Harrington Bumpers

[IbanezDan51]

Ive tried contacting Harrington - phone, email and facebook, yet never got a reply from any.

Can someone shed light on how to get in touch with them? I want new bumpers for my car but if they can't answer simple messages I'm reluctant to spend a significant chunk of cash with them.

If not anyone have some new bumpers they want to sell?

Dan

 

[chrisvega]

I am in touch with an alternative supplier in the Far East and have placed a trial order for a couple of sets of stainless steel bumpers. Will be here in a couple of weeks. Price is dependent on a couple of unknown variables at the moment, high freight cost was almost a deal breaker and just about wipes out any front end saving on the bumpers themselves. Probably be close to £ 700 set all in.

 

[IbanezDan51]

Let me know how you get on Chris. If the fitment is spot on I'd be more than happy to pay.

Dan

 

[Fairlineguy]

I received x2 sets from harringtons last month.
There was a 8 wk delay in receiving them £835
Contact
Theo
info@groupharrington.com

I have one of the sets here that I will not be using for 6mths or so
Provided I can reorder a set from them you could have this set at replacment cost

 

[MaximG]

Personally I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole.

 

[AliK]

Personally I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole.

Why is that?

Granted: Mine had brackets that weren't 100% lined up (easily bent/adjusted) and rubbers that cracked after three years (which they replaced without quibble).

If I was to do it again, I would forgo the rubbers but otherwise no complaints.

Very interested to hear what your experience has been though. Especially as I can't see many alternatives. Re-chrome doesn't last and costs nearly as much and I figure one day an archeologist will find my car: which will be an L6 block hemmed by two stainless steel "brackets" and a lot of brown dust everywhere else!

 

[IbanezDan51]

I received x2 sets from harringtons last month.
There was a 8 wk delay in receiving them £835
Contact
Theo
info@groupharrington.com

I have one of the sets here that I will not be using for 6mths or so
Provided I can reorder a set from them you could have this set at replacment cost

Really appreciate this offer and would happily take you up on it if yours don't have the holes for the rubbers and you don't mind waiting for the next batch.

I'll email again and see if they respond.

Dan

 

[IbanezDan51]

Got a response the early hours of this morning. So they are still making them!

 

[Geoff-R]

Why is that?

Granted: Mine had brackets that weren't 100% lined up (easily bent/adjusted) and rubbers that cracked after three years (which they replaced without quibble).

If I was to do it again, I would forgo the rubbers but otherwise no complaints.

Very interested to hear what your experience has been though. Especially as I can't see many alternatives. Re-chrome doesn't last and costs nearly as much and I figure one day an archeologist will find my car: which will be an L6 block hemmed by two stainless steel "brackets" and a lot of brown dust everywhere else!

Out of interest, and excuse the naivety in this area, but how long does chrome reasonably last? If garaged and clean then I would expect it to last but I could be wrong? My old man has cars that he restored when I was a little kid (30 odd years ago), granted the cars have always been garaged but to my knowledge the chrome was re-done when they were restored and still looks pretty good now.

 

[uk66fastback]

The chrome will only be as good as the chromers you use ... if kept dry and looked after no reason why it shouldn't last for years and years. £50 a foot is a recent price I've had.

If you've for an original set of bumpers I'd be looking in this area - ie rechroming and using them first ...

(Hoping they fit well still of course) ...

 

[AliK]

That's a fair point re the chrome Mike.

From what I understand and father in law's experience with his classics, you really have to properly get rid of all corrosion very well before rechromed otherwise they just go again (seems obvious but not all chroming places pay the necessary attention to detail). Also it seems not all electroplating is created equally and it depends on who does it.


And to your point - he does drive his cars come rain or shine in the summer / spring months. So his do see more abuse than fair weather only cars.

His bumpers typically last 5-7 years before needing to be redone.

 

[uk66fastback]

I always make sure the tops of any chrome bumpers I've had are well waxed and the undersides have a thin smear of oil ...

Made the mistake of buying some repro bumpers from the US for one of my old Mustangs and while the fit was decent the quality of the chrome was very poor - not the longevity but the actual reflection - very poor really. They were about half the thickness as well ...

OEM items always seem to weigh more - a friend of mine with a Stag bought some over-riders off ebay for what he thought was a bargain price until they came in the post and he picked them up - light as a feather. Whether that really matters I don't know but if you're not racing the car, I can't see the weight matters - but always nice to have OEM items refinished if possible, unless too far gone to be economically viable.

This is a conclusion I've come to after spending £££££ over many years on repro parts!

 

[toopy]

I had my bumpers re-chromed around 15yrs ago now, i think at the time it cost around £500.

One side of the top surface of the rear is starting to show some corrosion, but i think thats more down to me not taking good enough care of them, rather than the quality of the finish.

Other than the last 4 years, the car was on the drive under a cover, and the bumpers could be unpolished for years at a time! Now the car is garaged and covered and used a lot more, I polish the chrome several times a year, the inside of the bumpers are wax proofed, which makes a huge difference IMO

I think if your bumpers are only suffering from light corrosion and not all pitted, then re-chroming is viable, and better looking ultimately, assuming the Plater knows what he's doing!

 

[uk66fastback]

Any pitting should be ground out and then welded up and ground down, otherwise getting a level surface for plating is impossible ... which all takes time and hence, cost.

 

[Alphabettispaghetti]

I've totally ignored the cost of bumpers. Its a little bit of a shock really. Strange thing is that I don't see them as needing to be perfect for me. I wouldn't want anything I'd have to polish. by the time my cars done in 2063 they'll be a paint which looks correct enough.

 

[MaximG]

Why is that?

Granted: Mine had brackets that weren't 100% lined up (easily bent/adjusted) and rubbers that cracked after three years (which they replaced without quibble).

If I was to do it again, I would forgo the rubbers but otherwise no complaints.

Very interested to hear what your experience has been though. Especially as I can't see many alternatives. Re-chrome doesn't last and costs nearly as much and I figure one day an archeologist will find my car: which will be an L6 block hemmed by two stainless steel "brackets" and a lot of brown dust everywhere else!

http://zclub.net/forum/showthread.php?t=27011&highlight=Harrington

 

[Ian]

Still need a front bumper myself, was hesitant to try the Harrington ones as I have heard about poor fit and the stainless just isn't as shiny as actual chrome so I would have to consider chroming them.

At this point I am thinking about ordering some fibre glass bumpers from Top Stage composites and then have them chromed. At least it would save a fair amount of weight.