Looking for alternatives to 'L' bumpers

Depends on how much work you want to do. These I believe use the existing holes from L bumper.

Amerisport split bumpers.

https://www.amerisportindustri...isport_split_bumpers

Otherwise there are the original bumperettes which come in 2 styles, rounded or squared ends. They require body work to fill the holes left behind when the L bumper is removed however. There is a company that manufactures them in stainless but I've heard there may be fitment issues.

Thanks for the link. I think I prefer the smaller bumperettes. All the holes have been welded closed and the car is in primer waiting for paint. We can drill whatever holes are needed.

Ah. Then you're set. Originals are a bit pricey and I've seen fewer and fewer for sale. PIM has them in carbon fiber. Pantera Parts Connection has them in fiberglass. He also lists some originals but I don't know if they're actually available. The aftermarket metal ones come in SS, painted black or raw but they're pricey, $1200 or so. And I've read they require manual fitment to get them right.

Not sure exactly which model of Pantera these bumpers are for but I got them from Don Byars @ Full Throttle Panteras in Southern California.

Thanks all!

David, The bumpers on your car are what I’m looking for. Does anyone know what year they are from or any other info about them?

I refer to that style of front bumper as the eyebrow style. They were installed on Panteras  sold in Europe but were meant to incorporate the turn signal pods on the rubber bumper cars.

it appears you have removed your front light pods along with filling the bumper holes. What are your plans to incorporate driving and signal lights ?

The impact bumper was not required in Europe but they didn’t want to have to fuss with two different stampings  for the front valance. Thus  the eyebrow bumpers mounted above the light pods  

I am not as familiar with the rear bumpers but I think they were  also the European approach for the L model cars. I’m quite sure more than one vendor offers these both  in fiberglass, I think finding them in metal is difficult.

Larry

Here is a bit more information.

http://www.panteraplace.com/page165.htm

As mentioned in the article there are several different iterations of the bumpers. Some wrap around on the end, some don't. Some are squared off where they meet the license plate surround, some are rounded. And, of course, like everything else DeTomaso, there is no rhyme or reason what particular style was installed by VIN.

I think I have a set of fiberglass ones. Let me know if you'd like some photos

Hi, you can order SS version of the eyebrow version  from this vendor in NL :

https://www.bumperworld.eu/brands/de-tomaso-112

I have installed the rear ones from them, good fit. For the front i purchased a nice C set from Larry Stock PPC. The total will set you back €950 but that is including 21% VAT. I believe for export this will be subtracted.

BTW, I also have a set of fiber glass, black.

J.

Thanks everyone for the info and links.

I'm assuming the small bumpers are more decorative than anything else. This may be a dumb question but has anyone who's car is equipped with the small steel bumpers been hit lightly? Do they offer any protection to the body or does the body just get pushed in beneath the bumper? Assuming black bumpers, might fiberglass bumpers be better at absorbing a light hit, sort of being sacrificial being easy to repair and repaint?

I'm probable over thinking it but that's were I am with my project.

Is there any advantage to steel over fiberglass?

larryw and Joep, Any photos will be much appreciated. Thanks!

Mike,

Methinks you are “over thinking “. 😁😉

if we were concerned about what happens in an accident we would just go to Office Depot and buy 40 rolls of bubble wrap.

Buy and install to obtain the look you are seeking. Worry about the ramifications when and if you need to worry.

Larry

Larry, You are probably right. My engineering brain is hard at work looking into the details. Maybe it's time to go and listen to some music.

With that system I think you probably feel the music more than you actually hear it.

👍👍

IMHO these are purely decorative. Steel, fiberglass, CF, whatever the body will take the brunt of the force and these will merely be sacrificial.

Feeling the music is what it’s all about. We build these speakers, and others, from the ground up including the drivers.

  Aren’t those from the Dominator line?

https://youtu.be/EAyJmIXcyMg

Similar but entirely different

I plan to use a set of stainless from these folks

https://groupharrington.com/pr...aso-pantera-bumpers/

taking them out of the box, I got the impression they are more like trim accents than bumpers. 

they are at the shop in Denver NC.

Larry,

"it appears you have removed your front light pods along with filling the bumper holes. What are your plans to incorporate driving and signal lights ?"

They were removed before I got the car. Are the pods factory welded on or screwed on? Were all US cars fitted with the pods? Sorry for all the questions. This is my first involvement with a Pantera. What learning curve, especially since I bought the car completely disassembled.

Not sure about the driving and signal lights yet. I need to sort out these details before the car gets painted. Headlights are stock with a quad bulb conversion.

Mike

Mike,

EDITED.....

The early cars with the chrome bumpers mounted the front parking/signal lights into the chrome bumper housing.

when US DOT mandated the impact rubber bumper, the front valance stampings were modified to incorporate separate light pods which were welded into the structure. The actual light assemblies were the same for the chrome bumper and light pods.

most US Panteras that swap back to EYEBROW chrome bumpers just retain the pods for the signal lights.

if the original chrome bumpers are selected then the pods would be removed and filled as in your current car

I have for sale the used pods in the photo. They were removed from a front valance, being cut off at their meeting point and I believe could successfully be grafted back onto your valance.

It is possible the vendors have new old stock light pods, also.

or you can devise an alternate approach for your signal/running lights.

Larry

Late to the party. They look like electrostatics ?

The speakers are AMT line arrays with separate dipole woofers. We design and build the AMT drivers in-house.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Motion_Transformer

The AMT arrays cover the frequency range from 120 Hz to 24 KHz which is unique to my design. The dipole woofers (subs) cover the range from 25 Hz to 120 Hz. It's an active system using digital crossovers and comes with advanced room correction. Our AMT arrays are so efficient that they can be powered by low power SET tube amps having only 1.5 watts but can handle 120 watts and can reproduce SPLs over 120 dB.

https://www.arionaudio.com/

Has anyone used the Amerisport bumpers and painted them the same color as the body? How does it look?

Personally I'd go for a L bumper before the Amerisport ones. Kirk makes great products, but those bumpers look like a couple teats stuck out front and completely ruin any lines IMO.

To each their own....

Not my first choice either. Just curious how they look when painted body color. The stock body lines look so good.

Here is a pic of a Pantera with body colored bumpers. They aren't the Amerisport bumpers but it will give you an idea how they might look painted the same color as the car. I'm sure these are custom, one-off, bumpers.

The Amerisport bumpers were designed to cover up the holes left by L bumpers, without any bodywork or paint.   

I take it all back, Larry's bumpers look great on his car and color scheme, unfortunately I can't un-see the body color red ones on what otherwise looks like it could be a pretty good GT5S conversion.

Thanks, Julian. 🙂

as for those custom eyebrows on the red GT5S, Oh. My. God.

it looks like two tongues sticking out at you. One of the worst front-end treatments I have ever seen. 🤢🤢

Disclaimer: IMHO 😉

Larry

Definitely not going the route of the red GT5S.

I believe that the bumpers on the red car are on upside down.

Ron

and a little tilted.

I am pretty sure the Feature member car of Michel Savard's at the top of our forums page is wearing Amerisport Bumpers painted body color on his 74.  I know there are more pictures of cars done that way on here, but I have not had any luck finding the appropriate thread for you.

As many have said the red 5s pictured bumpers are not proper in any way. To me they look homemade.

Thanks for pointing out the feature car. They seem to look good painted body color. Maybe Kirk has a pair I can borrow to evaluate?

Here is one thread.  There is a black car with them and Ed Pike's red car with them painted body color part way down the discussion.

https://pantera.infopop.cc/top...-l-type-front-bumper

In this thread toward the bottom it show's George's car and another members side by side for a comparison of Amerisport vs Early Euro style.

https://pantera.infopop.cc/topic/kirk-evens-bumpers

Personally, I like Kirk's bumpers (in black or dark colors) for not modifying body work.  With your body work already modified it may be just as easy to continue the 71 small bumper process with turn signals integrated in the bumpers.  My favourite are likely the Euro late style with body integrated turn signals and separate bumpers.

Good luck.

I think the body front section is in stock shape except for all holes being filled and turn signal pods removed (by previous owner). The right side front corner was in great original shape and the left front corner needed some very light repair. We did tweak the valance ends a little.

Seems to be several bumper choices. Thanks everyone for sharing info and photos.

Larry, What spoiler is on your car?

It is from Dennis Quella in Castlerock, Colorado. It is what he calls his GTS, no-holes spoiler. He offers it in fiberglass and ABS plastic, I chose the latter for its better flexibility and durability as some driveways will undoubtedly catch it from time to time.

it is basically flat, with rolled edges on its perimeter. Mounting is done by attaching to the front valance through the rolled lip.

I install mine to give 3 1/2 inches of ground clearance. I know of one vendor who finishes the installation with a bead of smoothed black silicone at the spoiler to valance joint, but that is totally unnecessary and adds many hours to the inevitable replacement as plastic hanging from the bottom of the car does not have an indefinite survival quality. I find I typically get five years or so before a replacement is needed.

I believe the cost is currently $125 plus shipping. he will supply a package of small 6-32 nuts and bolts and washers, but I find sheet metal screws to be a better approach.

I have found over the years that fitment is generally pretty good. My placement puts it just at/slightly below the grill opening in the valance. Two screws first in the center and then install three or so screws per side once you have determined the final tilt/angle for the best fitment at the edges of the valance.

Larry

Thanks Larry for the detailed info.

Some of the Pantera vendors seem to not believe in photos. Do you have any more photos of the spoiler? Thanks!

Mike