body flangeneeds to be brought out to keep somewhat smooth lines. Also there will be a gap from the valance to the radiator apron (at least on the CB GT I have) that will need to be filled.

Since I am doing the rockers now, it is far from my mind how I plan on doing it, but I know I have a lot of work in store doing it!

 

[bobmga62]

I have behind the garage a complete front suspension off a 72 B.. cross member a arms, shock springs discs.steering arm

Intrestingly, in essence only four mega bolts holds the suspension to the body of the car..

to raise the car, they re-engineered the main crossover, withand addtional two inch or so spacer...

this allows you to drop the front end, with oout any geometry changes.. and if you wish, keep the rubber bumper, but be back to a real handling (and visual pleasing) height..

$100 for everything,,, needs to be picked up..

Rear suspension, piece of cake, Re-arch the springs, or buy longer spring u-bolts and put a spacer in between the axle and the leaf spring... when I raed an MGA, I re-arched the springs and installed a panhard rod..


$100 for everything,,, needs to be picked up..

 

[DJThom]

I've been able to get a little bit done in these busy weeks. I got the front all apart, old mounts cut back and the filler pieces made. On the rear, I put my new tail lights on. I now have all the parts except the rear valence which is due in January. Here are a couple of pictures

 

[DJThom]

Valence mounting is my next issue. As Phantomracer said above, getting the valence on flush to the body and not set back on the existing flange requires some thought. I want to take the added step of not having any fastener heads showing like some of the alloy valences I've seen on the racing circuit this past summer (but couldn't afford).

I'm thinking of making up some brackets and glassing them onto the valence. However, the valence needs to be pulled in at each corners as the fit is poor, so there is going to be significant force pulling the brackets back away from the valence.

Can fiberglass hold these brackets on? Other suggestions? Diagram attached

 

[NC Mike]

I've been able to get a little bit done in these busy weeks. I got the front all apart, old mounts cut back and the filler pieces made. On the rear, I put my new tail lights on. I now have all the parts except the rear valence which is due in January. Here are a couple of pictures

Busy weeks? I wouldn't know how to act if my busy years had only been weeks /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif

It's off the subject, but I have about 1800 miles on my 74.5 RB BGT in the year since it returned to the road. I have a 74 parts car (chrome bumpers with large rubber overbumpers), so I have a good idea how the two versions look. Given the rarity of the RB, I'm going to keep it original.

It looks (and reads) as if you're making progress on the conversion. Although I have the RB GT, I like the classic looks of the chromes. I've also seen the color match painted rubber bumpers on a GT, like it, and even considered that for mine, but recanted.

Here's a link to a GT sebring that I stumbled across during my GT restoration. If I wasn't so attached to intentionally keeping my GT original, I'd love to make it look like this Classic Wheels beauty, color and all-

https://www.britishv8.org/MG/ClassicWheelsBerlin.htm


Mike

 

[jlaird]

That is so nice, hate to think about the cost but really really nice.

 

[SAustin]

Here's a link to my car, which is along the same lines as you're building:

https://www.britishv8.org/MG/SimonAustin.htm

The car started life as a '79 but rather than go the full-Sebring look, I did the CB modification. I'm currently working on an article with the British V8 web-master on installing the Sebring fenders. Hopefully it'll be in the next newsletter.

If you have any questions, ask away.

Cheers
Simon

 

[DJThom]

Hi All

the project is ongoing, albeit slowly. I've been focusing on lowering the car by 1" and getting the suspension all cleaned and painted.

The grille has needed major work and the hood will likely need some arching at the front by talented hands.

I started putting the front valence on over the weekend. The RHS fits great but is quite stressed when in position. The LHS fit is poor. The curve is all wrong and the end sticks out 3" or more and can't be pulled in.

To my way of thinking, the panel shouldn't be in a "stressed" state when on the car.

Does someone have a good DIY resource for working fiberglass panels to help me fix this problem? I did a search online but didn't see anything that great and the books I found on Amazon don't have that high of rating.

Pictures forthcoming...

 

[BritishV8]

Well, the magazine article Simon mentioned he was working on (in his post above, dated 12/25/07) appears here:

https://www.britishv8.org/Articles/Sebring-Fender-Flares.htm

(It includes 26 photos!)

 

[jlaird]

And that folks is a fine looking B.