[Behine DeChilis]

I am planning on converting my original 280Z bumpers to the 240Z style bumper soon.

I have been considering the bumpers offered by Tynda Bumper on eBay. They are from Vietnam. The seller says that he can provide them with mounting options to my existing 280Z hardware that does not require a bracket. I assume this would require compressing the original bumper shock.

Has anyone ever seen an option like this? Has anyone dealt with this supplier before? Thanks

 

[oregonipa]

I got my bumpers from Whitehead and I suspect they sourced them from Tynda. The bumpers look great but the mounting brackets and surfaces were nowhere near perfect alignment. It sounds like mounting brackets that match the 280 style bumper extensions isn't their regular thing so I doubt they would come out any straighter. In addition, if your Z has ever had a slight tap or worse, your bumper extensions might be misaligned already. Then there are the side mounting locations which are different than the 240. I would venture a guess there is zero chance they could get the side brackets in the correct location without knowing exactly how much your extensions will be compressed to get the fit you want.

I first tried the rigid conversion mounts that you can find everywhere but could never get things to fit correctly. I ended up using the adjustable mounts by Skillard and even with them I had to do some cutting and grinding on both the bumper mounts and Skillard brackets. For the rear bumper side mount I created a bracket that utilizes the stock mounting point on the 280 and the bracket that comes on the bumper. Long story short, I think you'll get a better fit if you go with the known quantity and plan on having to do quite a bit of adjusting to get things right. In my opinion, the 280 looks so much better with the earlier bumpers!

 

[Behine DeChilis]

Great input. Thanks.

Any other sources of the early bumpers that I'm missing? I don't mind doing some fabricating but would definitely prefer minimal effort if possible. I have plenty of other items that deserve attention.

 

[steve240Z73]

Skillard has aluminum bumpers. Motorsport Auto has fiberglass bumpers.
Skillard also has the mounting brackets and differentiates between 75/76 and 77/78.

 

[Behine DeChilis]

Thanks Steve. I would prefer the chrome bumpers, but those are close second choices.
I am considering ordering the Tynda bumpers specifically for the 240Z and purchasing the adapters--while it may still require fabrication, I am nervous about reusing the 280Z mounting hardware. I've never seen anyone do that, and like oregonipa said, it's unlikely they would get that right immediately without measurement.

Does that plan sound reasonable? Almost ready to commit.

 

[steve240Z73]

Group Harrington is a similar price on the bumpers: Stainless steel bumpers for Datsun 240Z 260Z from Group Harrington
You can get them without the rubber strips, too. I bought bumpers about 9 years ago from Group Harrington. I would recommend not getting the rubber strips as I have experienced an issue with them coming loose on the 260Z and needing to be reattached. I don't know if Tynda offers an option without the rubber strips.

 

[Behine DeChilis]

Those Harrington pieces look great. Does the stainless steel have a similar look to chrome? The images make the surface look very similar to the chrome versions I have seen.

 

[steve240Z73]

See for yourself.

 

[Behine DeChilis]

Beautiful! Very well. SS it is. Thanks everyone.

 

[Flinx101]

Let me know how it goes! This is on my list of things to do.

 

[OldSchoolZGuy]

Group Harrington is a similar price on the bumpers: Stainless steel bumpers for Datsun 240Z 260Z from Group Harrington You can get them without the rubber strips, too. I bought bumpers about 9 years ago from Group Harrington. I would recommend not getting the rubber strips as I have experienced an issue with them coming loose on the 260Z and needing to be reattached. I don't know if Tynda offers an option without the rubber strips.

The Harrington bumpers are coming from the same place, Vietnam. I've been in contact with them and they put me in touch directly with their sales person n Vietnam. She was very responsive and I will be ordering the bumpers from them when the time comes. I have other expensive items for my restoration I need first. Bumpers and interior parts will come last.

 

[steve240Z73]

Here's from when I did it:
260Z Air Dam and Front Bumper
Installing the Front Bumper
Rear Bumper Install – 73 240Z