Tiger Shark front bumper
 

Well the Tiger Shark bumper I got off of Ebay came in today. Really doesn't look in too bad of shape at all.

http://www.corvetteflorida.com/pics/..._bumper_01.jpg

http://www.corvetteflorida.com/pics/..._bumper_02.jpg

http://www.corvetteflorida.com/pics/..._bumper_03.jpg

No cracks that i can see, and all the mounting tabs look OK. But even if my C5Z were black, it would probably need to be repainted anyway.

But looking from it from the back, obviously the paint applied there wasn't meant to last long at all, as it is curling up and flaking off.

http://www.corvetteflorida.com/pics/..._bumper_04.jpg

http://www.corvetteflorida.com/pics/..._bumper_05.jpg

http://www.corvetteflorida.com/pics/..._bumper_06.jpg

http://www.corvetteflorida.com/pics/..._bumper_07.jpg

And it looks like I'm going to have to fix some of those screens, particularly the rubber molding around the edges of them.

http://www.corvetteflorida.com/pics/..._bumper_08.jpg

http://www.corvetteflorida.com/pics/..._bumper_09.jpg

http://www.corvetteflorida.com/pics/..._bumper_12.jpg

http://www.corvetteflorida.com/pics/..._bumper_11.jpg

Looks like the splitter, if I decide to put it on the car, is going to need to be fixed too. Looks like it might have gotten pushed up a bit on the passenger side, as it appears bowed in the pictures at the beginning of this thread.

http://www.corvetteflorida.com/pics/..._bumper_10.jpg

I'm trying to figure out who manufactured this bumper, but this is the only sort of identifying number or any sort I can see on it.

http://www.corvetteflorida.com/pics/..._bumper_13.jpg

Well, I'll scrape what paint I can get off of the back of the bumper and fix anything that I think I can tackle to have it ready for whenever I want to face the paint job. I'm still playing around with the paint on the blue car, and having pretty good luck with the results I'm getting from my efforts. But I think the hood cracks will be the deciding factor as to whether I get the entire car repainted or just try to get the TS bumper painted to match the rest of the car. Still waiting for some stuff to come in before I tackle trying to fix those cracks. Having never done this before, I don't have a clue about what to expect.

TIGERSHARK
 

Hi,I also bought a used tigershark ,the same one that you bought.In fact the paint was pealing off the back.
I use a compresser with a air gun.It removed 80% of the pealing paint.Then I used scotch bright pads to scrub off the rest.A orbital sander will go threw it very easily.
If you don't want to have a disaster when you paint the bumper be sure to sand off all the paint and primer as it is most likely the same crap as on the back.
Then prim it .with bumper primer.
ps be sure to have cold beer on hand as you will need a few.

Cheers Darren

Thanks for the tips. I'm not going to remove the paint from the front of the bumper, but will instead leave that for whoever I get to paint it for me. I'll just take the garbage off of the back and tidy up whatever I can.

BTW, I contacted Starcraft and asked them if they could identify the bumper for me from the pics I took. Here's the reply I got.

The black rubber molding around the screens was tougher to work with than I thought it would be. It's very rigid plastic, not rubber at all, and the slit for the screen to go into is razor thin and tight. I had to use a thin flat bladed screw driver to pry the edges open while trying to shove the screen in one wire at a time. Meanwhile the wire is pretty darn sharp, so I got jabbed a few times in the process. All in all this was a bugger to work on. I would imagine trying to do this with the bumper still on the car would have been pretty much impossible to do. Having it sitting on my workbench was tough enough doing it. I wire tired the moldings to the screen, so hopefully I won't have to do this job ever again.

Also found that the front of the turn signal lamps weren't bolted into the mounts for them at all. The mounting holes on the lamps don't reach the tabs on the bumper, so I just wire tied them in place. Maybe whoever I get to do the mounting and painting of the bumper can fix that for me.

The black paint on the inside was just falling off while I was working on those screens, so I guess it won't be very tough at all getting it all off. If I felt like cranking up the pressure washer it would probably make short work of getting that crap off.

Try using a heat gun on that molding Rich. Just don't get it too hot.

Yeah, I thought maybe heat would make it more pliable, but then I couldn't see how you would be able to handle that hot plastic. It's too fine of work to use gloves with.

Well, it's done now anyway. But thanks for the suggestion.

Kind of looks funky from the back with all the wire ties, but hopefully it will hold those moldings onto the screens so they don't come loose again.

http://www.corvetteflorida.com/pics/...rk_back_01.jpg

http://www.corvetteflorida.com/pics/...rk_back_02.jpg

http://www.corvetteflorida.com/pics/...rk_back_03.jpg

http://www.corvetteflorida.com/pics/...rk_back_04.jpg

The splitter is pretty messed up. It's definitely warped on the passenger side. And the urethane has separated from the foam core on that side as well.

http://www.corvetteflorida.com/pics/ts_splitter_01.jpg

http://www.corvetteflorida.com/pics/ts_splitter_02.jpg

http://www.corvetteflorida.com/pics/ts_splitter_03.jpg

http://www.corvetteflorida.com/pics/ts_splitter_04.jpg

http://www.corvetteflorida.com/pics/ts_splitter_05.jpg

Then I had to wire wrap the fronts of both of the side turn signal lights to the tab on the bumper, since they don't mate up properly. Not sure of what sort of permanent fix could be done.

http://www.corvetteflorida.com/pics/...e_light_01.jpg

http://www.corvetteflorida.com/pics/...e_light_02.jpg

Hopefully whoever I can find to do the painting of at least the bumper can fix some of this stuff for me to make it look right when it gets mounted on my car.

2 suggestions.......first, go around the edges of the wire/plastic molding with some
black RTV sealant. That will probably eliminate the need for ZIP ties. Second,
maybe a "U-BOLT" of the proper size with a piece of flat metal on top to use
on the front of the turn signal lights. :shrug01:
Looks like you've been doin' some work on it though, and it's getting better
and better. Get some before and after shots of the front of the C5Z, cause
I want to compare looks. I think it will look better in my opinion. Anything to
get rid of the front license plate mount.........UGH!
Andy :wavey:

Heck, those moldings are pretty tight as they are on the screens, but they are also stiff enough that I'm afraid they might come loose just because they are being forced around those curves. Especially when they are pulled off to paint the bumper itself. I had originally thought of putting some sort of adhesive into the molding itself and then put the screens into them to hold them together, but they really are a bugger bear to work with. So I would be playing beat the clock to try to get the screens in before the sealant hardened up on me. I don't think the wire ties are going to be visible from the front at all, so this will probably be fine for me.

Yeah, I can visualize what you mean. I could probably fabricate something myself on the milling machine. Thanks for the idea. I'm thinking I might need to just pull those lamp assemblies out and LOOK at them. Might be a fixable reason why those mounting holes aren't lining up properly.

Been working on the paint job on the hood of the C5Z lately, so this bumper is mostly just on the back burner right now. But it is taking up a good chunk of real estate on my work bench. I need to figure out if I will have to get the whole car painted, or if I'll be able to squeeze a couple more years out of the current paint job before really needing to do that. If that works out hopefully I can get someone to do a real good color match when painting and installing that tiger shark for me. I'm also hoping they can fix that front splitter too. I'd be tempted to try gluing it back together myself, but I'm afraid I might just make matters worse by not knowing what the hell I am doing. Does urethane become more pliable when heated so I could bend it back in shape? And how close is the bendable stage of heating to the MELTING stage? :ack2:

If I ruin this one, it's going to probably be pretty darn tough to find a replacement.

Heck, maybe when mounted that will pull the shape back the way it should be enough so that it doesn't matter. :shrug01:

Yeah, I will be taking pics. Don't I usually? :lmao:

Someone might also be able to fabricate a "stiffener" for the area that's sagging/
slightly bent. Like the ones they sell for the inside lower end of the rear fascia.
Just thinking out loud here........ OR .......
get in touch with the Tiger Shark people and ask them if they know of anyone
that could (or is capable of) doing something like that.
Andy :wavey:

I'm hoping this will just be a no-brainer for a good body shop. I'm sure they run into accident damage similar to this that they fix all of the time. Too bad we don't have any sort of professional around here on this site that could chime in with an opinion.

sure you don't want to sell it? i think it's taking up too much room in your garage....

Nah, not really. It doesn't eat much and I've got it up on a shelf out of the way.

I really do intend to install it one of these days.

did you get the brake ducts?

No, I guess not. I got just what the guy sent me, which is what is shown in the pics I took.

I presume that means that the stock ones won't work?

Completely different shape

Is Starcraft selling them now? Although, I'm not really sure how much I would really need them, not intending to track my car.

starcraft is who makes the bumper.

http://www.starcraftparts.com/produc...roduct_id=2954

What I meant was the brake ducts separately from the bumper kit. I didn't see them on their website.

i would say call and find out.

Yeah, I sent them an email.

Can you tell how they mount on the bumper? I can't tell from your photos in the other thread.

Most likely the same way as the stock ones. Fit over the groove in the bumper.

That doesn't help me much. I've never even taken a look at how the stock ones fit. Just looking again at the pics of the back of this Tiger Shark bumper, I don't see any obvious way for those ducts to attach to the screen that is over those openings. :shrug01: I don't believe the stock ducts and bumper have a screen over the opening, so perhaps the screens are optional if the ducts aren't installed?

But seriously, are they really needed on a strictly street driven car?

the opening on the brakes ducts are larger than the opening on the bumper part. there is a lip on the bumper for it to slip around. it's a pressure fit between the bumper and the inner fenderwell. you can go out to yours now and push them back and they will fall out of place.

on the ts bumper, the screens screw onto the bumper and the duct will sit over them. are then needed on a street car, no.

I've been looking at the pics of my bumper at the top of this thread, and I'm still not sure how that would work. Heck, I'm not even sure that the screens that are on the thing are what Starcraft provided originally.

I think I'll just wait and see if Starcraft replies to my email query about price on the ducts. If they are cheap enough, I'll buy them to fiddle around with them to see if I can get them to fit. But if they want more than they are likely going to be worth to me, I'll just live without them.

Thanks....

Think of the screens fitting inside the duct. Or how curtain rods fit one inside the other.

Yeah, I looked at the pics with that scenario in mind, but it looks to me that the screens covering nearby opening are too close together. Of course, I guess the wire ties I put to hold the plastic moulding onto the screens might be an issue too.

But like I said, depends on the price of the ducts as to whether I will even consider getting them just to see what is needed to make them fit.

i noticed that one yours as well. some trimming of the screen might be needed. but for what you do with the car, i wouldn't worry. only thing i can think of is air getting trapped in the bumper area while driving. but again, that may only cause an issue at high speeds.

With all of the other openings in the front of the bumper, which is the reason that I bought the Tiger Shark in the first place, I doubt the two additional openings for the brake ducts would make all that much difference.

But honestly, if I could find a new hood that would give me enough clearance up front to put a 4 inch round pipe across the radiator support and provide air flow out of the back of the engine compartment, I would likely buy one. Although the airbridge I have seems to be holding up fine under boost, I'm still not real crazy about a flimsy looking and feeling plastic thingie like that holding boost pressures. When it gets hot, the plastic does become pliable, so I keep getting this mental image of it ballooning whenever I put any boost through it.

Yes, when you are getting an aftermarket bumper sometimes you get something totally different than you expect. Once I bought a Duraflex bumper, and even a body shop couldn't make it fit (it was not long enough, missing 1.5 inches). And I badly needed a bumper as mine was destroyed. So I simply went ahead and got an OE-style bumpe (https://www.carid.com/bumper-covers/)r, had it painted here and am totally happy with it. :bump:

i would never buy a duraflex. too many horror stories, which is why i went with the tiger shark. eurothane just like oem and direct fit.