Fibreglass Front Bumper

[CJ101KT]

Has anyone got or had experience of the fibre glass front bumpers that Option1 Sportscars offer as a replacement for the discontinued plastic ones from Lotus? My bumper has obviouly been hit by a previous owner and was repaired with fibreglass and painted (badly) so am considering this as a replacement. Option1 are selling the bumper for just over £300 plus the painting etc.

[bobbrown]

I did here that SJ's were doing a fiberglass one so may be worth checking with them.
If it is the one they list at £214.50 + vat etc then it is cheaper than £300.00

Bob

[CJ101KT]

I did here that SJ's were doing a fiberglass one so may be worth checking with them.
If it is the one they list at £214.50 + vat etc then it is cheaper than £300.00

Bob

Thanks Bob

[nitroman]

Does anyone who's done it have any words of wisdom for me visa-a-vi the R&R of the front bumper? The manual makes it sound rather straightforward, but it is an ungainly ediface!

I'm only removing it as it's the only way I can see to get to the upper nuts of the radiator-support-frame, of which I have an undamaged, powder-coated one I want to install.

[RichardK]

Nitro,

I had my bumpers off last month ( I warmed up on the rear bumper first) It IS straightforward. Getting both the arch liners off was the hardest thing - due to corroded screws ( now replaced with Geordie SST) the most awkward buggers are the main nuts accessed under the light pods and up through the rubber bung holes. But that just needed patience to avoid skinned knuckles.

Found out why the alignment was so squint - there were twice as many thick washers on one side ( as fitted from the the factory) - evened them out and it went back a treat with the alignment way better. I also had the car up on nice high stands for ease of access.

I pretty much followed the manual, i'll be doing it all again this weekend - It's turbo upgrade time and I want to replace the fans at the same time. And powder coat my rad frame....and lots of other project creep.....

[Elanlover]

Does anyone know if SJ or Option 1 or anyone else is making them for the Fed variety?

[surfboardfiller]

I think the guy from option 1 could make one for you if you supplied him with an original, but then so could a half decent fabricator nearer to you. All he does is copy, so it's strait forward. Find a trade resin/glass supplier near to you and ask for a recommendation. They should know everyone in the trade locally.

[Elanlover]

Good idea about the glass suplier. I do know one so I'll stop by soon and ask. Does anyone know what the front (and rear) bumper skins are made from? I ask because I'm contemplating some custom work on them in the future but if they are not made from fibreglass then I'm told there my be adhesion issues if we trie to bond fibreglass on top to change the shape. Anyone know if this is true? Thanks!

[surfboardfiller]

They are a soft plastic a high impact type of polymer, so most hard adhesives don't stick well, but you could try a few. I'd reccomend Tensol Cement and have a go with PU drain pipe adhesive. Both are solvent based so they will dissolve the surface to get a good molecular bond, nasty stuff though. If you use Sikaflex it should be all right, that's what Lotus use to bond the fibreglass rienforcement on to the bumper (the grilles bonded on really well too). Rough up the surface before using Sikaflex.