Skip to main content

I was eyeballing this mod for quite some time now and I always came up with “if someone accidentally bumps my car I will be grateful I didn’t do the bumper mod… it’s the smart thing to do/not to do”…

We had to take the bumpers of for some other work and OMG that thing is heavy… and the mounting struts are even heavier… and all this BEHIND the rear axle….

i just couldn’t help myself…L - Bumper is gone and instead I opted for 2 useless but much much lighter pieces of fiberglass! And I think it looks better as well…. It took a bit of sanding to make the gaps right but I’m quite happy with the result!

IMG_1325IMG_1324

squeezed 2 Riv-nuts per side after marking position on tape.. level (with the bottom of the taillight indentation) , close to the body on the outside… put studs in for easiest installation…

interesting factoid.. the holes for the small bumpers where already there but patched up… go figure…🤪

IMG_1327IMG_1326



do they help in case of a love bump..??

yes, they do! They will make an alarming braking sound which will make you investigate what happened!

Attachments

Images (4)
  • IMG_1325
  • IMG_1324
  • IMG_1327
  • IMG_1326
Last edited by LeMans850i
Original Post

Replies sorted oldest to newest

The question if I will make the charge to the front bumper will come certainly up:

No, I keep the L bumper in the front! The little bumpers look cute 🥰 but I saw Gravel rash in between them on the leading edge of some cars, and besides that, that bumper doesn’t look that bad either!

Smiling Pantera

IMG_1328

somehow SpongeBob comes to mind

IMG_1349

Attachments

Images (2)
  • IMG_1328
  • IMG_1349
Last edited by LeMans850i

I have 4460. It is what some are describing as a 72-1/2? It came with the crash bumpers.

The cars without these bumpers and with have two entirely different characters.



Aesthetically, I like the look of the black "crash bumpers" but don't appreciate the amount of weight they add to the car.

I still have my originals stored. I substituted fiberglass bumpers on the car.

The fiberglass front bumper is probably as good as keeping your sheet metal in front ding free. The rear is really almost a hologram of a bumper but it looks original to the car.



Exactly what the weight savings on the car is I can't say. I did not do a before and after but the number weights on the original bumpers with their "crash cylinders" hidden within the fenders was suggested that it is about a 200 pound addition? Maybe?



The thought that I had is that with certain changes to original components, it is possible to get the weight of the car down to 2,800 to 2,900 pounds. With 500 hp, that puts the potential performance level just about on par with something like the C8 Corvette which really is weighing in at something like 3,400 pounds.



Right or wrong, that was just my thought process on the bumper situation besides the fact that I like the look of them and that I feel I get how they derived and that "form follows function".

I'm into the blacked out trim look and not a dated chromed look. That's just me and frankly, what I've done is undoable in the future anyway. Not by me, but by the next owners?

Last edited by panteradoug

I was thinking the same thing about using the holes for brake ducts.

I had considered going bumperless  but on my car when I looked at the fit of the bottom of the hood to the rest of the nose, I didn't like it and I wasn't going to mess around with making it look like it fit better.

I also like the little wing that is built into the front bumper. I think that is a very subtle design element that many overlook?



Looking at your pictures though, that is a very aggressive looking vehicle! If it came up on me from behind I would definitely get out of it's way. Maybe pull off the road to recover from the trauma ?

Last edited by panteradoug

Agreed, the leading edge of the hood to the front valance is kind of a funky joint on my car as well. In my case, since the car is a GTS, the hood will end up painted black and all the lousy body seams will improve or disappear. I believe I’ve seen a picture of Joules’ driving lights that I think looked pretty cool. Doug - Bauhaus huh?

@Ed Harbur posted:

Agreed, the leading edge of the hood to the front valance is kind of a funky joint on my car as well. In my case, since the car is a GTS, the hood will end up painted black and all the lousy body seams will improve or disappear. I believe I’ve seen a picture of Joules’ driving lights that I think looked pretty cool. Doug - Bauhaus huh?

It is amazing to me of the number of people who quote, "form follows function". I'm an Architect by education. That was the "brain washing" that was hot glued into our heads.

I was recently in the hospital overnight and had an RN quote it to me.



I always wanted to talk to Tom Tjaarda and compare backgrounds? He was often here in the US at the "Pantera Rally". If you look at his Resume, he studied Architecture at the University of Michigan.

I took criticism in school for not being "free enough" in my abstract thinking and every time I look at the dual pod dash and console, I remember that criticism. I always felt Tom's concept of the dual pod was an extension of abstract design.



I remember a quote from Commander Spock about "the theory of how 'time has currents' and how all things being equal, they will tend to take us to the same place". (City on the Edge of Tomorrow).

I'm not sure that "coincidence" really is an independent thing? I often feel that there is something else or someone else that is screwing with us and putting us in the same room for some unknown reason or amusement?



The current price of gas is $3.57 here. That thought and $3.57 will get you a gallon of gas?

Last edited by panteradoug

I'm more comfortable thinking that I'm screwing things up for myself all by myself. Ever sit in a Bauhaus chair? Horribly uncomfortable, but terribly progressive looking. To my mind, a perfect example of "tragically hip", not form following function.

Here's the picture LeMans was looking for. I thought this was Joules' car.

The holes might also make a nice home for less obtrusive turn signals if you went bumperless. I don't like the big bezels. Someone here suggested putting them behind the grill as well. Way down on my list, and more holes to fill. Oh well.

Attachments

Images (1)
  • mceclip0

I am using the PIAA's also, but they are in the brake duct holes in my GTS chin spoiler. Because of their size, they apply themselves well.



Sat in the chair? Yes. Not everything is a great design. It isn't the design of the chair that is significant. It is the suggestion of using a common material rather then something made of unobtainium.



There are lots of good applications of Bauhaus thinking. Ever wonder where all of those black steel casement windows came from? Guess where?

I don't particularly appreciate them but they are an industrial application applied to residential situations. They aren't painted black. They are "Parkerized". That's straight out of the Detroit motor vehicle application.



Criticism can be a positive thing in the sense that "you" are attempting to make things better. Everyone is a critic but I personally draw the line at "my German Shepard doesn't like this" or "my German Shepard told me to kill them?"

I do admit to being a native New Yorker and having the characteristic of "complaining about absolutely everything...all of the time". Guilty.

That's why I don't do Architectural design. I quit when "the design comity" would bring in their 5 year olds and the design would get shot down because I used purple instead of pink in the rendering.

The 5 year olds are entitled to their opinions but their's shouldn't be the determining factor?



Now I go in the garage and lock the door. I don't care if there isn't anyone that agrees with me. Here's a secret. Often I don't agree with my own solution.

I'm also better at modifying someone else's design. Starting from a clean sheet of paper permits too many parameters.

Last edited by panteradoug

...And Be Happy...Between the front and rear bumpers and support gear, You dumped 60+ Pounds Into the Dumpster! Yes! It's Not just the Weight!...It's the 'Polar Moment of Inertia'!!

Don't Know? Read the Book, 'How to Make Your Car Handle'. And then...Read it Again, cover to cover, and back again!

MJ

P.S.

...And don't dare ask Me, where I purchased those Beautiful All RED Taillights...I won't Tell You!! One Pair of Only 3 Known to Exist on this Planet!!

Last edited by marlinjack
@marlinjack posted:

...And Be Happy...Between the front and rear bumpers and support gear, You dumped 60+ Pounds Into the Dumpster! Yes! It's Not just the Weight!...It's the 'Polar Moment of Inertia'!!

Don't Know? Read the Book, 'How to Make Your Car Handle'. And then...Read it Again, cover to cover, and back again!

MJ

P.S.

...And don't dare ask Me, where I purchased those Beautiful All RED Taillights...I won't Tell You!! One Pair of Only 3 Known to Exist on this Planet!!

I don’t mind the front bumper… it’s weight where it’s needed (and as far forward as possible)  and I loose weight (37 pounds) behind the rear axle as far back as possible… it should help a little bit!!

Last edited by LeMans850i

I don't know for sure but I doubt that the real front bumper would save you from anything but a  little bump in the parking lot.

If I get a chance I will pull mine out of storage and weigh it but I think it is heavy and they have a tendency of delaminating the rubber from the steel under frame.

I think they are the came concept that GM used on the late '60sPontiac "endura nose".



I can always go back to it but for now I like the fiberglass solution. The idea of using the holes for front brake cooling ducting is a great idea though.

Last edited by panteradoug
@panteradoug posted:

I don't know for sure but I doubt that the real front bumper would save you from anything but a  little bump in the parking lot.

If I get a chance I will pull mine out of storage and weigh it but I think it is heavy and they have a tendency of delaminating the rubber from the steel under frame.

I think they are the came concept that GM used on the late '60sPontiac "endura nose".



I can always go back to it but for now I like the fiberglass solution. The idea of using the holes for front brake cooling ducting is a great idea though.

Some people take the bumper off and then add lead weight for a better weight distribution… I think Panteras is one of the better solutions for the afterthought of the crash bumper… (Lamborghini’s Railroad tie!)

IMG_1373

Attachments

Images (1)
  • IMG_1373
Last edited by LeMans850i
@Ed Harbur posted:

Best solution yet. Would you mind telling me where you got them? I promise to never drive my car with 1000 miles of yours! McMaster-Carr has metric black oxide stainless steel Phillips head flathead screws that would go along nicely.

I got those originally for the Corvette rear bumper…

You need to tap the pipe carefully out of the flange…. M4 x 0.7 thread 15mm long for this application.

i just paint my screws… powder coated black the rings and grill!
IMG_1377

i’m flattered if I’m getting copied! You can park right next to me!

Attachments

Images (1)
  • IMG_1377
Last edited by LeMans850i
@Ed Harbur posted:

Passenger side… Oooof…

Marlinjack’s "non-soultion” looks pretty good too. Eventually, I plan to go to the GTS paint scheme, which appears to make the holes a non-event.

I like to be different… wife says difficult but I think she means different….

@marlinjack Has the right idea… He makes the car his own… Doesn’t care what other people think…  And that’s just the way I roll as well… And I am the last person who would give  MJ or any of you guys a hard time about the things you do !

Some people like what I’m doing others don’t - but in the end… It’s my car!

(May contain questionable taste)

IMG_1379

Attachments

Images (1)
  • IMG_1379
Last edited by LeMans850i
@davidnunn posted:

… or get a set of Lincoln Navigator resonators and some tips. Have someone fabricate mufflers that look exactly the way you want them to.

I am going to build my own mufflers… I always do… but I can’t get it done before the 18th… the car has to be driving to Irvine for the Palooza!!!

I am in full  electric mode  right   now…⚡️💥⚡️✨🚥💡🔌

Last edited by LeMans850i
@davidnunn posted:

The Lincoln resonator info is at the end of this topic:

https://pantera.infopop.cc/topic/exhaust-drone

The toughest part of any Pantera muffler project is finding an appropriate muffler to use as the starting point. Most off-the-shelf mufflers are simply too big.

I’m going to cut the exhaust pulse and give them different lengths to travel… that always worked very well… no glass pack in the muffler…. Maybe resonator tips angled up..

Add Reply

Post
×
×
×
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×