Removing the Bumper Guards

[n/a]

I posted this topic in the photo gallery by mistake. Apologies. Here it is one more time.

I know Doug was so proud of his chromed guards, and honestly they look great. But I also would like to hear from those who have taken the guards out all together. How does that look? What do you do with the holes? Do the guards leave marks on the pumber when taken out? Do I need to rechrom?
I know Mal in Beirut went through this exercise when restoring his car, would love to hear from him as well.
Thanks
Mo

[hauser]

Mo, it is fairly simple task.  If you wish to remove you can do one of two things.  First you can plug the holes with antenna caps, as Cees did.  The second solution is to rechrome and have the holes filled.

1969 280sl 5 spd        1999 ML320          Gainesville,Fl.

[Douglas]

The guards can leave marks on the chrome. It depends on how tightly they were installed and whether they ever served their purpose (any impacts). If the guards were overtightened, there is some possible distorting around the holes that is possibly better left covered.

I do think re-chroming over holes is a mistake. I've seen it done and it almost always ends up revealing the previous work over time. The chrome seems to shrink up around the repair. It's sort of a hit-or-miss thing as I've heard it is possible to chrome over a hole without it showing, but very, very difficult to achieve. The fact that the chrome may reveal the repair over time makes things even trickier.

My personal feeling was that I have a US-spec car, so even though I prefer the look without the guards, my car does appear as it originally did. Plus it's hard to justify the hassle of finding bumpers, having them re-chromed, then hoping they'll fit properly. You may be surprised at how bumpers and the cars to which they're being fitted aren't necessarily a good fit. Chalk it up to panel changes, dings and repair work in any of the aforementioned pieces.



Douglas Kim
New York, NY
280 SL #016220

[admin]

Originally posted by Cees:
Hello Mo - I am one of those who took the guards off his 280 SL since I like the cleaner, "less is more" look. (I also had the side marker lights removed when I had the car repainted three years ago for that reason).

I plugged the holes with small-sized 'antenna caps' as they are called here: round chromed plastic buttons that come with a small gasket underneath, and that are installed in 30 seconds. Once they are in, you really have to look to notice them. When the time comes to have the bumpers rechromed, I will have the holes filled in so they will be invisible. For now, I am glad I removed the guards. If you look very closely at the chrome that was covered for so many years, you can see a difference with the surrounding chrome. But on my car it's almost invisible.
You can just give it a try: remove the guards, put in these caps (available at just about any car parts store) and see what you think. You can always reverse the procedure.

Cees Klumper in Amsterdam
'69 white 280 SL automatic

[Cees Klumper]

Photos of my car without the guards:

Download Attachment: outside the garage.jpg
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Download Attachment: car outside the garage.jpg
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Cees Klumper in Amsterdam
'69 white 280 SL automatic

[hauser]

Cees, your car is looking great!   Any other projects since the new engine?

1969 280sl 5 spd        1999 ML320          Gainesville,Fl.

[Cees Klumper]

Hi Hauser - other than fixing the speedometer, I've not done any work on the car this year. I've only been working on all those engines I trucked in. Yesterday I stripped another one, a 250 SE with the oil cooler alongside the block and the FI pump with the separate oil dipstick. Tough jobs on many of these engines: removal of the power steering pump pulley, the thermostat housing and the fan assembly.

My winter project might become replacement of the interior, original MB tex that is now starting to crack (seats as well as dash), with leather. I'm debating the color - it's blue now (the car in its earlier days was dark blue) and I might go for black. Although that might not look too good with the blue softtop, that is still in like-new condition. Maybe tan leather? Decisions, decisions!

Cees Klumper in Amsterdam
'69 white 280 SL automatic

[gwuisman]

Two years ago I had to decide upon leaving the guards and fill up the holes before rechroming the bumpers. For the reasons Douglas mentiones I did not fill up the holes. I could not get the guarrantee that the holes would not be visual. Besides that I am happy with the guards as protection. It is not always possible to park the car on specious parking spots. In Holland the parking space is very tight and dammage is easely caused by for and back manouvring. So I kept my guards but mouted them in a way that they don't scratch the chrom and misform the area around the holes. In case I would like to drive the car without guards I can use the caps as Cees suggests.

I remember that when my parents bought their first MB 180D in 1960 the guards with rubber faces were a special accessoire you have to pay for. They are an icon of MB at those times.

Gerard Wuisman
1970 280sl

[Bob G ✝︎]

Lucy for you guys Mercedes-benz changed the design of the bumper guards in 1969. The early ones were really ugly looking and you would of wanted to pull them off. My 280SL came to the USA shy of overriders and now has the later set front and rear. While I appreciate the job they do I like the look of a plain bumper with out them. It is easy to see the difference if you look through many of the SL book and photos of of our members cars.
My opinion is I think the car looks good either with or with out the bumper guards .
Bob Geco

[jeffc280sl]

I disliked the bumper guards so when I rechromed the front and rear bumpers I had them fixed by the people who did the chrome work.  It is a tricky job as Douglas says because the hole was pushed out (not flush with the bumper surface) and there were indentations in the bumper surface from torquing the bolts too tight.  A carefull craftsman can do a very good job of welding a plate to the underside of the bumper and then fill the hole.  I'm not sure what they used to fill the hole.  Then the surface has to be ground smooth and then rechromed.  In order to do the job right you need to find a craftsman that will take his time to get the surface right.  It goes without saying that you will have to pay for his time.  I like the look much better.

Jeff C.
1970 280SL 4-speed

[Ed Cave]

I too, prefer the styling without bumper guards. With my restoration (still underway) the choice was to do as Jeff did (see below) or replace the bumpers with a set that had never seen guards.

The decison to take pretty good bumpers from another car, repair and re-chrome them proved less expensive and probably more successful than dealing with the holes and distortion typically found when guards are present.

Fortunately, Brian Peters (who is restoring the car) had a decent set that never had guards and willingly switched them out for the ones that came on the car I bought.

Ed Cave
Atlanta, GA

1964 356C
1971 280SL

[LFrank]

I've been told that my front-bumper overriders are "aftermarket" (wish I had a picture to show you handy), and they seem to be angled slightly upward; I plan to remove them and install amber fogs in their place (I might drill and put them on the back bumpers). Anyone else know about aftermarket overrunners? And if not, rubber baby buggy bumpers??

LFrank
Washington DC
65 230 sl - auto
DB334/Hellblau

[hauser]

The later style bumper guards are not that bad looking considering what the early style looks like.

Download Attachment: 230 bumper.jpg
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1969 280sl 5 spd        1999 ML320          Gainesville,Fl.

[Cees Klumper]

These early style guards look like something Volvo ("converted tanks") might have designed! Ouch.

p.s. nice 'Stangs in the background there.

Cees Klumper in Amsterdam
'69 white 280 SL automatic

[Mike Hughes]

Three out of four are Shelbys.  I couldn't see enough of the beige 64/65/66 convertible in the corner to tell what version it was...

quote:Originally posted by cees klumper

These early style guards look like something Volvo ("converted tanks") might have designed! Ouch.

p.s. nice 'Stangs in the background there.

Cees Klumper in Amsterdam
'69 white 280 SL automatic

- Mike Hughes  -ô¿ô-
  1966 230SL Auto P/S
  Havanna Brown (408)
  Light Beige (181)
  Cream M-B Tex (121)