| My original 1946 Roadmaster bumpers were completely wasted - chrome was flaking off everywehere and they were almost rusted through. I managed to get better ones from Rick Daenell of TN, USA, a few years ago. As always, the parts you purchase first, are the the parts you'll need last. Although these bumpers, coming off a 1947 Super, look good from a distance, they have to be rechromed. As it turns out, I'm also using a slice from my original front bumper guards for custom work, and the rest will be scrapped. |
 I
spent some time analyzing what's wrong with the looks of the original
Buick
bumpers. First of all, the bumper guards hang too low under the bumper,
especially the front ones, creating a clumsy, bulky, and tired look.
Secondly,
the lower horizontal bar between the guards doesn't look good for the
same
reason. Also, I don't like the idea that the tall front bumper
guards
and upper horizontal bar overshadow the beautiful waterfall
grille.
The 1946-48 Buick bumpers are made of 3 sections, being riveted together under the guards. Now, you cannot completely remove the guards, because the profile of the center bumper section is totally different from the end section, leaving an abrupt step along the seam. So I decided to mofify the guards, as they were going to be replated anyway. While the bumper guards were at the plating shop for chrome removal, I got a better idea - some Cad-style bullets or "dagmars". I couldn't make my mind so let's make two sets of bumber guards! I had a local trophy-maker spin a pair of steel bullets for me. You know, they form those vases and cups by gradually pressing a round piece of sheetmetal against a buck while it spins in a lathe. I ordered bullets with blunt tips, so I could install turns signals on the tips! Here I'm at the final stages, trial-fitting the new bumper guard to verify that the brazing didn't impair the fit. Wonder if Madonna would dig this? On the background is Kirka, an enthusiastic car builder and a skilled machinist. He's more into newer European iron with turbos and such. Notice the message on his T-shirt: Assholes are people, too! |
 I
started by figuring out and fabricating an integral bulb/lens holder
which
I welded onto the bullet. Then I turned the lenses out of acrylic bar
stock,
and polished. Now the tough part was cutting the bullet to precisely
match
the contours of the bumper. The next step was cutting a slice of the
original
(real bad) bumper guard to cover the lower 1/3 of the bumper seam. It
extends
halfway into the bullet, and serves as a rigid foundation for an M12
stud.
Once the chopped and sectioned slice of guard was made to fit the
bumper,
the next step was to relieve the bullet to accommodate the guard, and
once
they matched, they were brazed together with silver. The bullet is
rather
thinwall, and I didn't want to risk burning through by welding. Besides
the braze is much easier to grind level and smooth.
The slice of
the original
Roadmaster bumper guard was actually so rotten that when I was finished
with sandblasting, filling the rustholes by MIG-welding from backside,
and grounding smooth, there's only the welds left - nothing much from
the
original piece! I spent a lot of time trying to fill the pores
and
pits on the visible side, but finally had to give up. I will try
filling
the pits with lead once the part has been copper plated.
|
| In the picture
below, there's
all the remaining parts to be plated, gathered together just before
taking
them to the plating shop, ready for the bath. Notice that the bumper
guards
are upside down in this picture. I now have 2 sets of bumber guards for
the front bumper: the modified originals and the bullets. On the bottom
is the front lower horizontal bar, which I modified slightly, and it
will
be relocated to become the rear upper bar.
On the lower left corner are the front "dagmar" guards I fabricated, now polished. On the lower right corner are the optional, modified original front guards, chopped 2 inches at both the top and bottom. The new stainless M12 studs are too long, and will be cut later. On the upper left corner are the rear bumper guards, also chopped but not as much as the front ones. On the upper right corner are domes for the horns. The original steel domes were too pitted to be sanded smooth and chromed, so here are new ones made of copper, ready for plating. They were spun by the same trophy maker as the bullets. Also, one of the door dovetail wedge plates needed rechroming, and the receptacles, while originally painted, will now be chrome plated, too. |
 Getting
these parts to this stage actually took me several months, about 70
hours
total. I usually don't count hours but this time I did. Most of that
time
was spent welding the rust pits in the original bumper guards, grinding
smooth, welding some more, grinding some more, and so on. I must be
crazy!
The parts left the belt sander at 150 grit, after which they were hand sanded 180 grit dry, 240 grit dry, and 400 grit wet. Then they were buffed with Emery compound on a sisal wheel, followed by Stainless compound on a spiral-sewn cotton wheel. You could shave your beard from the mirror image! |